So as some of you may have seen, I'm raising a litter of kittens. It's a group of three gorgeous little tortoiseshells. I've had them for a little over a week and they are doing really well.

I love raising kittens even if it gets tiring sometimes. The obvious reasons would be that they are cute and adorable at this stage but it goes beyond that. I try to take them when they are around 3 - 4 weeks usually but I've taken in kittens as old as 4 months before.

The bond created is incredible and watching them go through the various stages of development is amazing. They are like my own children. The hardest part is adopting them out but even that is rewarding. Seeing their new owners meet them for the first time is like watching a kid open Christmas presents. Their eyes light up and you just see pure love on their faces. Many of them have stayed in contact with me and every once in awhile I'll get little updates on them out of the blue.

This all started a little over three years ago. A feral female showed up at the barn I work at. A few months after she showed up I heard a screaming cry coming from one of the sheds. I called my coworker over and we started hunting around inside the shed. There is a little ledge where the shed roof comes out over top of the wall. That's where the pathetic cry led us. It was about 101 degrees outside that day, and that isn't including the heat index. It was even hotter in the shed. What we found was a very underweight hungry little kitten around 3 weeks old. She was dehydrated and overheated so I took her home. I'm a trained veterinary assistant but I had never raised a kitten before. I went on the internet and with the help of several guides started my journey in becoming a kitten mother.

Over the next week, we ended up finding three more kittens. I raised the whole litter and adopted them out to great homes! One of those homes being mine (This one is Chi). Since then, I took in a single kitten (Moira), a single kitten, a litter of three, a single kitten, a litter of two, a single kitten (Serentiy, rest in peace baby girl), and now a litter of three kittens.

It is a lot of hard work, 3 - 4 hour feedings at the start, making sure the temperature is all right, making them go potty (kittens at this stage don't know how to go on their own so you have to use a wet paper towel to stimulate them like the mother would), making sure they don't overeat, burping them so they don't get sick tummies. It gets expensive (formula, special baby food meant for weaning, worming, shots, medication if they are ill, non-clumping litter, kitten wipes, etc) and I have almost constant dark circles throughout the process thanks to middle of the night feedings.

It's so worth it though. Sometimes I get so stressed out while I have them because it puts a strain on me physically and financially. Then I go upstairs to the "kitten room" and everything fades. They all come flying over meowing away, wanting to play and eat and snuggle. To them, I become "mom" and all they know is how to love unconditionally.

This would be my life if I could afford it. I've become known for it by my friends, family, and coworkers. If kittens show up at work, everyone looks to me to take them in. My parents and husband don't even bat an eye when I come through the door with a meowing box. They just roll with it and support me through it. People will even come to me when they or someone they know is looking to adopt just in case I have some available. Many have helped me out along the way and I appreciate every little thing they do. (that includes you  xiaomao )

These thoughts have been rolling through my head recently so I thought I'd share them here. This ended up being so much longer then intended but once I started writing so much flowed through. I just wanted to share a little bit of what it means to raise kittens.

Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts!! <3