From a vet nurse’s perspective, how does raising a neonatal litter of kittens compare with raising a baby? There are differences, but so many similarities!
My baby: It took me two long years to fall pregnant, nine anxious months to grow you in my own body, five excruciating hours to birth you and it will take eighteen years to raise you to be ready for this world.
My kittens: It took a three-minute phone call with a bloke from up the road, fifteen minutes before I was filling my scrub top pockets with all of you and in eight short weeks, you’ll be ready for the world otherwise known as your fur-ever home.
My baby: I know the minute that you were born, it was a Friday at 11:14 am that you made your appearance. I counted your first week in days, I counted your first months in weeks and I counted your first year in months.
My kittens: It was a wild guess that you’re between two and three weeks old, but you came to me on a Monday, the day before my birthday.
My baby: I would watch you breathe all day and all night. I would just sit and stare, I couldn’t even sleep.
My kittens: I go to your crate every other hour, to check for four fluffy, little chests and wait to see them rise and fall.
My baby: You were born with your big, blue eyes open drawing the world in. I couldn’t look away, so in awe of you.
My kittens: I inspected your eyes on arrival, looking for signs of cat flu. Your eyes were only half open, indicating your young age.
My baby: For the first month you would feed every two hours and wake a few times through the night.
My kittens: For the first three days you would feed every two hours, now you go for more, I wake you to feed a few times through the night.
My baby: I’d have to wipe your butt after you pooped.
My kittens: I have to wipe your butt to make you poop.
My baby: Your bum, bottle, and bed routine would take me a good 45 minutes in the early hours of the morning. We’d rock in the chair and I’d ever so carefully transfer you back to bed when your eyes finally shut.
My kittens: I can feed and toilet all four of you in fifteen minutes tops. Once you’ve fed and wee’d, I pop you in the crate and you all cuddle in and go back to sleep.
My baby: I never want to think of the day that you’ll be big enough to leave, I want to keep you young and keep you with me. Forever.
My kittens: In a few short weeks, I will smile for you, I will have immense gratitude when you find your forever homes.
My baby: I’ll be forever proud of you, so proud that I got to raise you. Words can’t describe just how lucky I am.
My kittens: I will be forever proud of your will for survival and so overwhelmingly proud that I was lucky enough to play a part in rearing you.
This post first appeared on Courtney’s blog: From The Ground Up, and has been republished with full permission
