One night, on the way home from work, I heard a loud, high mewing. My coworker and I stopped so I could investigate. My petstore downtown always gives me complementary single-serve bags of cheap catfood, so I always have some in my purse to feed strays I find. I couldn’t locate the source of the cries until I looked under the lone car parked along the street. A very tiny paw, toes splayed, hung from the undercarriage for a second before disappearing. With my coworker keeping watch, I climbed under the car and tried to pull the kitten out, to no avail. After about half an hour, the car’s owner arrived. He didn’t seem to understand that I wanted him to pop the hood, and wanted to just drive off, hoping that the kitten would fall out. I stood infront of the car and let him go about 3 feet before getting nervous and stopping him. Finally he released the latch and there was the kitten, sooty and shaking and small enough to fit into the palm of one hand.

Full of adrenaline, I picked her up and held her at arm’s length and bolted the rest of the way home. With some milk and wet food, a towel and makeshift litter box, I headed over and called the number I found online for the Korean Animal Protection Society, or KAPS. They said they’d have someone come over in the morning. I bathed the kitten, fed her, and had her sit under a blanket on my chest until morning, as she cried herself to sleep, calling out for her mother, I guess, wherever she was.

The next day, the people at KAPS asked if I could continue to watch her and possibly foster her. I said that I already had a cat and wasn’t sure that they would get along. They seemed desperate; I had one cat already so must be good with animals, and they, as many shelters are, were overcrowded and understaffed. I agreed and took her to the vet. With a good bill of health other than being underweight, I took her home and tried to consolidate her existence with Barry’s. At first, Barry hissed at spat at her, almost as if in fear. This is normal and with so many cats at home, I knew that she would get over this if they were treated equally. I kept them apart; thankfully I have a spare room I could keep her in. She became accustomed to me and eventually I could call her out of her hiding places in the shelves or under furniture. She was really cuddly and very fearful of everything. Fostering became permanent and soon Barry saw her as a potential friend to play with.

Despite a little roughness, they started to enjoy each other’s company, chasing each other around the house in turns and wreaking havoc as Barry taught her all of the mischievous things she knew. As she grew, the kitten retained a spiky scruff on her neck, which along with her coloring reminded me of a hyena. And with her markedly lower intelligence compared to Barry, I decided to name her “Ed,” after the hyena from The Lion King. Ed, as we call him, is now half-grown and cuddles with myself and Barry alike. Barry isn’t too jealous; we play with her constantly and try to keep the two of them busy. They have oddly enough left my plants alone (except for the occasional tip off the ledge) but I am two hamsters down. (Ed has proven a deadly hunter by trade and I still have two hamster cages to give away.) My little killers are loving and fun pets and if you have the time and commitment, saving a cat as a life-long friend is something that you will never regret. For more information on adoption, fostering, donating or volunteering: <a href=”http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2255″>Animal Rescue Korea (ARK)</a> <a href=”http://www.koreananimals.or.kr/english/”>Korean Animal Protection Society</a> (KAPS): The Daegu Animal Shelter is located off of the Red Line, at the Damyoung Station, Exit 4.

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