Pet Parent

As many of you know, I've recently become a pet parent; I adopted 2 (adorable) kittens in May. What some of you may not know is that I'm currently on my pediatrics rotation for medical school. The combination of having kitties and home and dealing with kiddos all day in the clinic or hospital has gotten me a little "peds crazy" (it's like an immersion program!). In other words, I find myself constantly comparing my kitties to human children.

Let's start with development. My first weeks of the pediatrics rotation were spent in a private clinic where I observed many Well Child Checks with many questions about development and milestones. At the time, my kittens were about 3 months old. In a 3 month-old child, we're not asking for a lot: socially, they may begin to develop a social smile or enjoy playing with other people and cry when playing stops; for language, they begin to babble or coo; for motor skills, they can raise their head and chest when lying on stomach.

When I first learned these milestones and then returned home to see my kittens racing around the house doing backflips I thought, are you kidding me?! My kittens dominate humans! You guys, my kittens are like hyperdeveloped!

Then, I looked online and it turns out that in "Cat Years" (if that even exists), a 3 month old cat is equal to a 4 year old kid. Developmentally, 4 year olds can do things like balance on one foot, catches a ball, and copies a cross. At 4 years of age, strangers should understand 100% of a child's speech. With this new information, I was crushed. My little babies are delayed! I mean, Lizzie doesn't even know how to meow yet - she really only makes a weird cooing sound (and she's now 4 months, which is like a 6 year old kid).

And then I remembered that I have cats. And not kids.


This isn't the only area of overlap. A couple of weeks ago, I had to take them in for their shots. Quick! What vaccinations do 3 month old kittens need? I (half) jokingly asked the nurse at the vet's office if I could get a yellow card to keep track of all their shots. She looked confused and then responded with "we'll send you a postcard."

I've also been concerned with Lizzie's growth; she's significantly smaller than her brother, Harry. Does anybody know of a good kitten growth chart? I really need to know if she's dropping curves. I mean, what if she has failure to thrive?! (I'm pretty sure she doesn't).

Okay, I obviously realize that there's a difference between cats and children. But I now more fully appreciate what parents are thinking or going through when they bring their child in for a Well Child Check or a Sick Visit or (heaven forbid) to the hospital. I understand the questions and concerns that they're feeling (or at least where those concerns are coming from).

I also understand that I'm officially a crazy cat lady.

Btw, I just googled "kitten growth chart" (which is a little embarrassing. Well, to be honest, this entire post is embarrassing) and found a website with milestones. According to that official source, which is "www.all-about-cute-kittens.com" (I'm not even kidding), by 12 weeks, neurological development reaches adult levels. If that's true, my cats might actually be delayed.