Life is like a box of kittens

About a month ago I joined an animal welfare group called Concerned Citizens for Animals (CCA). CCA is an animal shelter/rescue group that promotes animal welfare and eliminating pet overpopulation in upstate South Carolina. They send out a daily e-mail digest with information and updates about events and animal adoption/fostering. Two weeks ago, the organizer, Colleen, sent out a request for someone to foster a litter of six 3 week old kittens while their owner was on a business trip. Since I was bringing Lacey back to the Humane Society the next day and my fostering experience had been very positive, I volunteered to do it.

The youngest kitten I've ever dealt with was 4 months old so I had no clue what it would be like dealing with a half dozen 3 week olds. But I'm all about new experiences and how hard could it really be?

So 2 days and a couple phone calls later I was driving home with a box of kittens in the backseat. Here is the line up:

Sasha

Callie

Mogli

Yogi

Willie

Willie

Lil Grey

It's been quite the experience. When I first got them they couldn't walk, pee or poop on their own and needed to be fed every 4 hours (except overnight). Everyday they'd wake up crying to be fed. I'd bottle feed each of them, wipe them down with a towel (to stimulate peeing and pooping) then put them down to sleep until their next feeding. While incredibly adorable, they didn't do much. Now I understand why parents say they can't wait for their newborns to get older. As the days went on, they learned to walk, then run, then chase me like an ice cream truck. Now they're learning to climb and play and jump and no box can contain them. They've mastered peeing and pooping on their own in the litterbox and two of them have been weaned onto solid food. I couldn't be prouder. I almost shed a tear over Sasha's first jump.

Fostering kittens has been a lesson in patience and organization. They cry and cry and cry when they're hungry. Six screaming kittens is the last thing I want to wake up to after a night of drinking. They also have sharp claws that they don't know what to do with yet. And now that they're mobile they will chase me around and try to climb up my leg until they've been fed. Pants are now a requirement if I don't want tiny claws digging into my skin. I've cleaned up more poop and pee in the last 2 weeks than I have in my lifetime.

But it is and will remain one of the greatest things I've ever done. Everyday I marvel at how much they've grown and continue to grow. It's fascinating to watch these tiny creatures that are still learning so much about how to survive in this world. These early weeks of their life are the most important for their physical and social development. Knowing that I have so much of an impact on who they become in the future is nerve wracking, and a great blessing. I worry that they're eating too much or not enough. That they're growing too fast or not fast enough. Or that they'll hurt themselves in their new explorations. And I marvel as they swat at invisible flies and wrestle with their siblings. As they pile on top of each other for warmth and clean each other. It's better than any reality show.

And sure, they're just cats. Cats are a dime a dozen. They can be moody, independent and sneaky. But when I scoop up one of these wriggly little beings and it looks up at me with those big wondering eyes and begins to purr, I know that this is what life is about. Forming connections. Learning and growing. Taking care of each other. And always, always, making time to play.