Meet the Newest Members of the Duggar Household: Kittens!

In June my family was working on a building doing some construction and cleanup when the kids discovered kittens trapped under insulation in a wall. (We think that they must have crawled in through a hole in the wall.) So some of our boys made a hole in the wall and carefully got them out.

Read More: Why Michelle Duggar Has a 4 a.m. Open Door Policy

The building was going to be secured before we left so we knew that the mother cat wouldn't be able to get back in, and we didn't want to leave the kittens out in the open because there are wild animals near the woods that might've eaten them. And even if they did survive, we were pretty sure that they would become feral. So we decided to bring them home where we have two older kittens.

Read More: Michelle Duggar on How She Embarrasses Her Teens

The kittens were just a week old, so at first I stayed up through the night feeding them. At that point they were so small that we had to keep the youngest kids away. Jeremiah, Jedidiah, Justin, Joy-Anna, James, and Jason all researched what the kittens needed -- like how much stimulation to give them and how often they needed to be fed. Finally after sleep deprivation started to set in after all the night-time feedings I told the kids I needed them to help with the day feedings.

Read More: Why the Duggars Are Embracing Raw Food

Jessa, the kids' older sister said, "I remember doing that when I was younger. Everyone needs to do this once in their life." She was passing the torch to the younger kids. And I watched as she supervised them and made sure that the kittens weren't getting any milk up their noses while they were being fed. It was sweet to witness.

She was stepping back at times, not taking complete authority of the situation, but letting them learn. It's just really great when you see your older children encouraging their brothers and sisters in life, helping them to understand what it is to be responsible and caring.

Top Stories on Duggar Family Dynamics
Why Michelle Duggar Has a 4 a.m. Open Door Policy
Michelle Duggar on How She Embarrasses Her Teens
Why the Duggars Are Embracing Raw Food

Want More of the Duggars?
Visit the 19 Kids and Counting homepage
Watch video of the Duggar family on TLC.com