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?

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.

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.