oddly enough

oddly enough

Male cat nurtures kittens abandoned in southeast Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Six abandoned kittens named after the kids in “The Brady Bunch” TV series are getting a nurturing boost from an unlikely source — a male cat with a slight neurological disorder.

The kittens — named Jan, Marcia, Cindy, Greg, Peter and Bobby — have been adopted by Henry, an 8-month-old male cat in the southeast Alaska community of Ketchikan.

“We have Henry playing Alice; it was the perfect match,” said Heather Muench, comparing the cat’s role to that of the lovable live-in housekeeper on the TV series.

Muench, a volunteer with the Ketchikan Humane Society, is caring for the kittens at home after someone put them into a cardboard box and left them on a road between Klawock and Craig on Prince of Wales Island.

Children walking home from school heard the kittens crying. A humane society volunteer living on the island had the kittens flown to Ketchikan.

Muench is providing round-the-clock care, both at her home and at her day job, Island-to-Island Veterinary Clinic in Ketchikan.

At home, she’s getting lots of help from Henry, a male cat she and her husband adopted from the all-volunteer Ketchikan Humane Society. Henry’s disorder affects his coordination, causing him to walk unevenly and preventing him from jumping.

What he lacks in motor skills is more than compensated by his demeanor. “He is very, very sweet and gentle, and he has taken a shine to these kittens,” Muench said.

Henry spends hours licking the kittens clean and has become very attached.

Muench takes the kittens to work with her to continue their care during the work day, raising Henry’s angst. “I couldn’t get them out of the crate fast enough to satisfy him. But he was very, very happy to have them back,” she said of her return home from work.

The kittens face an uncertain future because they’re too young to be vaccinated, but she said Henry’s care could be a difference-maker.

Man in scuba gear gets warning after causing stir in restaurant

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.

Police say a belligerent man dressed in scuba gear caused a stir at a northern Michigan fast-food restaurant.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle and MLive.com reported that the man, who had been drinking, showed up Tuesday morning at a downtown McDonald’s. Workers called police, who found the 48-year-old man nearby. Police say they warned him that management didn’t want him at the restaurant.

Police didn’t know why the man was wearing scuba gear.

Regardless, Detective Sgt. James Bussell says that “as far as wearing scuba gear and having a couple of beers, that’s legal.”

Associated Press