ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING

My friend Jane is a volunteer for a no-kill shelter in DeKalb, Illinois. She does everything from hands-on interactions with the animals to fundraising. She fosters kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. She is also involved in (TNR) Trap-Neuter-Return, an effective, internationally recognized program to reduce, and eventually eliminate, feral cat colonies.

This week she will be going out of town for her aunt’s 90th birthday. While she is away she has asked if I could take care of a very tiny almost-three-week old kitten. This involves cleaning up after her and feeding her with a bottle every four hours. Last night was my first night with the kitten and I'm delighted to report that she slept through the night. I'm keeping her separated from my cats so they don’t get too freaked out by her presence.

Yesterday when I tried to feed her it was a battle. For as tiny as she is she is quite the little spit-fire (which my daughter and I have lovingly named her). This morning went a lot better, she didn’t squirm as much and appeared to be very hungry.

Because she has to be fed often I will be taking her to work with me. Right now she is taking a little catnap and I’ll feed her again around 10:00 a.m.

Just think, I have nine more days of taking care of this little spit-fire. I’ll give you daily updates of my adventures in babysitting, or should I say, kittysitting.

Some people own cats and go on to lead normal lives. ~Author Unknown