A patient tabby cat lets baby chicks nap on her

Taras lives in Costa del Sol, Spain, with his partner and his pets, and he likes to get the young ones used to each other early. When one chick gets very close very fast, the cat is taken aback. Then she settles, leans in and starts to sniff.

The chicks don't mind that the nose over them belongs to a cat many times their size. They want to play. One climbs onto her back, and she sits quietly. Soon all three are up there, walking around on a tabby who has decided to be furniture. She seems to know a chick from a toy, and these aren't for batting.

Playing on a cat is tiring work. The chicks snuggle up to her, and when she touches one lightly, the chick closes both eyes and peeps. They drop off almost at once, one little head sinking lower and lower. The cat leans back to rest too, but she keeps an eye on them.

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When one sleepy chick starts to wander off, she puts a paw on the little one, and the wandering stops. Each time she shifts, the chick up front wakes, settles and nods off again. For a cat who was so startled at the start, she makes a fine mother hen.