Summer break is coming to an end, and school is on the horizon!

Our Founder and Executive Director is many things, but among the most important and cherished of those roles is being a mother and wife. With summer break coming to an end, it's the last chance for the family to enjoy some bonding time together while escaping from a brutal Texas summer before facing the equally brutal back-to-school season for the kiddos.

Here, we set the scene: PTO is approved, plans are made, bags are packed, and it’s almost time to head out the door for one week of fun (that’s hopefully not) in the sun. Except there’s one more box to check before peace of mind can be tucked away in the bag with the sunscreen.

~ A cat sitter ~

As a small organization with an even smaller foster network (you should totally send us an inquiry into how you can become a cat foster by the way, you know you want to), almost all of our current adoptable cats are being fostered by our Director, Shawna, and her family. In addition to this, she is a cat mom to some feline’s of her own who have been foster fails along the way.

So, all of that is to say, there are more than a few cats who can get into mischief while the residents of the house are away.

This, my friends, is where I enter stage left.

I was, to my utter delight and flattery, on the very short call back list for the role of cat sitter, and I have not been this excited to play a part since I starred in one of my middle school drama club’s end of year productions.

Hanging out with kitties for hours at a time that are beyond pleased a new human butler is on call to cater to their needs all day long? Being offered my own little slice of vacation as someone who works from home and needs time away from my monotonous day-to-day routine?

Oh yeah, I needed absolutely no convincing.

It was also very motivating to be able to get some rescue related work done while surrounded by the very cats that I’m working so hard for.

"I love cats because I enjoy [this] home; and little by little, they become its visible soul."

- Jean Cocteau

Kimchi and Annika, Photo by: Cori Kirby

Now, it is important to note that even though I have worked in cat rescue for just over three years now, and spent most of that time working in a sanctuary caring for up to 150 cats and kittens six days out of the week, I have never actually done any cat sitting before. At the end of the day the tasks are largely the same, and in this case it is actually a significantly lighter workload than I'm used to, but there's something about the domesticity of it that just makes it feel more.

I'm in their home as a guest, and they took great joy in teaching me the lay of the land from day one.

Gracie, Photo by: Cori Kirby

My lap had to be thoroughly inspected to make sure that it met the same standards as their usual perches. Moving was highly frowned upon, but thankfully I'm pretty persuasive and got away with it more than once.

(Don't tell them I told you that, they'll be upset if anyone hears that they're actually big softies to the newbies.)

Duncan, Photo by: Cori Kirby

Contrary to the general scrutiny I was under, though, I did not have eyes on me all day every day. Some were more diligent in collecting data for my pending performance review than others, but there were enough chirps, meows, and purrs handed out during the process that, dare I say it, I think I may have passed with flying colors.

I didn't even have to resort to bribery!

Alas, all good things must come to an end and the curtain was closed on my debut as Cori: Cat Sitter Extraordinaire. Between the cats and I, I really believe that our debut show of Adventures in Cat Sitting and the Two Kinds of Vacations deserves a standing ovation.

Can't wait to experience many more firsts with them!

If you have any ideas or suggestions for content that you would like to see, we are always happy to hear from you!  Just send us an email at [email protected].

We invite you to join our growing community of supporters. Visit the rest of our website, attend an event, or follow us on social media to stay updated on our latest rescues, upcoming events, and fun updates.

Thank you for being a part of our story. Let's create something beautiful together!

Share & follow

For any inquiries, please contact:

The Biscuits Cat Haven Team

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.biscuitscathaven.com

Facebook: @biscuitscathaven

Instagram: @biscuitscathaven

TikTok: @biscuits.cat.haven