After the birth of the kittens, the first eight weeks of their life is like fast forwarding a newborn baby to the terrible two’s/three’s of a toddler in a span of 2 short months – basically, the proverbial “calm before the storm.” Even if you have never had children, you probably know someone with children, or at the very least, I’m sure you can remember a time in your life when you have encountered either a newborn or a toddler in lets say, a setting like a grocery store, a movie, a restaurant, or a church. One minute they are precious little angels, cooing and smiling, the next they are a whirlwind of energy and emotion so heightened, that it is exhausting merely looking at them in passing.

The best way I can describe this to you, is to share a snippet from the book that features one of the “Weekly Update” emails I sent to family and friends. This one is from Week 5:

“Sigh… you know that time of relentless independence when a baby goes from infant to toddler… in less than a blink of a second, your priceless antique coffee table is written on with permanent marker, a brand new box of cereal has been spilled on the floor, and the front door is wide open, with your little one down the street drinking a soda at a complete stranger’s house… that is what “week 5” is like with kittens! Zoey and I have taken up chain smoking and joined the circus to calm our nerves!”

 As each week progressed, the kittens had new behavioral patterns and increased levels of energy, independence, and activity. Watching their eyes open for the first time at week two, standing on wobbly legs the next, becoming more adventurous, socializing and playing, learning to eat and use the litter box – every week would be more incredible than the next. What was so amazing as well, just like children, was how they would exhaust themselves to the point of complete saturation and fall asleep right in their tracks! You would see them running and playing full speed ahead, then a spilt second later, their little eyes would shut and they would be sound asleep only to start all over again ten minutes later, all refreshed and good to go!

As the weeks progressed, so did the responsibility for  Zoey and I. Zoey, in that when we would let them out of the confines of the closet they called home in our bedroom to explore, she was constantly on high alert trying to manage all four of them at once and was always wary of danger (the shower stall they would wander to, the hallway that was long and dark and filled with unknown monsters, and the too tall bed that they could fall off of) or predators (the other cats) and would be exhausted by the end of the day trying to keep all four of the kittens in check. Many a time, she would grab a too brave kitten by the scruff of its neck and bring it back to the safety of the closet, despite the protest of the little one and it was clearly a full time job for her managing her family.

For me, I would have more and more responsibility because I had to help in the areas where Zoey could not, especially when it came to weaning and litter. She certainly could not prepare the special meals they needed or change their special litter box, or clean up all the messy paw prints they left all over the floor after eating the special meals and using the special litter box. They also become much more vocal and demanding with each passing week and I had to constantly change their living arrangements to accommodate their growing needs. Waking up in the morning was an instant alarm to the kittens that it was time for the day to begin and they had no patience for the fact I needed to shower, get ready for work and have a cup of coffee. They wanted out of the closet to roam free and they wanted to eat – IMEADIATELY. But, despite how tired I was waiting on these little creatures and attending to their every whim and desire, when all was said and done, watching these kittens grow up was such a blessing and incredible experience and I loved every minute of it. Zoey did too, although after week 8, that’s a whole new story!

Hope you enjoy the photo album – I have tried to give you a brief idea, week by week, of how quickly they grew up so that you too, can share in this most extraordinary experience.  I still don’t know in the early weeks, who was who, but I am so thankful to have these pictures to look back on and I can’t help but smile every time I see their precious little faces, so full of life and joy!

[album: https://zeezoey.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/The Early Years – Birth thru 8 Weeks/]