Tube-Feeding a Sick Cat
I visit a wonderful veterinary clinic, the Sacramento Veterinary Hospital, which has three skilled and creative veterinarians, and a helpful and compassionate staff. They’re all lovely people, but I’ve had to spend way too much time with them during the past three weeks.
In a nutshell, both of my cats, Eddie and Priscilla, had loose stools for a couple of days. Priss recovered, but Eddie ended up with stools of just blood and mucous, so I took him to the clinic. Eddie is also diabetic, which means his health is somewhat fragile to begin with. And, to make a very long story short, a few days after I first took him in, I dropped him off first thing in the morning so he could go on an IV. I expected to be called to return so that he could have that last injection we never want to give our pets.
Instead, our veterinarian, Dr. Carter, called later than planned to tell me she’d stabilized him and to ask what I wanted to do. The thought was that if she and the other vets and staff could get him through the next several days, they could send him home with some chance of a full recovery. But I would have to tube-feed him for at least a couple of weeks. She asked if I would be willing to do this. I said yes. She asked how I would feel if, after tube-feeding him, he died anyway. I said I’d feel terrible, but I’d at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I’d fought for him.
Since then, I’ve learned that people are often reluctant to tube-feed their pets in a medical crisis. So I feel like I have to take a stand. As Dr. Pierson says on her page discussing tube-feeding, this is a very valuable method of getting a cat through a temporary medical crisis. Just as you can’t leave a pet in the veterinary ICU forever, you can’t tube-feed long-term. If your cat has incurable cancer, for example, that’s not likely to be a situation appropriate for tube-feeding. But if your cat is likely to recover, then why not do it?
So I’m going to detail my experience of tube-feeding Eddie, complete with pictures. Tube-feeding is not for wimps, but it’s not hard, either. I am easily frustrated, so if I can do it, most people can do it as well. After you give a couple of tube-feedings, you start to figure out what works and what doesn’t. It is somewhat time-consuming, and it will dictate your schedule for 2 to 3 weeks. But if you have some flexibility, it’s worth it.
The first couple of times I did it this time, I was very frustrated. Tube-feeding has potential to be messy, and I got food and water all over the place. I also had trouble getting food into the syringe without a lot of air. But I quickly got past those issues, and now it’s just routine.
Here is a picture of Eddie sleeping in the bay window, which is about 3 feet from the floor, and which he jumped onto himself. Notice that you can’t see his feeding tube, which goes into his esophagus through his neck. He’s sleeping on the tube, in fact, which is one of many indications that it doesn’t really bother him. 
In this picture, there’s the basic “stuff” that I need for the tube-feeding. On the left is a red t-shirt, machine washable and baggy enough to throw over whatever I’m already wearing. The potential for mess is always there, and instead of changing clothes, it’s easier to keep using the same large shirt as a sort of smock. There are also syringes, one for food and one for water, plus a mortar and pestle for grinding up pills that go into Eddie’s food. This time the food is already liquified, but you may end up having to use a blender. 
Dave took a few pictures of me tube-feeding Eddie. It has to go slowly, because you can’t dump a lot of food into a cat’s stomach all at once. I’m giving him about five 25-30 cc feedings a day, since the usable food from his can comes to about 140-155 cc’s of high-calorie, high-quality, prescription cat food. A 25-30 cc feeding takes me about 12-15 minutes, plus 3-5 minutes of preparation time. So we’re talking about just over an hour and a half a day. Eddie is worth it.
I am looking forward to Eddie’s full recovery. He’s begun licking but not eating the regular cat food, which is Wellness canned food. He’s behaving normally and seems to be regaining his energy, although his weight is still down from the trauma of his medical ordeal. The veterinarians are optimistic, so I’m optimistic, though it will be a huge relief to have him eating on his own again. And if for some reason that doesn’t happen and I lose him, at least I will have made the effort.
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This is a picture of Priscilla, who lived to be an old lady cat of 19 1/2 and passed away on July 21, 2008. As Dave put it the next day, she was a great cat. I was privileged to adopt her in 1994, when her first family moved overseas and decided they couldn’t take her along. I don’t know if there’s an afterlife or a real “Rainbow Bridge” or any of that. But love lives on, and so I would like to dedicate this site to Priscilla and my first two cats, Hillary and Rabbit.
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Thanks so much Elizabeth for sharing your experience! You are doing such a great job and although Eddie can’t tell you, that picture of him in the window says it all!
Eliz, I’m blown away. Seeing the pictures really puts into reality what you and are going through. You both are so brave. We’re keeping our paws crossed for his speedy recovery. And thanks so much for posting this information.
Jamie
You are a wonderful mom!
Good for you Elizabeth! You are a great cat mom. You know you’re doing everything you can for your baby. I hope Eddie makes a full and speedy recovery.
Wonderful! Eddie is lucky to have you for his mom!
HI
I am currently feeding my cat via a feeding tube. Things are going well but I’m curious: In your pics above, it looks like you are putting the food from the syringe directly into the tube. my set us has actually two additional pieces that go into the tube. the first is a funnel shaped piece that you twist into the tube. then into that goes a top with 3 different entry points and a toggle you turn to open the unit up and/or close. both this piece and the funnel shaped piece come to a pointy tip and the hole is very small. as a result, food clogs up quite often. so, my question is: i put my food into a blender then thru a sieve so it’s a good slurry. if you are putting yours directly into the tube and not thru all these extra pieces, it must be so much easier! faster, more food gets thru, less plugging hassels. what info can you share in regards to this?
BJ, you’re right, I’m putting Eddie’s food directly into the tube using the syringe. There is a cap on the tube, and that’s it. All I have to do is remove the cap, put the syringe up to the tube, and start the feeding. There is the possibility of air bubbles getting in through this system, which your system seems to prevent, and air bubbles can cause vomiting. But in 3 weeks of doing this, Eddie has only vomited once right after a feeding, and I think that’s because I didn’t clear the syringe of air. It definitely does sound like your system is more complicated.
As for food, I know some special diets are more solid and require that they go through the blender, but our vet has us using Eukanuba Maximum Calorie food — both a dog and cat food — which is made specifically for tube feeding and weight gain. I’d compare the consistency to that of a thick body lotion, except it’s grainier.
Here’s the trick I was given in case Eddie’s tube clogged up: after a feeding, squirt a few cc’s of cola into the feeding tube. Cola is very acidic and will eat through all sorts of gummy substances. My dad ran a weekly newspaper for many years, and he would use a rag soaked in Coke to clean the fluorescent lights over his printing presses. I’ve given Eddie a couple of Coke shots, and they’ve cleared his feeding tube in time for the next round.
Good luck with your cat. How much longer do you have to go? We’re down to 2 or 3 feedings a day now, and Eddie is eating his regular cat food for most of his nutrition. We might get the tube out tomorrow, although I suspect we won’t and will continue the twice-daily feedings through the end of the month.
Hi! Thanks for posting your blog. It’s SO nice to see someone else going through the same thing and the same learning experiences.
My cat, Meagan, has just had a tube inserted because she stopped eating. I’m waiting on the results of her biopsy, and I’m struggling with the feedings. She threw up tonight after I fed her (this was my fourth feeding with her but her sixth) with the tube, but she’s still interested in her treats even though she just slobbers on them. You have the exact system I do, and there weren’t any bubbles this time (finally), but she threw up right after the feeding anyway. I’m feeding her 35 ml of food in three feedings.
Perhaps I fed her too fast? I will try to go slower. She got a bit impatient with me, so I went faster.
Hi, Sandy–
I sent you an e-mail with this comment included, but I wanted to get this here for the record. I’m sorry you’re going through this with Meagan. We just got Eddie’s tube out yesterday, a week earlier than expected, but that was after 3 weeks of tube-feeding.
My instructions were to go slow and get the air bubbles out of the syringe first. It took several days to get my system working, and it sounds like you’re at the very beginning.
Anyway, I was told to give Eddie no more than 3 cc’s per minute, and in the middle to give him an extra minute. That’s one of the reasons it took so long, because 35 cc’s would take 13 minutes, and I was giving him 160 ml each day. We were trying to get his weight up. He’d lost 2 pounds, and in the 1 week in the vet ICU and 3 weeks of the tube feedings, he gained 1 1/2 pounds back again. A full 1 pound was in the last 2 weeks of tube feedings.
So I would say slow it down, and make sure you don’t have any air bubbles in the syringe, which is pretty easy if you hold the syringe up for a minute and let them float to the top, then squeeze the syringe again. Dr. Carter gave me two kinds of stomach medicine for Eddie, and that might be something to ask about, too.
Good luck with your situation — it’s not easy, and it’s time-consuming, but in the end it’s worth it because you’ve got a healthy cat again. Let me know how it goes, okay?
hi sandy,
it really is great to hear all this, and find others going through this. i brought max home 3 days ago with the feeding tube. for me the process is taking over an hour. i am required to feed him 50mls every 4 hours up to 300mls a day. it is taking alot out of me. but it seems to be getting easier as i start to feel more comfortable. i will try the coca cola trick!
thanks again
claudine
My cat Maxwell is currently being tube fed. He got very sick last week and we thought we were going to loose him. He was vomiting profusely and very dehydrated. It hit him really quickly. He was a bit over weight before he got sick which caused some complications when the virus was finally kicked. Maxwell hadn’t eaten anything for 2 1/2 days. He began to develop “fatty liver syndrome”. The vets tried syringe feeding him but it was too stressful for him. I was told that I would have to place a feeding tube in Maxwell if he was going to have a chance. I really struggled with this idea. I didn’t know what to expect and it sounded like it would be too hard for Maxwell. After researching on the internet, and reading this blog, I made the decision to have the tube placed. He was able to come home the next day. It has been only 3 days that he’s been home and he is already nibbling on a few pieces of food. He visited his cat bowl at least 3 times today and he ate about 3 or 4 pieces of food each time. He still isn’t taking interest in drinking water but things are looking good. We are feeding him 35-40 cc of a/d mixed with water and clini care every 4 hours. He goes to the vet tomorrow for a check up.
I hope things are working out with Maxwell’s tube feeding, and I’m glad this blog helped influence your decision to try it. Hw sounds like he’s doing great! I don’t know if you saw the updates on Eddie, but he’s made a full recovery. Today I’m adding a couple of pictures of where the tube went into his neck. There isn’t even a scar, just discolored fur.
Best of luck to you!
Glad things are working for everyone here. Our cat may have fatty liver syndrome or may not be breaking down proteins properly. For these reasons, we had a feeding tube placed in Friday. Since Saturday at 5PM when we picked him up wew have given him 10 feedings between 20-25ml of ZD food mixed to a slurry with water.
After the slurry, we always run 10ml of water through the tube as well to keep it cleared out. He has started eating a bit of the slurry off a plate which keeps him in place and seems to feel more natural to him as he is swallowing a bit while the tube is also dropping the slurry into his stomache.
I have also found he really likes me to cup my hand around his shoulder blades and run it down his back for a couple minutes after a feeding and it seems to help him digest a bit.
The vet told us we need to make sure he gets 225ml of water each day and we will build up to a can and a half of food per day (approximately 210ml) for a total of 435ml per day. This is why we are having to feed him so many times. The vet said to increase the ml by 5ml every 2 days for now, so eventually we will be able to drop down to just 5 feedings or so…I’m really looking forward to that point, but I’ll do whatever I need to to give him a chance.
Thanks for detailing your experience.
We took Mawell to the vet yesterday. Everything is almost back to normal. We were instructed to leave the tube in for at least one more week to make sure he is getting his daily caloric intake. He has gained 1 pound since he got sick! We were so happy. He is beginning to play and stay awake more. It makes it a little more difficult to feed him but we are just happy that he is gaining more energy. He is almost back to his old self.
Thanks again to everyone who shared their story!
One question for everyone else. Does your cat wheez a little bit when breating at times with the tube in place? My cat does. He also seems to snore pretty much all night now, when he used to snore about 1/4 the time.
My wife thinks the wrap is too tight, but I am thinking it is just the tube produceing the wheezing/snoring. He also gets hickups (I guess as this is the closest sound to describe it) usually just one at a time and he’ll do this 4 or 6 or 7 times a day. Anyone elses cat do this?
My cat also loves me to run my finger around the edges of the bandage around his neck. He starts purring instantly. I’m sure its go to be really itchy and he can’t get under it too much himself…which is of course a good thing.
DB, the wheezing might be something to bring up with the vet, just to be sure. When Eddie had his tube in, I was calling or e-mailing our vet about every other day with progress reports and questions, and she gave me the impression that they expect a lot of contact from tube-feeders. In a way, this is an extension of their hospital care.
When his tube was in place, Eddie didn’t wheeze, but he smacked his lips a lot and snored more than usual. Our vet thought it was related to the tube being in his throat, but she wasn’t alarmed by it. Still, you might want to ask just to make sure. We had the wrapping replaced a couple of times because Eddie scratched at it, usually on the opposite side from the tube. I did the same thing you did with running my finger along the edges, and he really liked that.
I don’t know if you saw my updates; I think there were 3 posts with new pictures of Eddie. On 8/9 I put up a couple of pictures of him now that we’re 3 weeks out from the tube removal. He’s no longer got bald spots, but his fur is coming in gray where he was shaved, except for a dark black spot where the tube had gone in.
Good luck with your cat, and thanks for the updates. I think it helps to have the various experiences reported. About half my blog hits these days go to the tube-feeding posts, so people are presumably getting something out of all this.
And to Maxwell’s owner, it’s great to read that he’s doing so well!
I can’t say enough how great it is to talk to others who are experiencing the same thing as I am with Maxwell right now. I don’t have any children as of now and my cats are everything to me. They always will be.
Eddie does look great! I’m so glad to hear that he is doing so well. Discoloration and bald spots are no big deal when you have your little cat home and happy, right?
For DB, I noticed my cat snoring as well. He used to snore a little before the tube was in place, this was due to his weight. Now that the tube has been in (9 days today) he seems to snore even louder. I do not notice a wheezing sound but I do notice a sort of bubbly sound. I think that air gets into the tube and this is what causes the sound. I thought the wrap was little tight as well so I loosened it some. The snore was still there. He seems to breath louder to.
My vet is not alarmed by it. All cats react differently. As long as the cat is acting normal and does not appear to be having any trouble breathing, there is nothing to be worried about but I’m no vet. Sometimes I wish I were:) I would call my vet for piece of mind. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
One thing I did want to know from anyone out there who has more than one cat. How did the others react when you brought the sick kitty home? My cats were best buds before Maxwell got sick. He was in the hospital for 4 days before we brought him home. He’s been home for 6 days now and my other cat hates him. Maxwell tries to go up to him and play but the other does not have it. He hisses at him, he lashes out at him, and he’s stopped using his litter box. I had to go and buy a new one just for him. He acts like I brought a brand new cat home. They have lived together for 6 years. I don’t understand what’s going on with him.
Any advice?
Thanks!
The vet has reassured me the wheezing is okay. We take him in Friday for a rebandaging…seems like forever from now.
Maxwell, we took the same cat (Murphy) we have 4 (Murphy, Madison, Lucy, Linus) in for a broken nail one time. When we brought him back Madison was hissing at him and not being very friendly. This wore off in a couple days though. You might try rubbing one cat with a towel and then the other and vice versa. Seems like ours are always more friendly in the winter when it’s cold. We have had no issues with the current feeding tube and the other cats. They sniff Murphy, but they are getting along fine.
Glad to hear Eddie is doing well. I hope others and myself are in the same boat soon.
Thank you so much for this. Our 9 yr old Birman has been diagnosed after biopsy and endocopy with IBD. He was in the hospital for a week post, and has not turned the corner. Despite this, we brought him home, and found our regular vet has no experience with feed tubes. So I found you. Thank you for being reassuring. I was quite frightened, but I hope will get used to feeding him. We are not sure if he will progress to health, but we want to give the meds a chance. He is really ill, barely mobile and had bilirubin levels that were starting to elevate when we brought him home. Wish us luck with the feed tube, and for his return to health,it seems so unlikely, but it is great to hear about cats who have bounced back.
Hello. It has been really helpful reading this. I had a feeding tube put into Meeshka 2 weeks ago. I am giving her 50mls per feeding (we had to work up to this)4 times a day. She has vomited a few times when we were bumping up, but for the most part has held things down. A few things have really got me wondering…
1. She is still very yellow. Are any of you still experiencing that after treatment has begun? She also seems to not want to poop. It’s in there, just not coming out.
2. She is still VERY lazy. She will come out for short periods of time and then goes back to the closet. The only time she seems to really be herself is when I let her role on the patio.
I guess I am just feeling really confused. She will do one thing that makes me worry and then two that make me think she is improving.
She shows interest and excitement about wet food (with the other cats) and then licks a couple times and leaves.
I just want her back so badly. I have thought about a house without her and it kills me.
Please let me know if you guys are experiencing any of this stuff…I didn’t see many comments on the yellowish skin.
I hope you can get Meeshka back on her feet!
As for the yellow skin, Eddie is a black cat and when they shaved him, his skin was sort of a medium gray. I didn’t see a yellow cast to it, but our vet spoke of him being yellowish. I don’t know what body part she was looking at, though.
As for the one worrisome thing and two encouraging things, yeah, we went through that, too. If you have a cat who needs tube-feeding, you have a very sick cat. In many ways, this is an extension of hospital care. So they’re not going to bounce back all that quickly. Eddie spent a lot of time sleeping under a living room chair or in his cat carrier. He’s back to his old self now, but it took a long time.
Eddie also did the same thing with licking his food, by the way. I’d put out a can and he’d lick all the liquid off of it and walk off.
Once our vet decided he was ready to transition to real food, we ended up using an appetite stimulant to encourage him to eat more. I kept the tube-fed amount about the same, for moderate weight gain, then once he began eating, I decreased the amount so that he’d eat more on his own. This was all part of Dr. Carter’s plan, by the way.
That was about 2 weeks into the home tube feeding. Eddie had been on the tube a few days at the vet hospital. It was another week or 10 days before we pulled the tube. We’d talked about leaving it in an additional 2 weeks.
My impression is that vets don’t want to get false hopes up, so the fact that Meeshka’s vet gave her a tube means this is likely to work. But it’s hard for us humans.
Anyway, good luck with it!
Hi again, I’m getting ver discouraged about our cat ever eating again. He is on 7 meds for IBD, barely mobile. Prednisone etc. They installed the e-tube incorrectly so he had to endure a second placement. He has endema on his front paws from IV placement too tight. He is slightly mobile, but so weak that he can’t walk far. He has lost fur on both sides and so much weight. He has shown incremental slight improvements from when we took him home (he was not progressing at the ER)I don’t know how long I can do this, and what if his treatment time ends (2 weeks) and he has no interest in food? How long is reasonable/humane and respective of toll this takes on owners as well? Pleae help.
Anita, what is your vet saying? And do you trust this vet? How do you feel about checking in with another vet?
I really hope your cat makes it, but if he doesn’t, you know you FOUGHT for him. You won’t have any questions about whether or not you did everything you could. You absolutely, without question, know that you did.
Unfortunately, we are not gods, and we have limits. With tube-feeding at home, we’re going right up to our limits. Most of us can’t go beyond that. So when it doesn’t work, it’s extremely sad, but you can’t question yourself.
When my very first cat, Rabbit, died, Dr. Carter sent me a card with something about how it’s honorable and brave to love a being whose lifespan is shorter than our own, because we know we’re going to be hurt at some point. That’s important to remember. We also do a lot more for our pets than we give ourselves credit for.
Anyway, I don’t know how to determine for someone else’s cat when they should keep going and when they’ve done enough. But you’ve done as much as you possibly could, so however this turns out, I hope you take some comfort in that.
Also, tube-feeding can be a discouraging process. It’s hard and it takes a long time for them to recover, and they don’t all recover. So please don’t make any quick decisions when you’re discouraged. You’ll know when you know.
Good luck, and I hope you’re able to come back soon and say your cat is healthy and happy again. If not, you left nothing undone.
Murphy got his tube out last Monday. He got the bandage off his neck Friday. His is losing a lot of his hair around his neck, but the vet said to expect this.
Murph’s ears are what looked yellow to the vet and us. They now look pink. He is eating dry Z/D on his own and is slowly gaining weight (went from 8.8 to 9.1 at his last weigh-in). Litter box functions have returned to normal. He is still very lazy and isn’t doing a whole lot, but we can see the “old Murphy” coming through at times.
We still don’t know if he is going to pull through yet, but things do look more positive than negative at this point, which I couldn’t say a few weeks ago.
Once again, good luck to all who have posted here.
DB, it sounds like Murphy is going along on the same path as Eddie. He slept more than normal for a while, and his neck hair was very slow to come back in. When it did start to grow back, it was gray instead of black, and it grew fast. Same with his belly hair, where they shaved him for some testing.
Anyway, it sounds like things are going well for you. One of the stressful aspects is that it does take weeks to know how they’ll do. But Murphy’s weight gain sounds like a very positive sign!
Did Eddie throw up about once a day after the tube was removed? Murphy seems to do this. There is little food in the vomit and a lot of hair, so I assume the hair comming off his neck is the catalyst for the vomiting. I am trying to brush his neck, but the brush doesn’t really pull the hair out like Murphy does when he licks/bites it.
I have been sleeping with Murphy every night. Last night he was very active all night and I got little sleep, which is great as this is more like his normal behaviour.
Also, how long did it take Eddie’s neck to heal from where the tube was inserted? Murphy has been scrathing the area every day and while his is not getting down deep, it is normal that he causes a little surface bleeding in a few small spots each day. I am assuming this will take a couple weeks to heal.
Hi, DB — Sorry I couldn’t get back to you right away.
Eddie threw up a only few times after his tube was removed, but he’s the least barfy cat I’ve ever owned, so the fact that he threw up at all was noteworthy. I have some medication from the vet to settle his digestive system, and I give it to him as needed.
Also, he didn’t scratch at his neck very much, so it healed pretty quickly. He scratched at the other side of his neck, which made no sense to me.
These might be things to bring up with your vet. Murphy has been through a physical trauma, so these are minor issues in comparison, but your vet might have some advice.
And I’m so glad to read that he’s behaving normally. It sounds like he’s 99% of the way to being completely healthy again. It’s great that he’s able to reward all your effort and expense by bouncing back. Not every cat pulls through. I hope you have many more years together.
The vet just called and said our cat is deteriorating. Her blood pressure has bottomed out and she’s not breathing right. On top of this, she’s very jaundiced, though they have yet to figure out exactly what the problem is: it’s either something with her pancreas, her gallbladder, or her liver. If it is her liver, then a feeding tube will be necessary. Thank you for the information. If a feeding tube is the way we go, then I’ll feel prepared to do it. I’m just hoping at this point she survives. She’s only four years old and all of us, including my 11 year old, will be heart broken, if she doesn’t.
It is so comforting to know I’m not the only one going through this! My cat “Borsia” Has had the e-tube now for one full day. I fed her this morning and she just vomited everything back up about a half hour later. It was so discouraging. I left the house for a little while and she had a small bowel movement in her box. Something made it through!!! That made me feel a little better. She had not ate in a full week, only IV fluids and the little bits I had forced fed her before the tube was placed. Being in the nursing field, I know the importance of going slow with tube feedings and getting the air out, so I was careful to do this. (This is important with humans as well) But when she vomited, I just began to cry. My heart will be broken if she does not recover and so will my 3 year old. I understand your pain Mary.
Good luck with Borsia, Lisa. Eddie also vomited the first night I tube-fed him, and I was completely distraught. That happened a couple more times, and we ended up putting him on something to settle his stomach. That’s something you might bring up with your vet if Boria vomits again. Anyway, let us know how it goes.
Hi there
I came across your website via google. Great website and so encouraging about Eddie! I adopted my cat Cody, a 9yr old male at shelter in Aug of 2008. He left with a clean bill of health. About 2.5-3 weeks into living with my family (husband, 5 yr old and a 16 yr cranky female cat) Cody quickly went from 11.5 to 9 lbs and dwinlding. I took him to the vet, he had an ultrasound and bloodwork. Everything was fine except his bilirubin levels were 1.6. The vet condluded that he has hepatic lipidosis. So he recommended a feeding tube. I had him home for the 1st time and he immediately vomited up everything the DR had fed him earlier. So he was been under the Dr’s care over the weekend. I am picking him up tonight. I am a little concered as I have to work 11 hour days with nobody to help while I am away. I can certainly feed him the a.m. and p.m. when I get home but dont want to overload his stomach wiht feedings between every hour. Any suggestions or comfort is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I also came across this site via Google. My cat stopped eating, either due to stress or a liver infection and after one very bad attempt at syringe feeding I decided to have the tube put in. Your experience helped me make the decision so thank you for putting it out there. Today was Max’s first full day with the tube. I administered 4 feedings. He threw up after the second one, I think because I went too fast. The next two I made sure to go much more slowly. He’s still pretty disgruntled about all this but I hope once the food gets into his system again he will perk up.
Thank you again for writing about your experience. I was also hesitant about the feeding tube but reading up on it has made me feel it was the right decision for Max.
My cat Simone is 17. He has IBD and is down to 5 lbs. We has his feeding tube inserted Thursday, and started his feedings & medications yesterday. He is on Prednisolone for the IBD, plus 2 other medications for the pockets of gum infection in his mouth, and the kidney disease that the vet found. He has not shown any improvement, and the feedings seem to make him feel horrible, although he has not thrown up. I am going as slowly as I can. How did your cat respond to feedings at first? When he walks, he stumbles and seems disoriented. I will do whatever I can to make the feedings easier for him.
I’m sorry Simone isn’t bouncing back. It will take him a while to feel better, because any cat who needs a feeding tube is pretty sick to begin with. So it might be that he’s just taking a few days before he improves. Eddie didn’t bounce back right away, either.
Maybe you should call the vet first thing Monday morning. It might be that the feeding amount or frequency needs to be changed, or there might be another issue here. Or it might be normal for what Simone has. The vet will probably have some ideas.
Good luck!
My cat has renal failure and will not eat. My cat has recently just stopped eating. She has been without food for 4 or 5 days. 5 days ago she seemed so healthy and happy.
I hope that you can provide some advice.
I want to save her life for as long as I can. I think she can live longer with Sub Q fluids, but my cat has given up and wont eat. I want her to live longer. I do not want her to starve, but she wont eat. I cant even really force feed her what hse needs. Also, she tries to drink a little water and she has a hard time. Is a feeding tube a good option?
I’m so sorry to read about your cat. I think the person you need to discuss this with is your vet. He or she would have to insert the feeding tube anyway, and would be able to tell you if it is the best option.
Good luck with this. I know it’s a difficult time, and I hope it works out for you.
hello everyone…i came across this site as i’ve been obsessively searching and reading any info that would help me with my dear cat “mama”…. like most of the posts i’ve been reading here, mama has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and although she has not been positively diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis, she is does show signs of jaundice, as well as weight loss and non-appetite. i’ve been in and out of the vet over the past month since her syptoms began to arise, and can’t say how overwhelmed, stressed and heartbroken i’ve been. mama has been seen by 2 vets (her normal vet, as well as a dr. from the ASPCA where she was brought for ultrasound and supportive care treatment). at the moment i’ve been assist feeding mama, but after a visit with her vet this afternoon, she’s still not receiving adequate caloric intake and is unable put weight on. i’m waiting to hear back of the results of her thyroid tests on monday, but it seems that i will have to resort to putting mama on a feeding tube. of course, as a pet owner, it’s hard for me to see my pet in any discomfort, and i’ve been a bit reluctant about the idea of having a feeding tube put in her. but as i’m reading your stories, i’m realizing that this is in fact the best i can do for her right now. of course there’s always the risk that she her body will reject the tube, but i also worry about her being stressed or depressed. unfortunately because i work full days during the week, i’m unable to be with her and it kills me to know that she’ll be sitting home alone with this foreign object in her neck. does anyone have any advice on how to relieve this stress – not only for the cat, but for owners as well?
i took mama in as a stray about 10years ago (she’s approximately 12 yrs old)…and i love her dearly and want only what’s best for her…any thoughts and advice are welcome – and again, i’m greatful for finding you!
Hi, Minna–
Please don’t worry about Mama being in discomfort from the tube — Eddie barely knew it was there. Take a look at the picture of him sleeping above. He’s sleeping on the tube. We also didn’t have a problem with his body rejecting it. I know and understand why you’re worried, and there’s a lot to be worried about, but this isn’t part of it. She’ll sleep while you’re at work, same as she normally does. Please don’t worry about her being uncomfortable.
What we did that worked pretty well was to go back to the vet once a week to change his dressing and the wrapping that held the tube in place. That gave our vet a chance to look at where the tube entered the skin and make sure it wasn’t infected or anything. It never was, and it was reassuring to have that confirmed periodically. Eddie also scratched at the wrapping on the opposite side from where the tube entered his neck, and I felt better knowing he had a fresh wrap every week.
Doing this isn’t easy, but it isn’t that hard. It will be somewhat stressful at first, but within a few days you’ll be used to it and so will your cat. I found myself ordering in meals more instead of cooking as much as I normally do, because it does take a chunk of time to do this each day. But the main reward is that I still have my cat 5 months later, and he’s in here meowing at me to give him a treat.
Good luck! And please stop by with any additional questions, or just to vent, or whatever. I’m online a lot, and other people stop by and read this blog, too.
thank you so much eshley!…it’s so good to know that there are so many wonderful “cat people” out there…it’s so easy to feel up against a wall especially when i’m faced to make these kinds of decisions on my own. i know that mama knows that i’m trying to take care of her – she comes to sleep on my chest every night, despite the pills and syringes of food i have to give her….i will patiently wait for the vet to call me back on monday, hoping at least that she’s reacting well to her thyroid medication.
btw – would you know what the ballpark range it would cost to have an e-tube placed? i’ve gotten a few quotes from different sources, but am wondering if you have any insight.
Because he almost died, I spent an obscene amount of money having Eddie in the veterinary ICU for a week, and it was during that time that they inserted the tube, so even though the bill detailed everything they did for him, I don’t remember the cost of anything in particular. I just looked over the bill, asked a couple of questions, and wrote a check.
hi elizabeth – just an update on mama: over the weekend i was assist-feeding her the Hill’s A/D food which the vet sent me home with. i was pretty diligent in feeding mama every 4 hours or so, and when i got home in the evening i noticed that she’d eaten a bit of the dry food that was in her bowl. last night before her last feeding, mama walked over to her bowl and ate more food on her own!…it was such a happy moment for me to see her crunching away! of course, i continued to give her the A/D, even prior to going to work this morning as well as when i got home from work this evening.
today i received results from the vet (after saturday’s visit) that her T4 levels have gone down (good news!), however they’ve gone down a bit too much, so this now bumps mama into HYPOthyroidism (not-so-good news). the dr. explains that this may also cause to her to not want to eat as much, so i’ve been advised to reduce the dosage on her thyroid medication (methimazole)hoping that we can get that stabilized. in the meantime, i’m keeping a close eye on mama and will continue with the syringe feedings for the next few days, and hopefully she’ll continue to increase the amount of food that she eats on her own.
of course it’s too soon to dismiss the possibility of her needing a feeding tube, but it’s very encouraging to know that she is reacting much better to food – we’ve even managed to have a nice little routine when it’s time for her assist-feedings!
i’m staying hopeful, and i thank you for your support!
Hi. I can’t thank you enough for posting your experience. We just did our first tube feeding on our 2 year old cat, Sheba, who was just diagnosed with Hepatic Lipodosis (fatty liver). She did so good, and did not move through the entire process. I just have a question. We were told to give her 250mg of L-Carnitine via the tube, as well as 1/4 of a tab of Pepcid once a day. I see you have the mortor and pestle for pills, but how do you push them through? Do you mix them with water, or put them in the food. I’m just afraid to administer the pills with the food, in case she vomits, I don’t want the medication to come up with the food. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!!
Hi, Tara! I’m glad your first tube-feeding experience went well. Sheba must be a wonderful cat to be so compliant the first time.
I would call and ask your vet how to get the medication into her. And that would be a time to ask what to do if she vomits.
We gave Eddie Pepcid and a few other medications mixed into his food. If your vet tells you to do that, I do have a trick.
I found it easier to put the ground up medication — which I ground to a dust — into a small cup and mix a tablespoon of the food into that. You know how the last couple of cc’s of food stay in the tip of the syringe after the feeding? To avoid having medication in that part, I’d put a few cc’s of food without medication in the syringe, then get the medicated food from the cup. That way the food with the medication would go into his tube first.
That probably sounds more complicated than it is, but you’ll see when you try it.
Good luck!
It is so great to read all of these comments. I adopted my brothers 2 year old cat because he was moving into a house with dogs. Before I could adopt her, Kammi was living with my parents and their two big boy cats. In the holiday rush, no one noticed that she had stopped eating. When we brought her home and took her in for a routine checkup the vet pointed out how yellow she was. We had $400 in tests run and found out that she had fatty liver disease brought on by the stress of the other cats. We tried feeding her for a week… she would nibble at kitten food when we coaxed her. We thought we were making so much progress until we went in for another visit with the vet. Her toxic levels had risen and she had become more yellow (jaundiced). Yesterday was the worst day I can remember in a long time. The vet gave us our options – which included emergency hospitalization at a cost of around $4000, waiting until the regular vet opened and only having business hour care at the cost of $2-3000 or home feeding which only gave her a 5% chance of survival. Our very wonderful vet saw how much we wanted to save Kammi and is allowing her to remain hospitalized free of charge!! We had to pay for the tube surgery ($700) plus all food and meds. It was so hard dropping her off this morning – so scared and confused. Surgery went well and I look forward to getting her back in a few days… I work freelance and so my schedule is all over the place. How are you coping with feedings while working? We are thinking about reversing the schedule and feeding her at night. Any experiences? Thank you so much.
Hi Lindsey. First I would like to say…. DON’T EVER CHANGE VETS. That was very generous of your vet, and I can tell you from experience, it has cost us a fortune between the emergency care, the tube surgery, biopsies, and follow up blood work. We are currently up to about $3,200 in treatment of fatty liver disease. In regards to your question about feedings on a busy schedule, I would just like to share this. My husband works 12 hour days, 6 days a week, and I work about 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. We were told Sheba would need (4) 50cc feedings per day. This had us very worried, and I can tell you it will definately dictate your schedule for quite some time, but you can make it work. We leave the house at 7am, and I don’t get home until 5pm. So… I would get up at 5:30, prepare a feeding. Her first feeding was at 6am. Her second feeding was at 5pm when I got home. We fed her again at 10pm, then woke up in the middle of the night and fed her at 2am. So she was getting fed about every 4 hours except during the day. This lasted for about 2 weeks. Her levels started coming down, and we noticed she was picking at her food a bit, so we dropped one feeding. (the 2am one). She had her blood checked every 7-10 days, and after each test we dropped a feeding because she was doing so well. It is now 3 weeks later and she is completely eating on her own. She has what I’m hoping is her final bloodwork appt on Thursday, and hopefully the tube is coming out this weekend!! I can tell you it is exhausting, but it will be worth it in the end. Just hang in there… you’ll do fine!
Thanks for your response, Tara! Kammi spent 6 days in the hospital, and began eating pretty much right away. When we went to pick her up last Saturday, no one wanted to let her go! We are just finishing up Week 1 of home tube feeding, and it is going really well. She actually seems to prefer to eat while we are tube feeding her. The only had part, is giving her her medicine, which has to be on an empty stomach and she can’t eat for an hour after – which means getting up at 5am and hiding all the food (painful to tell an anorexic cat she can’t eat). I hope all goes well for your kitty, sounds like you are so close – I can’t wait until this is all over, but I have to say it is a pretty amazing bonding experience.
Hi,
I just wanted to thank you for this site. My cat Spike was diagnosed with a severe acute case of pancreatitis mid Decemeber and just had his tube removed today. He is almost fully recovered. (Knock on wood!)While the vet showed me how to do everything before I took him home with the tube, this site really broke it down and provided info he didn’t think to give me. I now feel like a e-tube pro! Thanks again!
Kelli
I’m glad Eddie and I could help, and I’m glad Spike is doing well now. I hope he lives a nice long life with you.
Hello, my cat’s been on a feeding tube for two weeks now. Now that he has some energy back, he refuses to be still while I am injecting his food. I used to be able to just come up to him wherever he was laying and he would stay there, but now he gets up and walks away. If I try to hold on to him, he struggles very emphatically. Did you have any tricks to get your cat to cooperate? I have no hope of getting his tube out any time soon — he has no interest in eating on his own. Thanks!
Anna
It sounds like things are going reasonably well if he’s getting his energy back and becoming feisty. When we wanted Eddie to start eating more on his own, we introduced an appetite stimulant into his “mix” — I ground it up with his other meds and blended it into his food. But this is something you’d have to discuss with the vet.
As far as getting your cat to cooperate, I don’t have any ideas, because I didn’t have that problem. Eddie liked the undivided attention and the full stomach, so he didn’t squirm after the first couple of days.
I do get a fair number of people coming here to look at this topic, so maybe someone else will have an idea. It also might be another topic to bring up with your vet. I don’t know if Dr. Pierson, whose page I link to in the original post, will be able to help, but she’s a potential resource, too.
Good luck!
Kammi had her feeding tube pulled out today! 8 weeks. Coming into this I never would have thought it would have gone by so fast. You really can learn to adjust you life around it much easier than you think. I found that the morning dose of medicine was the worst because she couldn’t eat for an hour after and that was when she wanted to eat the most. Don’t be discouraged by how long this can take – Kammi was on the tube for 8 weeks and she was on course the whole time.
Within a couple days of the tube insertion, Kammi regained some appetite so the techs at the hospital would tube feed her while she ate. It became a habit that stuck so we always tried to tube feed her while she actually ate. As soon as she was done eating she would get fiesty so we would have to cuddle her to get to the end of the tube feeding. Towards the end I could just say “Come on Kam” and show her the syringes and she would run to her food bowl.
To any one out there thinking tube feeding will be too much – it wont. It can save you cat’s life and will be over before you know it. It will be an adjustment and a pain, but at the end your cat will know all that you did to save their life and it is all worth it.
Best of luck!
Eight weeks — wow! I’m so glad Kammi came through it, and thanks for adding the testimonial. You did a wonderful thing for your cat.
I just wanted to say how helpful this site was when my cat Delilah had FLD. She had it from Sept 10th until Oct 28th when we took out the feeding tube. This site was extremely helpful and gave me much hope. Delilah is doing fine and well! I just want to let people know tube feeding your cat can be a real pain especially with a cat like mine. She is not a typical cuddle and hug cat. She fought me tooth and nail when getting fed, and it took two of us to do it. Don’t get down when it seems like they are not making progress, all it might take is a change of food or medicine. Thanks so much Elizabeth for answering all my emails and questions back in the fall!
Hi everyone. Thank you so much for posting. I am on Day 3 of having my 5-year-old cat home from spending 4 days in the veterinary hospital. She has an e-tube for hepatic lipidosis. The prognosis is guessy. Her bilirubin level was over 10, she’d lost 2 pounds, but all other labs were good and her energy was good when tube was placed. She’s since gone downhill for a few days–hungover from anesthesia and nauseated by the feedings–then today seemed to perk up some. She’s on Denosyl for her liver and Cisopride for nausea, and 520 ccs of Hill’s L/D slurry a day. 520! We’re supposed to be jamming 130 cc’s into her every six hours. We’re finding it easier to split it down further, into five feedings of 105 cc’s, but she still is vomiting once every night. Still, that’s four out of five feedings staying down, so I’m trying to be encouraged.
The idea of 30 cc’s in four feedings sounds like heaven. I wonder if I should discuss other food with my vet? This situation involves a lot of water (a can of L/D blended with half a can of water, plus all the tube flushing after meds and feedings), so my cat’s peeing a lot. Seems like a lot of liquid. Anyone have any insight?
I can totally relate to the poster who questioned how humane this is. I feel like we could manage to keep this going as long as there’s improvement. But to indefinitely tube-feed my poor nauseated cat? No. It’s not the feeding tube that bothers me; it’s the nausea.
Hi, Anne–
Usually, the vets have specific foods for specific ailments, but it’s probably a good idea to ask why your cat is getting one food and not the other, so the vet will explain it to you. Sometimes, they make the decision based on their experience, and they might try something else if you mention that your cat is peeing a lot.
Also, ask if there’s a medication for the nausea. We gave Eddie something to settle his stomach the entire time he was being tube-fed and for about a week afterwards. I’ve always got some of that medication on hand, though I haven’t used it since late last summer.
As for whether or not it’s humane, I don’t think you can do this indefinitely, but people do tube-feed their pets for 3-6 weeks and then the pets go on to have a natural life span where they’re healthy. If you were to look at Eddie today, for example, you’d never know there had been anything wrong with him. You said your cat is 5. There are medications for the nausea, as I mentioned, and if you get her through this with the tube-feeding, she could live another 10+ years in good health. So if the nausea is what’s disturbing you, that should be easy enough for the vet to address.
You may also need to make sure you’re not getting air into the tube, because that will upset their stomachs and make them vomit. When I tube-fed Eddie, I got air in his tube several times. Anyway, it sounds like you’re doing well so far — good luck, and let me know how it works out.
Hi Anne,
That is a lot of food per day, especially if your cat just started on the tube. When our cat had HL we started out with doses of 12cc every 2 hours, then 30 every 4 hours, eventually increasing to 90cc three times a day. And doses of water on top of that. We only used 5cc to flush the tube, and administered the larger doses of water in between feedings, not at the same time as the feeding. You have to gradually work up to the high amounts or your cat’s stomach can’t handle it. That is why he is vomiting. A cat’s stomach can only hold about 3 ounces (90cc). And it takes a few hours to digest. Your cat should not be vomiting. If he is, he is getting too much into his stomach. The tube could be forced back out by the vomiting, which is very bad.
We had trouble with vomiting too. What it basically comes down to is this: tube feeding is an art, not a science. Some cats may have larger or smaller stomachs than others, and different tolerance levels for the feeling of a very full stomach. You have to adjust and readjust your feeding schedules and amounts until you find the combination that works for your cat. The vet makes it sound like you can just follow their directions exactly and everything will be perfect (ours did too), but unfortunately that’s just not the case.
The problem may be the amount of water you are adding to the food. You might want to cut back on the amount of water in the food. That way he can get the same nutrition in fewer cc’s. Our cat also peed a lot, but that’s not a cause for concern. They need to stay very well hydrated in order to recover. All the water helps to carry away everything that the liver is trying to get rid of. We only added 8-16 ccs of water to one can of the Hills A/D. It was more difficult to push through the syringe at that thickness, but it was easier to get our cat the calories he needed, which was of course the top concern. We found the larger, 30cc syringes were easier to plunge than the smaller ones.
I know how you feel about feeding via tube indefinitely. Tube feeding is a hard and disheartening thing to do. Our cat did not like the sensation of tube feeding, and it was a struggle to get him to stay still through feedings initially. After about a week he figured out that he felt better after the feedings, and when I came with all the syringes in hand he just laid in my lap and let me do it. I always offered him some tuna or wet food before a feeding. When he started feeling good he started eating solid food on his own, and I would reduce the amount I fed him from the tube based on how much he ate of real food. Before I knew it I was taking him to the vet to get the tube out. Right now his bald spots from all the surgery are just about grown back in.
So, just hang in there! If you decide to reduce the amount of your feedings, don’t worry that he is not getting enough nutrition. My cat was much worse off than yours when he got his tube, and he lived on 48 cc a day for 3 days. It is more important to acclimatize him to the tube feedings in the beginning, so that you can administer full meals later.
Good luck, it will be worth it!
If you (or anyone else) wants to ask me questions or just commiserate, you can email me at a . h. bruen @ gmail . com (take out the spaces)
Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I’ve figured out that she cannot handle the volume. Also, nighttime is not the time to be feeding her. It’s as though her body comes alive then–it’s when she vomits, and she poops two or three times. Where during the day, she handles the feedings pretty well and poops maybe once all day.
The vet did start her out slowly, and over the course of four days worked her up to 130 ccs every six hours. But the day we took her home was the first day they’d gotten her up to 130 per feeding, and she had vomited for the first time that morning. So they released her with a history of successful tube-feeding, except for that one experience–they assumed the tech had gone too fast.
My hunch is that she’s getting overfull over the course of the day and when her digestive system cranks up at night, she’s losing it. I think she needs the calories, but not the cc’s. I got 130 into her this morning and she seemed to hold it down, but when I tried to top her off a few hours later, she started salivating and gulping like she was going to vomit, so I backed off. We’ll give her another feeding at 4, then I’m thinking of adding a dose of nutri-cal/water midway between her 4 and 10 p.m. feedings, then calling it quits for the night. I’ll also try less water in the slurry, although that might be problematic with the syringes. We’ve got 35s and 60s–the 35s are easiest to maneuver. But I was getting syringe clogs with a slurry that wasn’t blended enough, so I’m not sure how low I could really go on the water there.
My cat doesn’t mind the feedings. She settles down in loaf-of-bread position and purrs like crazy. At the night feeding, often she has to get up and poop midway through, and she shakes her head and flings slurry all over the bathroom. So I’ve learned to cap the tube even if we’re just taking a short break!
Anyone have any insight on whether Nutri-Cal might help solve my problem? What kind of food are you folks with lower-cc feedings using? My vet basically said it didn’t matter WHAT I’m feeding, as long as the calories are going in and staying in. He sent us home with Hill’s L/D (liver diet), but I wonder if there’s a food we could be using that’ll give us more for our caloric buck?
Since your vet says it doesn’t matter what you feed your cat, ask about the Iams (or Eukanuba, I forget which) Veterinary Formula Maximum Calorie canned food. That’s for both cats and dogs, it comes in 6 ounce cans, and you don’t have to add water to it because it’s already liquified. My vet says it’s the fastest way to pump calories into a pet, and she and her partners use it whenever they’ve got a situation like this. It worked really well for Eddie. But you have to get it from your vet, because it’s not available from stores (or it wasn’t last year).
My other suggestion is to ask for a couple of extra syringes. I don’t know why it is, but sometimes one will stick and the other won’t. A sticky syringe can be very frustrating.
Also, three more things … First, this is an extension of intensive care, so call your vet as much as you want. He’s probably expecting a lot of communication anyway. It sounds like you’re talking to him a lot, I just like to make that point because I get a lot of hits on this particular post.
Second, we went in every week to get the dressing changed and the tube checked. It felt good to touch base, get the vet’s feedback, and have an official weigh-in. They didn’t charge us for those visits.
Finally, if the feeding tube seems clogged from something other than too much food, you can unclog it using Coke or Pepsi. I wrote about it somewhere on this blog, but now I can’t find it. Basically, just squirt a few cc’s of Coke or Pepsi into a clogged feeding tube independent of a feeding. Next time you need to feed your cat, the cola should have dissolved the clog and things should flow much more smoothly.
Good luck!
Thank you so much! Right after I last posted, my vet called me to check in and I told him the volume problem and asked him about Max Cal. He had actually recommended Max Cal initially, but they were out of it and my cat was doing so well that they thought she’d be able to handle the volume required of the L/D. He said he had some Max Cal on order and would have it by the end of the week. Buoyed by your post, I called around and found some Max Cal at another vet’s office, then called my guy back and asked him to call them to okay my purchasing it, which he did. Turns out I can now feed my cat 240 cc’s a day instead of 520. Assuming the Max Cal agrees with her, that should be a tremendous help.
I’ve been changing the dressing and checking the tube–so far no clogs and no problems with the entry point. We go back to the vet this weekend.
More questions . . .
What’s the best way to transition my cat from tube-feeding to regular eating? She’s eating some, but not enough. Also, I don’t see how she could possibly be very hungry, with all the tube feeding. Her liver numbers look much better, so the vet told me to cut out one feeding in hopes she’d get hungry enough to eat on her own. But we also can’t reduce her caloric intake and start the hepatic lipidosis all over again.
Meanwhile, my cat is energetic and happy and, perhaps strangely, seems to like the tube feedings. She hasn’t vomited since we started her on the Max Cal and were able to reduce the volume we were pumping in. She comes running when she sees me coming with the syringes, jumps in the bathtub (where I feed her) and assumes the position. She just lies there on her side and purrs like crazy, kneads my legs, stares at me with this weird adoring expression. It’s like it brings up memories of nursing for her. I am glad she’s not finding it to be an awful procedure, but I also don’t want her thinking this is some comfy new way of life.
Hi, Anne–
I was wondering how things were going for you. Your cat sounds adorable! And I’m glad the MaxCal is working.
The transition can be tricky. My vet specifically mentioned cats that sometimes like the tube-feeding too much and don’t want to go off it. Eddie didn’t get into it quite as much as your cat has, but we used an appetite stimulant to help make him want to eat more on his own.
There are a couple of appetite stimulants that vets rely on a lot, and my other cat (who was 19 1/2 at the time) had had a bad experience on one of them. So we used Mirtazapine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirtazapine ). You’ll see in the Wikipedia entry that it’s given to cats every 3 days, and that worked for us. What they don’t tell you — and I posted about this elsewhere on this blog, http://esheley.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/eddie-update/ , is that it causes hallucinogenic dreams in people — and strange behavior in cats. It was manageable, but Eddie would wake me up meowing at me as if he wanted to talk.
We used that for a couple of weeks in conjunction with the feedings, gradually decreasing the amount he was tube-fed. Then we pulled the tube. I was a bit anxious about how he’d react to that, but he ate very well on his own. We kept him on the Mirtazapine for about a week after the tube was removed, then stopped that, too. I still have some just in case his weight drops, but I haven’t had to use it in a while.
I think the main thing you have to do is monitor your cat and her food intake. The fact that she’s already eating some is a positive. A little chemical boost might get her to eat more.
We also used mirtazipine, luckily we did not get the strange side effects.
What I did was to offer my cat one ounce of solid food when it was time for his tube feeding. I got several different varieties of wet and dry food and tried offering different kinds to figure out what he preferred. Then, based on how much of the food he ate on his own, I would not inject the entire dosage of liquified food. Some days he ate all of it, some days he just took a few bites. After a few days I got to where I did not have to administer any more food through the tube, because he was eating enough on his own. I kept the tube in for about a week before having it removed, so that I could be sure he would continue eating steadily on his own.
Next question: Anyone have any experience with neck wraps? My cat’s feeding tube came out yesterday–on its own. I had just run some Coke in because there seemed to be a clog–this was often the case in the mornings. We were just sitting there waiting for the clog to clear, and she shook her head vigorously and the WHOLE TUBE clattered to the floor. (!) I took her to our local vet (not the one who actually placed the tube) to get the site cleaned and rewrapped, and she’ll see the other vet tomorrow. At that point, we’ll evaluate whether she needs the tube reinserted. I’m hoping she won’t, since she’s mowing through the food pretty well and, by my calculations anyway, is getting enough calories. I’ve had a hard time giving her a pill, though–they gave us an antibiotic–and this neck wrap is driving her crazy. She scratches and it rotates around her neck, the bandaging gets shredded. I rewrapped it this morning and put new Neosporin on the site, and already she’s shredded the new wrap. It seems totally useless to even have it on, except I guess it does prevent her from being able to scratch the tube site directly–which I’m sure is what she wants to do. She’s been scratching at that thing since she got the tube in, and I suspect that’s how the tube got worked loose.
Right now, she’s wrapped with gauze, with that rubbery broken-arm stuff over the top.
And giving her a pill: Oh, my. Last night, she was spewing and foaming and growling. If she got half the dose of antibiotic, I’d be surprised.
Anyway, we’re seeing our vet tomorrow, but in the meantime, I’m open to any insight!
–Anne
Eddie shredded his wrap every week, which was one reason I kept taking him in to get it rewrapped. Oddly, he scratched at the side opposite the site of the tube insertion.
The insertion site heals amazingly fast, almost overnight. Eddie didn’t scratch at it once the tube was out. My vet used a dab of honey instead of standard medication on the site, because she said it worked just as well and didn’t seem to irritate her patients’ skin. She normally doesn’t go into the holistic side of medicine, so I thought that was telling. In any case, maybe the Neosporin is annoying your cat.
The good news is she’s eating well and acting like a normal cat, instead of a sad, sick little thing. So this means the tube-feeding worked and you’ve saved her life.
Unfortunately, acting like a normal cat also includes resisting pills. I don’t have much trouble pilling cats, and what I do is to offer a treat immediately afterwards, so they make the association between medication and treats. That takes several days, but they do figure it out and resist less. Eddie gets Greenies, which are inexpensive and available at most pet stores like PetSmart, etc. The other thing is, I don’t make a big deal of it. I just walk up to the cat with the pill in my right hand, bend over, pull the upper jaw up with my left hand, pull the lower jaw down with a finger of my right hand, and push the pill in as far as possible.
Two things about pilling a cat: the pill has to be on the center of the tongue because their tongues aren’t mobile like ours are, so if it fall off to the side they have no choice but to spit it out. And second, push the pill as far back as possible to increase the likelihood the cat will swallow the pill.
I asked Dr. Carter about a possible choking hazard if I pushed the pill back too far, and she said that’s all but impossible. Their epiglottis, the flap that separates the esophagus from the trachea, is pretty stubborn, to the point where inserting a tube through a cat’s mouth is difficult during surgery, for example. I don’t know if I explained that accurately, but the bottom line is that it’s all but impossible to push a pill into a cat’s trachea; it will go into the esophagus like it’s supposed to.
Anyway, I hope some of this helps. And good luck at the vet appt. tomorrow. Please report back and let us know what happens, okay?
Thanks, Elizabeth. I just ambushed her with a pill just now and it worked! Your advice helped me be aggressive about shoving it way down in there, in the center. She swallowed it, gave me a resentful look, then I carried her over to the faucet for a drink. Now she’s back at the food bowl . . .
Yes, I’m almost ready to say that tube-feeding worked. My only reservation is that her blood work was a little wonky last week–low RBCs and high WBCs–and I’m watching her like a hawk to make sure she’s truly eating. She’s always been rather casual about food–just dry cat food, with no interest in treats or wet food or tuna or any of those things that other people’s cats turn inside out for. But she does seem to be eating plenty of dry food.
The other thing that worries me–and perhaps I’ll just have to accept it–is that we don’t know why she stopped eating in the first place. We don’t know why she got hepatic lipidosis. Her other organ systems checked out okay, there was no obstruction, she responded to tube-feeding . . . maybe I should just count my blessings. But I do wonder why this happened and worry that it could happen again if there’s some underlying problem that no one was able to find.
By the way, your Eddie looks just like my Betsy. A gorgeous black cat. Every household should have at least one. And am I correct that you’re in Sacramento? Betsy’s 24-hour care and tube-placement was handled by the Bradshaw Veterinary Clinic in Elk Grove–we’ll see those awesome folks tomorrow–and I’ve had drop-in stuff handled by our regular outpatient vet.
This continues to be such an eye-opening journey, both in terms of veterinary care (it is SO not an exact science and the Internet is your friend!) and the importance of being aggressive–both with treatment of hepatic lipidosis and with asking the hard questions about weighing cost and possible suffering against the reality of the prognosis.
Hi everybody, thanks again for all your advice and insight these past couple weeks. We took Betsy to the vet today and she had gained 3 more ounces since her tube fell out two days ago. The vet removed her neck wrap and said all she needs to do is keep eating and grow that neck hair back. She ran a CBC so we can check on the red blood cells and white blood cells, but she said our cat looks great and that she expects nothing but a full recovery at this point. She gave me an appetite stimulant to help keep Betsy motivated to eat–Betsy is eating, and she’s eating enough, but she needs to be reminded. Eating is not that important to her, it seems, and it needs to be. (She’s more interested in lying in the sun, sparring with her roommate, watching whatever’s going on outdoors, drinking from the faucet, weaving around our ankles.) But Betsy’s up to a good weight (12.3 pounds), has glossy hair again and tons of energy. Two weeks ago tonight, I was sure my cat wouldn’t live through the night. Tube-feeding saved her life. Elizabeth, thank you again for your initial post and to everyone for sharing your stories. This blog has been a wonderful resource.
I’m so glad Betsy is going to be on her own now. The appetite stimulant will help her transition from the tube-feeding to eating on her own.
And thanks for sharing your story here. I think the accumulation of stories is a valuable resource for those who stop by, whether they post or not. Based on my WordPress stats, it looks like I get a lot of lurkers on this thread, so I think there are people other than those who weigh in who are tube-feeding. Since no two cats are alike, it may help to have all the various experiences recorded here.
Good luck to you and Betsy!
I just brought my cat home, tube ready. And I just gave him his first feeding. I probably went too fast – 25ccs in about 5 minutes. But he’s holding it down at this point. And hopefully for a couple of hours; until his next feeding. To be honest, the feeding part isn’t frustrating for me; the not knowing what I’m doing – and having a semi-unhelpful vet – is wickedly frustrating. I have to pill him at half-hour intervals for an hour before feeding him, but I think I’ll do alright with it.
It’s just nice to see there is a lot of information on the internet about the process. And I know I’m not the only one who is having a tough time of it.
But, Patches is the best cat I’ve ever met. And I’m gonna make it happen for him.
…now if only he would stop jumping on things while high on pain meds…
Good luck, Bill — Patches is lucky to have you.
No matter how much info we get beforehand, I think we all feel like we don’t know what we’re doing at first. And the vets lose control of their patients when we do this, which may be why yours is coming across as less than wonderful.
It sounds like you’re off to a good start. You probably do need to slow it down a bit. We ground up Eddie’s pills and put them in his food — is that something your vet would let you do?
Hang in there — I know you’ll do great.
We also had pills that had to be given on an empty stomach (cisopride and denosyl). I crushed them in a plastic baggie, then mixed them with 6 or so cc’s of water and put them through the feeding tube. Then I ran in a few cc’s of water and waited the requisite 30 minutes before starting the feeding.
I also would recommend slowing down, if only because I actually saw how small the hole is at the end of the feeding tube. I’d had no idea it was so small, and I continue to be astonished that we were able to get Max Cal slurry through that tube.
Anyone got any great ideas for enticing a cat to eat more? Betsy’s eating, but she’s apathetic about it. We put her in front of the dish, and she eats, but she doesn’t seek it out on her own. Eating is clearly not a priority for her right now. And it needs to be. We’re getting enough into her, but barely. She only likes dry food, doesn’t care much for cat treats. She’s on an appetite stimulant, but I’m not noticing it’s making much difference. Meanwhile, her liver numbers are good, her red and white counts are fine . . . there’s no discernible reason for her to not want to eat.
Anne, if the appetite stimulant isn’t doing much, that’s a call to the vet. There are at least 2 commonly used drugs for that purpose, probably more. At least her stats are good.
As for why she isn’t interested in eating, she might have memories of food making her nauseous. Or she might like the attention she gets from you when you try to make her eat.
Hey, Bill, how’s it going with Patches?