Kitty Breaks at Work

Yesterday I got an idea of why people spend so much time posting/watching cute puppy or kitty photos and videos.  One of our Vet Tech students brought an abandoned 4 week old kitty to school, and our registrar has adopted it.  She will be bringing it to work so that our staff vet can keep an eye on it and give it shots.

Throughout the day, I watched people come to the registrar's office to have some kitty time.  Most of them simply held the kitty.  Some of us played a bit.  I had forgotten how small mammals of most varieties can be amused by playing any type of peek-a-boo.  One of our registrar's pens has a floppy top, and each time I moved it, the cat pounced.

The cat didn't have boundless energy.  She spent a good part of the day sleeping in a box curled against a stuffed animal.

It was also fascinating to watch her navigate the world.  We have long windows beside our doors, and the kitty walked right into it.  Soon she will understand how glass works and won't make that mistake again.

I am guessing that these kitty breaks made us more productive.  It's much too easy to get lost in the weeds of spreadsheets and student records, while we try to figure out a way to make our ARC (registered average credit) higher.  But if we move away from the screen, pet the kitty, and talk to others who show up to visit the kitty, we might come up with a possibility.

At the very least, the kitty got us out of our seats to go see what the kitty was doing.

I always look back and say, "Why didn't I write a poem?  Why didn't I write the next chunk of the short story?  I could have sent my work out into the world.  I could have taken a different kind of break!"

Today, the kitten will be at home.  Today, during a break, I'll send out at least one poetry packet.