Working with Cats

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Witnessing the birth of kittens!
By Kat Anderton

I had the amazing experience during a pet job of seeing the birth of kittens! I was in Australia getting free accommodation and food for my job, and I had seemingly lucked out! Within 2 nights of my arrival the cat went into labour and I was woken up at around 4am to see it. She had found a nice little spot in the laundry, right near where the owners had originally planned for her to have them.

There were plenty of towels on hand which we set up around her and he had to quickly sterilise some scissors to help cut the cords of the kittens when they were born. The births seemed to happen quite quickly too, as one after another kitten came into the world. I would have to grab each kitten and listen for a heartbeat and lung movement as well as clearing their airwaves to know they were ok. She had 5 of the cutest kittens you had ever seen and she handled the birth so well!

As this happened right at the start of my stay I enjoyed watching each of the kittens grow up! It was pretty amazing actually to be able to help raise the kittens as I had never really experienced too much in the way of cats before I had done this job! After my stay I was offered a kitten but I obviously couldn't take it back on the plane! It was a great time and one I will remember forever!