I Was Told My Kitten Had Days To Live. An Underground Facebook Group Helped Me Save Her Life.

I am a cat person who is allergic to cats. But that hasn’t stopped me and my equally allergic family from owning many felines over the years. In early 2021, before the COVID vaccine became widely available, I was feeling lonely in my New York apartment, away from my family and our two cats: Fleur, a shy tortoiseshell, and Pom, a feisty Bengal.

I decided it was time to adopt a pet of my own. I knew truly hypoallergenic cats were a myth, but I figured that looking into breeds that were said to produce less dander ― which is what causes allergies ― would be better. That’s how I discovered Balinese cats, a longhaired breed known for their striking blue eyes and siamese-like coloring.

After some research, I found a breeder in my area and got on a waitlist. I waited for almost two years. By the time I got the email that a kitten was ready for me, I was renting a cramped apartment in Nolita with minimal natural light and air circulation. I thought it better to wait until my living situation was more accommodating for a cat.

The next time I was contacted, my long-distance relationship had ended the week prior, and I’d just moved into a bright studio in Greenpoint. I was also a month into a new magazine job, which was the kind of career step I’d been searching for. I welcomed this new animal amid all the upheaval because I thought it was fate: I would have a companion to help me through this time of heartbreak and change.

I was wrong. Silver, as I came to name the tiny 4-month-old kitten I picked up from a New Jersey suburb, was anything but calming. She was loving and affectionate, of course, but she was also always sick.

When we first arrived home, I noticed she had a persistent sneeze. Incidentally, I did too: I was