This thread makes me unspeakably sad...
For the couple of people that seem a little thick...
When a living creature is starved there are many things that happen to the body and can have lasting effects. It is not just the loss of mass, but also a wasting of muscle as the body begins to cannibalize itself. A side effect is dehydration which can cause damage and eventually failure of the kidneys.
The body becomes desperate to feed and run the essential systems so it takes away from less necessary functions.
Multi-organ failure and death are the end result. It is slow, sad, and painful. One can not miss the obvious signs and symptoms unless one is blind or too callous to care.
And it isn't just that... to deprive a living, breathing creature of closeness, affection, and a feeling of being safe is a whole other crime altogether.
It makes my heart hurt...