Aaaand just like that - he's a cat person.
DH has always been tolerant of cats. He likes them well enough and brought two separate strays into our household because they needed help. He's a soft touch with a good heart. But he doesn't relate to them the way he does to dogs. They're my cats and my responsibility, mostly. The constant dialogue goes: "Why is he doing that?" He's a cat." "Can't you get him to stop?" "No." "Okay. Really?" "Yeah." "Okay, I guess."
Well, until Audrey, the cat who gave birth under our porch. She wasn't sure about him at first and actually hissed at him when he was giving her more food. She hadn't done that with me. But she suddenly changed her mind and started to come out when he was in the yard, rubbing up against him, purring, asking for pets and generally flirting shamelessly. She even approached Radar, the elderly dog and they shared a good curious sniff with relaxed body language. Those two will get along. Fast Eddie is going to be a harder sell.
DH is in love. We have to keep her. Even when I reminded him that the kittens needed to stay with her for another month (3 weeks old is the confirmed age), he's ok with that. (Although I think kitten patrol is going to still be up to me.) Audrey isn't going anywhere.
We got them out from under the porch at the crack of dawn this morning. We had to destroy part of the trellis to make an opening. Audrey was already out and kenneled. 2 of the little ones were easily reached, one needed me to go up to my waist to reach it, and the last made a break for the farthest, deepest corner of the space. The space wasn't tall enough for me to crawl, so I dragged my prone self, work scrubs and all, through a lot of rubble to nail the little sucker. Backing out was equally comical - DH still wishes he'd had a camera handy. They went to the vet clinic when I did.
We have 2 boys and 2 girls. No leukemia or FIV, thank Bast! No fleas, for another miracle. Enough ear mites to make up for it, and of course, bellies full of worms is a given. Audrey was the mellowest, sweetest girl at the clinic. Of course, she was in a large kennel, on a thick layer of soft towels, with food, water, litterpan and kittens handy. And it was warm. She and the kittens slept, nursed, and slept some more. They've had more pictures taken of them than your average Kardashian. Audrey didn't care in the least; the original no drama mama. Since she didn't get anxious, neither did the kittens.
She has no microchip. She's had all the matts and burs shaved off her, and her ears have been thoroughly cleaned. She's now had a rabies vaccination, with a future distemper/respiratory combo when the furballs are weaned. (That's their official name at the clinic; Audrey and the Furballs.) Even after she tired of Churu and let us know we could stop any time, she was gentle and never defensive or aggressive. Now that they're home, I'm going to let them rest a while in their new apartment, formerly known as the bathroom. The kittens are confined to the tub, with soft bedding and all the amenities, but Audrey can explore the whole room.
In about an hour, it's worming medicine all around. Happy Hour!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kittens!!!! 
Pictures are going to be great! Audrey and the Furballs sounds like a childless cat lady rock band.
❤️
Thanks so much for being such caring people. I will tell you that we once had a similar rescue of a fairly young cat with kittens who made their home in our garden. We also took them in and the mama stayed with us until she died at age 20. She was the best cat... just a lovely soul.
(btw, all the kittens found super homes and we've stayed in touch with them through the years)
I know what would happen around here... we'd be up that many more cats! (LOL) It's SO hard to let kittens go!!! They keep you young and entertained. My DH was similar to yours. Dog guy from the get go. We had 2, one of which was a young border collie. Can we say "bouncy dog?" He finally took it upon himself that his "work" was in herding the cats through the house. THAT was something to watch! (LOL)
And then something totally out of left field happened... a baby calico found my DH and attached herself to him. She has only tolerated me through the years, but she adores him. I have so many cute pics of the two of them sleeping together. If he's gone from the room more than a few minutes, she's up and looking for him. She's close to 20 now... and mellowing in her old age. But yesterday, DH realized her "meow" has become more like a language. I laughed and told him it always was a language, she's just finally taught him to understand it! 
