Life lessons with cute kittens...

Our newest family member is called "Snuggles" she is a little kitten whose mother lived at my work place where one of my colleagues fed it but upon leaving last year for a new job, he wasn't able to take care of it and others stepped in and looked after it but over the holidays it gave birth and this is the gift that I promised my lil' one for her birthday and yesterday she received it for looking after.

I was brought up with cats and kittens and it was my job as a youngster to ensure that the cats were fed and I even remember counting up to 12 cats/kittens at one stage when I was young. Many families would often ask to take kittens to their families as companions and very good mouse catchers too.

Over the years we'd get gifts of dead mice, birds and others so we'd often buy little collars with bells to protect any birds. As I got older we also looked after dogs. Two of whom I'll never forget both turned 16 years old each before they died. "Sinbad", a german shepherd/Alsatian and "Beauty" our Samoyd like dog. Both were family members and we mourned when they died.

There are so many lessons learned for young ones once we bring pets into their lives, lessons like feeding, cleaning, toileting, responsibility, looking after, naming and caring for other lives apart from themselves.

It's fascinating again to see the joy that such creatures bring but also the sense of responsibility for our little ones when they realise that although kittens can be cute and bring about a sense of fun and initial excitement that there are many things that also need to be done to ensure that they are cared for responsibly and that's another lesson that we can pass on to our children in living beyond themselves...