I love these kittens and the love and healing their being in my life provides. This is the last part of my story of the Three Little Kittens. I had wanted to write about the lessons I am learning from and through these sweet little critters. It feel appropriate to use this last episode to recap the many lessons I have learned so far, and because this year is all about the 3’s, and 13’s I found 13 lessons to sum up the “Three Little Kittens”.

1. Joy and happiness vs loneliness. I think it is safe to say most people have pets because they help eliminate that lonely part of life. Some people have pets just because they love, cats, dogs, birds… whatever the pet may be. I love cats and had no idea of the lessons that getting pets would bring up for me. I’ve had pets before, but these girls have been different. They bring me so much joy and happiness. I have three little beings waiting for me whenever I come home and they are always glad to see me. They are so cute and so sweet that they just make my heart melt.
2. Compassion. I have learned so much compassion and empathy for my mother and what she must have gone through as a single mother. As I healed my childhood trauma by being a good parent to these kitties, it has helped me understand some of what my mother may have experienced.
3. Favorites. I never understood how my Mom could have a favorite child. Of course, not being the chosen one, I always felt jilted. I was determined I wasn’t going to have a favorite with these kittens. Guess what, I’m human just like my momma and I have a favorite. I now understand how one can strike a heart cord differently than the others. I try to make sure I give the other kittens adequate attention, something I never felt from my mother. My little brother could do no wrong, the three girls were all problems for her, probably because of the reflection. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so I can imagine in retrospect that at times it was very difficult for her.
4. Loving Patience. In my early adulthood, the poem Children Live What They Learn came my way. I have a feeling my Mom didn’t know how to raise children with patience and love as her own childhood had been difficult. I didn’t experience parenting using those tools until I lived with my aunt and uncle my last two years of high school. Training these little kittens, I knew patience and love was the way to be successful with them.
5. Responsibility. Taking on three little kittens was a big responsibility. I had wanted two because I thought it would be easier than one, they would keep each other company. Then three came my way. Because of the responsibility of these sweet baby kitties, I haven’t gone camping since last year. If at some point in the future, I want to overnight somewhere or go camping I’ll have to arrange for a pet sitter. I tuck them in before dark, closing their cat door to keep them in and safe. So that limits my activities at times. The financial expense of three kittens is another responsibility; cat litter, food, flea medication, collars, and who knows what else may come up. I had been footloose and fancy-free for quite a few years, so the responsibility to three little babies has been an adjustment.
6. Facing Fears. There have been several times I have had to face my fears with these kittens. The biggest time has been when they were getting fixed. It put quite a bit of fear into me as I didn’t know how I would do caring for three, yes three, baby kittens just out of surgery. They got fixed at 3 months old, I had had them for about 5 weeks when we did this. I was a nervous nellie, wondering how I would manage it. It all worked out fine, a couple little hick-up. One kitten was slow waking up from the anesthesia. The hissy fit was a little stressful too, as I had never seen the girls act that way to each other. I no longer have the fear of if I will be able to handle whatever comes up with them. Like human families, we just will do whatever is needed.
7. Following intuition. Bringing these three kittens home was following my intuition. When I first saw the picture of them, I knew they were the kittens for me. The way it worked out, bringing them home on my Mom’s birthday and starting this journey, I had no idea it would turn into a healing journey, healing my mother wounds. I intuitively have stepped into the role of their human Mom and through that, so much healing has happened. My intuition led me to what my spirit needed, healing and love.
8. Community. These kittens have shown me how important community is. Aunt and Uncle have been so important to the happy healthy raising of these little ones. We humans have become closer friends as we watch and play with these little ones. They love the kittens and tend to worry about them as I do. We are a community and I am so blessed.
9. Challenge of keeping the family together. Mom didn’t keep her kids together as a family. My older sister and I were separated early, not sure if I was two or three. Then on Mom’s third marriage, I felt like the oddball. Being 8 years older than my little brother, I was tasked with babysitting right off the bat. I ran away when I had a run-in with Mom over my little brother. I never had the security of having a close family. So when I got these kittens, it has been very important to try and keep it together so I can keep them together.
10. Abandonment Issues. In my immaturity, I fell into the victim role because my mother and biological father abandoned me. My bio father never wanted me, Mom didn’t have what it took to keep her children with her as she ran from one bad situation into another. Love is the answer to so many things. The love of these little kittens has helped me see that sometimes things just happen. I want to keep the girls together for all their lives. Will I be able to? I certainly have more empathy for my mother and the things she must have gone through. One of the things that I had learned previously about abandonment, everyone does the best they can.
11. Consistency. As with raising any being; cat, dog, or human, consistency is a must. Consistent discipline is a must. Things flow much better when I am on a schedule and feed them at pretty much the same time every day. Consistency probably was not a strong suit of mine, but I am practicing.
12. Discipline. Something I have lacked, being a free spirit, is discipline. I have had to discipline myself into getting and maintaining a schedule. I need to discipline them less and less all the time. Like human counterparts, they had to test their limits to see what they can get away with. It now feels like most of their testing is done. Consistent discipline has helped with that.
13. Priorities These kittens have and will continue to illuminate what my priorities are in life. They are now mature enough that I can slide myself into the “first priority” position. Self-care is important to be happy and healthy in our relationships. They are my top priorities after myself. Love is right up there on the priority list. Love for myself, the kittens, the community that we are blessed with. Staying on track with my budget and income opportunities will enable me to provide for my sweet priorities.
    
    I hope you have enjoyed this blog series. The lessons for me have been so rich. They have also been fun, full of laughter and sweetness. Who doesn’t need that in their lives? I am blessed by my Three Little Kittens.