Some are simply too pure for this world...

Last Sunday night, I heard a strange sound outside my apartment window.

I went outside to investigate, and found three Korean men in a driveway- one, holding a box. I wasn't sure where the sound was coming from as it seemed all around me. It was very loud.

"고 양 이? (Cat?)" I asked one of the men. He nodded and pointed to the box in the hands of his friend.

I peeked inside and saw the two smallest kittens I had ever seen. They were crying for their dead Mommy. I threw aside reason and took the box from the grateful men, who explained that nobody would care for them in their apartment building. I knew I couldn't take them to my apartment- my two, fully grown, very jealous cats were having a hard time adjusting to a new addition already (I am caring for a friend's cat while she is in America). They don't like new additions. They would probably kill the kittens if they had a chance.

As I was walking towards a friend's house, I ran into four of my girl friends. I showed them the precious little things and we all ooohed and ahhed for awhile. I explained my situation to them and my friend Sophie agreed to care for them for a few days, while I raced around to find someone more permanent.

Orphaned kittens, espcially brand new orphaned kittens, need very specific things when they are that young. They need specific replacement cat's milk, they need to be fed every two hours, they need to be weighed every day, they need to be kept warm... and the list goes on. Between the two of us, Sophie and I began nursing and nurturing the two little guys.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. I had taken them to the vet previously to find out their age and sex (boys, and 7-10 days old). I found a nice guy to take the kittens and keep them at a vet until they were strong enough to be adopted. The vet said they looked ok and to keep feeding them every two hours, letting them eat as much as they could. We dubbed them Oliver Twist and Harry Potter- our favourite male literary orphans.

Oliver loved feeding. He was an expert. Harry was not. When I found them, Harry was the stronger of the two. After a few days, we noticed he was very quiet. A little strange, since he could meow at the top of his lungs, and did it regularly. We thought it odd, but couldn't make sense of it. The next day, he passed away. We were so sad. Oliver was stressed out.

The next day with absolutely no warning sign, Oliver died, too. It was after he passed away that we found out about Fading Kitten Syndrome. If a kitten is lacking something (either from being orphaned or having a different blood type from his/her mother) they simply pass away. So sad.

RIP Harry and Ollie. We were getting so attached to you! You will enjoy cat heaven with your mom.








Oliver Twist June 30 (?)- July 8



Harry Potter June 30 (?)- July 8