Riley

One day we noticed a kitten that seemed weak and tired.  It worried me a bit.  The next morning we found that kitten had passed away.  We imagine that it was the initial kitten that had been pushed aside on the day of birth.  In researching kittens a mother cat often will reject a kitten that it knows will not survive or a kitten that the mother knows she cannot care for if there are too many.  I believe that Mittens knew from the beginning that this kitten would not make it.  Our "saving" it helped it live for a couple weeks, but Mittens knew all along that it would not survive.  So of course this experience led to discussions of death and why and where and what.  We did not know whether it was a boy or a girl, so the kids named it Riley and we buried it by Bella, our dog.  Rest in peace, Riley.