When mothering is the cat’s meow

RONAN and Emma Lally have caused quite a stir.

At their home, in Clara Co Offaly, they put duck eggs under a broody hen. Four chicks hatched, three of which survived.

When the youngsters disappeared, suspicion fell on the family cat. Then, the ducklings were discovered, huddled with newborn kittens, under her; she had carried them, one by one, to her bed. With newspaper reports and television exposure, the story ‘went global’ and the head-scratching began. Primates occasionally behave altruistically; we probably inherited sympathetic tendencies, and a primitive sense of fair-play, from pre-human ancestors.