tried to take my kitten to the grocery store, i accidentally lost it

r/

a few weeks ago, a mother cat brought her two kittens to our family home and left them in our backyard. the mom still checks in on them and watches over them, but we’ve started giving them soft foods and petting them, and planned on finding them homes once they were ok to stay without their mom.

today, i decided to walk to the supermarket, which is about 10 mins away from my house. when i was heading out, one of the kittens kept following me, so i decided to take it with me to the supermarket, and maybe someone there would want to adopt it. this is a very “town” supermarket, and they allow animals to come in, as long as they don’t touch anything.

when we arrived at the supermarket parking lot, the kitten got skittish because of all the cars and sounds, and accidentally jumped out of my arms. i tried going after it, but she was so scared and kept running. thankfully, no cars hit her, but she ran off and i couldn’t catch her.

i feel so bad bringing her with me, because even though she can already survive on her own, she wasn’t fully weaned from her mother, and i keep picturing the kitten all alone waiting for someone. i hope she’s alright, and maybe she finds someone to take her in, but i can’t help blaming myself because i know i could’ve just not taken her.

also, her mom and her brother must feel her absence so much, it makes me wanna cry thinking about it