Saki

Lee's sister is in vet school at Washington State, but is working at a local vet clinic for the summer. A lady brought in Saki, a four-year-old female cat, and said she had not been eating for almost four weeks. When a cat stops eating, their liver begins to metabolize their body fat, which can cause severe liver damage. Saki was prescribed a liver medication, as well as an appetite stimulant, but her owner didn't want to bother with the trouble of administering two medications every day, as well as possibly syringe-feeding her, so she asked to have Saki put to sleep. The doctor told the owner that he wouldn't put Saki to sleep, as she is an otherwise healthy cat. Lee's sister called us and asked if we'd like to help. We agreed, so Saki came to live with us.

As much as I resent the former owner's decision to give up her cat, this rehabilitation has been extremely difficult and heartbreaking. We give Saki her liver medication every morning, using a syringe. We had been giving her the appetite stimulant, but it causes her to vomit, so we stopped. She refuses to eat anything, even when she was keeping her appetite stimulant down, so I have had to start syringe-feeding her every morning and evening. This entails mixing kitten food with cat milk, stuffing it into a syringe, pinning her to the ground and forcing it onto her tongue so that she has no other choice but to swallow it. The walls and floors of our guest bathroom (where she has been staying) are covered with this smelly mixture. During the day she sits motionless, sometimes drooling. You can feel every bone in her body. I am so, so sad, and want nothing more than to help her, but don't know if there is much more that I can do.