A Taste of Motherhood… sort of
Daisy
For the past three weeks, I have been getting a slight taste of what it may feel like to be a mom. I have been raising a kitten that my boyfriend rescued since its eyes were still closed and its umbilical cord still attached. Although I realize that this is not quite comparable to an actual human baby, I strongly advise anyone who is thinking of parenthood to invest in a kitten first. Here are some things I’ve experienced that somewhat relate to what my sister’s have gone through with their children.
Feeding: When I held the kitten for the first time and waited for her to latch on to the bottle, I thought it was cute. I felt a sense of success and pride as she sucked away at the kitten formula and fell asleep as soon as she was done. But after doing this four times a day for three weeks, it lost its luster. And when she started teething it became a whole new task on its own. She was too small to get off the formula but she would chew on the rubber bottle as I tried to squeeze the formula down her mouth. Now imagine a real teething baby gnawing away at your nipple. Yikes.
Anxiety: What worries me is that if I’m this nervous about a kitten, how am I going to be with a baby? I read about the importance of feeding the kitten routinely and when I knew I couldn’t stick to the routine I felt like I was the worst momma in the world. The biggest strike of anxiety occurred at work when I realized she would be going 12 hours without food. I got someone to stay late for me so I could leave early. I also had a nightmare last night that she lost her fur.
Lack of Social Life: Yes, this kitten has taken away a bit of my social life (and I can leave her alone at my apartment if I want… a baby you cannot). I rarely sleep at my boyfriends since I have to feed the kitten at night and first thing in the morning. I couldn’t go shopping with my girlfriends after a day at the spa since it was time for dinner. I even had to leave a work get together early, feeling like a spinster who had to go home to tend to the kitties.
After her first bath
Being the Annoying Mom: My boyfriend can attest to this: when it comes to my kitten, I am annoying. I’ve pulled out photos and videos while at a wedding, I like to fill my boyfriend in each day on the new cute thing she has done, and I’ve held the phone up to her mouth so she can meow at my mom and dad.
Dealing with Poop: Thank god there’s no diapers to deal with and that it only has taken three weeks to litter train her. But when I switched her formula a few days ago, I got a taste of dealing with ‘accidents’. I came home to get ready for work when I opened my bedroom door to disaster. There was poop everywhere: on her legs and tail, on her blanket, the floor, the side of the litter box (just didn’t quite make it). I had one hour before having to go to work and in that time I not only showered and got ready but I also mopped the floors, bathed the cat, fed her, and hand washed her blanket. I have never done so many domestic duties in such a short amount of time.
Swelling with Pride: Today I took her to the vet for the first time and on our walk there, we were stopped multiple times with oohs and ahhs and ‘omg its soo cute’. I loved it. I stopped to lift up her carrying case towards the onlookers and answered their questions happily. I also get extremely excited when she does something new for the first time: when she opened her eyes, her first poop, her first time using the litter box, the first time I heard her purr. I feel like a proud mom watching the development of her child and bragging to everyone that she’s learning these things faster than most other kittens.
All in all, I love having a brand new kitten and seeing it grow. But I also know that this kitten is the most responsibility I can handle right now and the closest thing to a grand ‘kitty’ that my parents can see from me for several years.
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