Animal Instincts

I have a friend from church who comes to visit me every month (Visiting Teacher). She is the mother of ...hmm..I think she said 12 kids. She's a very friendly person, and very cheerful. She just had her 65 birthday. When she first started coming to visit, my cat came up and started crawling all over her. He even wedged himself on to her lap and went to sleep. Without fail, every time she comes to visit, he comes over to her and gives her special attention. She said to me, "All animals do this to me. Horses, cats, dogs,....they all come up to me.". What is it about her that makes animals like her? I wondered if it might be some sort of mothering thing that they instinctively pick up about her. Being a mother of so many children, maybe they sense that mothering ability in her? She didn't give my cat any special attention, didn't really pet him much. She just sat there, and he hung all over her. It's definitely something about her that they pick up on. What do you think it is?