Alexa Rhiannon

Two weeks ago, I took in two orphaned kittens abandoned in a bag in AC as a foster for Jane’s Animal Network. A boy and a girl, no more than six weeks old. The boy was smaller, just over a pound, with the fuzziest face, big expressive eyes, and what I can only describe as puppet lips, haha. He was the cutest thing in the quirkiest way, which is exactly why his name came to me so quickly. Muppet. 💚

Muppet was under the weather, but the rescue had already started treatment, and he seemed to be improving. His sister, Miso, was bigger and more developmentally on track, but I truly thought Muppet was catching up. I imagined them being adopted together, like the two siblings I sent off to their perfect family earlier this month.

Late last Sunday, though, Muppet crashed. Instead of finding him curled up like always, I found his tiny body hunched over, struggling to breathe and letting out faint cries. It was 2 AM, and with no local emergency vets open, he somehow hung on through the hour-long drive to Mt. Laurel.

When we got there, the team took him straight back to stabilize and make him comfortable. I hoped that, by some miracle, he’d pull through. But the next morning, I got the news I dreaded most. Muppet had internal deformities and had aspirated. There was nothing more they could do.

In fostering, I tend to repeat @kittenxlady’s mantra that “goodbye is the goal.” This is never the goodbye we want. Muppet had so much love to give.

One thing that made me smile the day he passed: someone walked toward me twice wearing a Kermit the Frog shirt. Muppet, I hope that was you saying hi. I hope you’re ok, wherever you are. 💚

Thank you to my friend DJ for recommending Mt. Laurel and answering a late-night text, and to Jane for letting me love Muppet in what turned out to be his final days. Jane covered the costs of his emergency care and cremation, and even rescued another orphaned kitten to pair with Miso. We’re working on making them besties so neither is lonely.

If you’d like to do something in Muppet’s memory, @janesanimalnetwork is always accepting donations. Monetary contributions and/or litter donations truly make a difference. 💚