Cat cuddles with her day-old kittens — and adopted ducklings

Irish farmers Ronan and Emma Lally were surprised when they found their cat walking around with a tiny duckling in her mouth. What shocked them the most was how gentle the cat was treating the fuzzy little bird.

Not long after, they discovered the cat nursing three ducklings alongside the kittens she birthed just hours earlier.

Experts believe it was the surge of "mommy hormones" that inspired a mother cat to take in tiny ducklings as though they were her own instead of dining on them.

"The minute the cat lay down the three ducklings ran underneath her. She stared to purr," Ronan told the Irish Independent earlier this summer.

"We lifted her up and two ducklings were latched onto the cat. The cat has all the maternal instinct, she has her paw around them and it is just extraordinary."

"Animals in general have no concept of numbers, as far as the cat is concerned there are kittens. The cat thinks they are all kittens. The cat might notice when the yellow kittens get very big," he added, laughing.

Watch the cuteness overload below, as featured on BBC 1's "Animal Odd Couples."

Last spring, we shared a video of a duckling waddling after a cat — and photos of a duck hanging out with its canine buddy.

Ducks play well with others. Who knew?