In the kitchen, desperation reached a fever pitch. Fiona quickly sliced tender chunks of raw beef and offered them to the three kittens on the floor. For a fleeting second, the smallest one's nose twitched, but the energy to eat was gone. It was too tired to lift its head, its mouth hanging open as it labored for every breath. The meat sat untouched as the kittens lay like grey stones on the linoleum. Things looked dire; the transition from fierce hunter to frail, breaking pile of fur happened in minutes.