Seventh Life: Siri with Mirinda.

When we first reported on Siri the cat it was a bittersweet tale of a cat succumbing to cancer as she finally got a good home. But thanks to the love of Mirinda de Jonge, her foster parent, Siri now has a new lease on life.

Until recently it appeared as if all the odds were stacked against Siri, the 10-year-old cat. After a lifetime of neglect Siri had finally arrived in a home full of love, but she had cancer of the nose and the prognosis was dismal.

On 22 March we wrote about her. And then other animals in dire straits came to our attention and we forgot about her. In the meantime Mirinda did not give up on the cat that had touched her heart so much. She started reading up on cancer of the nose and nose amputation. She lay on the bed with Siri every night and prayed for her. When she went to Dr Gary Bogner at Sunset Beach Veterinary Clinic recently she took a close up photo of Siri’s nose with her.

There was more bad news
“He took one look and said that he performs the operation and has amputated the nose of a 13-year-old cat that was in a much worse state than Siri.” Mirinda took Siri in the next day, but there was more bad news. The operation could not be performed as Siri had stage 3 kidney failure. There was only one solution; Siri’s kidneys had to be flushed over a period of three days. It was another hard decision because Mirinda does not believe in letting an animal suffer. Should she go ahead? Or not?

A big scab where her nose was
Flushing Siri’s kidneys proved so successful that her count came down from 4.12 to 1.43. A day later Siri’s nose was amputated. Three days later Siri was allowed to come back to her for ever home in Melkbosstrand. Mirinda calls her ‘Siriki,’ a loving diminutive form of her name. “Siriki is at home now. She has a big scab where her nose was. The prognosis is very, very good,” Mirinda says. The cat was on pain pills for the first five days after the op. As for the rest, she has to drink lots of water and is given half a Forticor every day with a pill popper.

“I can’t emphasise enough the difference between how she is now and how she was. She plays musical chairs and disappears into the garden. This is the gift of life.” The emotion colours Mirinda’s voice. “She had a difficult life but now she has the chance of a good life. I want to let people know there is hope.”