As I rushed through the subway station to make my second transfer, eyes tried to peer into the shallow blue tub that I was carrying. Sometimes, a kid would glimpse what was under the blanket in the tub and exclaim, “Mommy, look! A little kitty!” Waiting on the platform, I’d smile at the admirers who’d approach the kitten with compliments. They didn’t notice how her eyes were wide and still, how she had soiled her blanket and was beginning to smell. We were on our way to the Animal Care and Control Center in Brooklyn about an hour away. I hoped nobody would try to touch her.