KETCHIKAN -- An 8-month-old male cat in Ketchikan has adopted six abandoned kittens found on the side of the road. Henry's strong parenting instinct is a surprise and it's also a gift, because it could determine whether the kittens survive.
The kittens are about 3 weeks old, which is double the age they were when someone put them into a cardboard box and dumped them on the road between Craig and Klawock on Prince of Wales Island.
"Luckily, some children walking home from school heard them crying in their box," said Heather Muench of the Ketchikan Humane Society.
She said they have a volunteer on Prince of Wales Island who sent the litter over to Ketchikan, and Muench started round-the-clock kitten care.
But she hasn't had to do it alone. Henry has lent a helping paw.
Henry is a young cat who also was rescued by the Humane Society. He has a neurological disorder that makes him a little unsteady when he walks. He has a hard time jumping and has some endearing quirks. Henry also has a strong paternal instinct that kicked in when Muench brought the kittens home.
"It's really kind of cute," she said. "The first thing he does is start compulsively licking one. He'll spend hours in there licking them ... I think, 'Oh my gosh, they're not going to have any fur left.' But he's really good at cleaning them up. I shouldn't complain, because then I don't have to do it.
"The cat nurturing, it's increasing their chance of surviving."
And Henry is pretty serious about this new project.
"Yesterday, when I took them to work with me, he was very upset because someone had stolen his babies for the day," Muench said. "When they came home, he was like, 'Get them out of the carrying case. Put my babies back!'"
Muench had to take the kittens to work, though, because while Henry can do a lot, he can't feed them.
Henry's help may well make all the difference for this litter of kittens but Muench said it's still too soon to celebrate.
"There's diseases out there. They're too young to be vaccinated. They could be full of parasites – they can't be dewormed yet," she said. "There's upper respiratory infection; they could have something that we don't even know about, because they're so tiny."
Muench said there are many better options for pet owners whose pets present them with unwanted litters. The best option is to avoid the litter in the first place, and the Humane Society offers low-cost spay and neuter services. But if someone is overwhelmed by a litter, "Take them to the animal protection (service). They don't charge anything for people who live in the (Ketchikan) Gateway Borough," she said. "Drop them off at one of the veterinary clinics, or take them to another rescue. Just don't find that appropriate to abandon (them) like that."
The kittens now have names. They are Jan, Marcia, Cindy, Greg, Peter and Bobby -- named for the children on "The Brady Bunch."
This story first appeared on KRBD radio in Ketchikan and is re-published here with permission.