(Tagging NSFW just because there are a few details for anyone squeamish)

So a couple of weeks ago my sister got a kitten. it was her first pet and they bought it from a breeder (which i didn’t agree with at first). She was so small for a supposed 7 week old kitten, which technically you’re not supposed to take away until later which was the first red flag I guess. My sister and her boyfriend were struggling to look after her at first due to working hours, so whilst they were sorting things out both me and my parents looked after the kitten for a day here. She was so funny; meowing, playing, cuddling up in your shoulder. She’d use her claws to climb all the way up from my feet into my hoodie to get snuggled in.

As the weeks went by we noticed that she wasn’t really eating as much, and was quite lethargic. So after a trip to the vet we found out that she was underweight, and was basically only weighing around the same as a 4 week old kitten. Another red flag. After changing food around and being a bit fed more often she seemed more excitable again. She was back to playing and zipping back and forth trying to capture the red laser.

Yesterday night I got a call from my sister, saying she’d woken up to find the kitten flopped over in the living room and not breathing right. After a long and heartbreaking trip to the vets, they tried to put her on a drip but unfortunately because she was so skinny they couldn’t put the IV in. The only option was to was to drill into the bone, without any pain relief. And even then it wasn’t guaranteed to save her. My sister didn’t want the poor thing to suffer any longer. It was a very somber ride back.

3 weeks they had her, but a piece is now missing from all of us.

I feel guilty for not doing more to help.