Kittens!

A few weeks ago the 3 older girls were at puppy class run by our friend at the vets. As she brings the girls home, they will often help out with a few chores before the vets is locked up for the night. This is a wonderful experience for them, and often the highlight of their evening, as they help change dressings, fit buster collars, exercise dogs etc. The flip side though is that they also get to see and cuddle some very sweet little animals and as parents of children with enough pets to justify farm status it is becoming a dangerous occupation!

On this particular night they came home full of how they had cuddled tiny kittens, about 3 weeks old, who needed a home. The story was that one litter of kittens had been born at the vets from a cat brought in to be spayed and the other litter of kittens had been handed in to be put to sleep as they were not wanted. Not surprisingly we had the 'may we have them?' request, but managed to hold it at bay with our default 'no, we've enough' response. This continued for about 2 weeks with the guys following progress on re-homing on the vets facebook page. I then made a HUGE mistake. All 6 children were to have their BCG immunisation as they never had them at birth because the older children were born in the UK where there's a different program. However to go back 48 hours after the Heaf test for a second jab took a lot of persuasion and as a softener we said we'd call into the vets on the way home to pay a bill and just see how the kittens were doing. Well you can imagine the rest of the tale. The vet nurse handed the remaining 3 kittens still needing a home over the counter for the children to cuddle and our fate was sealed.

Tara

Tilly

Toby

We brought the kittens home when they were 5 and 6 weeks old respectively. They were so small the guys had to give them 4 meals a day of goats milk and minced chicken for a couple of weeks before they could manage pre-prepared kitten food. As they were handled so much by the staff at the vets from such a young age they love being cuddled and played with so the children are really enjoying them. Although from two different litters the three of them play together most the time and sleep in a bundle of three at night, which is very sweet.

( Tilly is hiding down in the bush at the bottom of the fence!)

  They keep the goats amused with their antics too as they love using the stock fencing as their climbing frame.

At last count then we have 18 animals, ( 3 dogs, 6 chickens, 4 pygmy goats, 2 gerbils, 3 cats ). Did I mention we're due to have puppies next week as well !?! The vet guesses 6, having done an ultra sound scan, but apparently large breeds can also have a couple hidden under their ribs away from the USS probe so who knows... Fortunately we have homes for all the puppies through the breed club, apart from the one we're keeping, so the guys know it will be just ONE puppy we're keeping!
My parents think Justin and I are certifiable but actually we're really happy with the animals we share our lives with and the experiences they give the children. The animals structure our days and without the structure of school I think it would be easy for the children to just drift through their days. With each new animal we have brought home, the children have undertaken the responsibility of caring for them and they have not faltered. They get up in the morning to let out the dogs, goats and chickens. Beth then feeds the goats and hens, Anna the dogs and kittens. Caitlin sees to the gerbils and the younger children help out as necessary. Throughout the day they play with them and if we go out they will load up the dogs into the van, secure runs and make sure the animals left home have what they need while we're out. Teatime brings another round of feeding and then the two older girls do the bedtime routine of shutting up the goats and chickens, and putting the cats and dogs to bed.Justin and I support them with all their work but we don't do it for them. We have given them ownership of the animals so they understand that ownership comes with responsibility. The advantage of 'farm' living is that they don't have an option of 'not fancying it' today. Whatever the weather or the children's other commitments the animals care needs always exist. Therefore they are learning to think of others first as well as developing a work ethic.
However, after the puppies, 'no' really will have to be no ...