I was told to "put him down," but I refused.
Story • August 21, 2023
In August 2023, a five-month-old kitten rescued from the hills by the team at Zero Crisis began showing signs of inappetence, lethargy, and nausea.
“While taking care of him, we began to notice that he appeared to lack interest in eating and drinking. The other rescues we fostered were acting normal, playful, and curious. As his condition worsened a couple of days later, we first brought him to a local veterinary clinic, and the veterinarian there just drew some blood, took an X-Ray, and told us to come back next week,” says Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Wang.
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A later phone call from the clinic would suggest otherwise.
“We were driving home from Stanford, which is where I interned this past summer, and we got a phone call from the clinic. The veterinarians indicated that the kitten’s kidney levels were very high, that he was very weak, and they blatantly told us that he could die. They didn’t know what was going on either and suggested that we put him on a bland diet––chicken breast and rice. We did as the veterinarian recommended, but because he wasn’t voluntarily eating, we used a blender and made his food broth-like so we could feed him using syringes.”
“We kept him in a ventilated shower room so he could be well-rested. But after doing this for a week, we noticed that even though he was eating and urinating, he wasn’t emptying his bowels. Instead, he threw up green bile.”
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“At this point, we began suspecting that there could be something stuck in his GI tract, like––an obstruction. On August 12th, even though it hadn’t been a week since the veterinarian called us, we didn’t want to wait any longer, so we took him to an emergency veterinarian center to get him checked out again. And he did indeed have a gastrointestinal blockage. The veterinarian here told us he needed immediate surgery or he would die. We knew that surgery would cost a lot of money and that we would have to take some money out of pocket. And it was during this time that some people told us to put this kitten down because it was just one kitten. They told me it was in my best interest to not save this stray kitten because it would be too expensive and ridiculously impractical.”
But this advice was not to be taken.
“I agreed to the surgery.” Jennifer Wang, Founder and Chief Executive Director of Zero Crisis, decided to use her Stanford internship stipend to save this kitten.
“As a student, I considered my internship stipend to be worth a lot. From the perspective of a medical bill, however, it was only a fraction. But between the tangible monetary value of a stipend and saving a life, the life is worth more to me and my community at Zero Crisis. I would’ve never thought that I would use my stipend all within a couple of hours to save a life, but I am very glad that I did.”
And with her benevolence came the best news she had heard all week.
“I remember turning my back every other minute in the waiting room and finally seeing the vet bring the kitten out and take him to the recovery room. About ten minutes later, the vet assured us that the operation had been very successful and that he should be on his way to recovery.”
An emotional surprise would soon follow this uplifting news.
“The vet was done setting everything up and told us that we could go visit and say goodnight to him. I remember following the technician into the recovery room and when I called him, I saw him slowly crawl from the very back of the cage to greet me. His anesthesia was just wearing off and I knew he was feeling significant pain and discomfort following surgery, but he appeared to act as if he couldn’t wait to see me. The vet was there too, and she told me that the kitten wanted to thank me. How a kitten demonstrates their appreciation through their actions is more than what can be described by words.”
“Seeing him recover and act more playful again, I just have to say that miracles do happen. We’re taking it day-by-day, but he’s already appearing so much more vitalized and rejuvenated.”
"I would just like to give a big thank you to all the veterinarians for saving this kitten’s life. I love how this community already has so many heroes, and I aspire to expand this community and positively impact more lives. I did take part in saving a life, but I hope what I did encourages the greater community to pursue an unfaltering dedication to fight for survival, act with appreciation and kindness, never give up on the life of any living being, and for my team to always live up to our name, Zero Crisis."
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This kitten, named Sunflower, has been successfully adopted by a loving family of four in Pleasanton, California.
