We're only a few weeks into kitten season and already the nursery is full up. We have 24 residents, including one litter of nine. All these hungry mouths keeps us hopping and our regular 2-hour shift regularly becomes a 3-hour shift.
Most people think working in the nursery is non-stop fun. And it is, for the most part. But it's also a lot of work. Kittens don't always cooperate with you trying to feed them and I currently sport a left wrist full of scratches from one little guy who objected to my teaching him how to poop. Yup, you have to teach kittens how to go to the bathroom. Not how to use their litter box -- they figure that out on their own eventually. No, you have to teach them actually how to pee and poop. You rub a moist cotton ball on their little butts and hope for the best. The kittens, naturally, hate this and it's not uncommon to get scratched or bit.
Kitten claws are like tiny needles and, at the moment, I look like a junkie (according to Husband).
But then you get to look at little faces like this and that makes all the scratches painless. It's still a lot of work to clean the cages, restock the supplies, take the laundry and garbage out and replace the towels, mop the floor, scrub the tables, etc. But knowing that we're helping these guys have a chance at a good life makes all the difference in the world.
I love my job.
