Feeding tube or let him go - E-tubes for cats

[tiggy2]

Hi guys

Back again with Tig and not eating again. I just read over some of my posts and it was less than a year ago that I went through the force feeding. This time he's still losing weight. The 9 pounds he was in July is now 8 pounds. I have been force feeding him for a couple of months with no improvement. I've done the blood work again and of course he comes up normal. We expected IBD and when he was on raw food he did well.

There have been some additions to the family. I'm fostering some kittens that were only supposed to be tempory and they were all sick with diarrhea, which took a couple of months to clear up, so I have not had time to make raw food so everyone is either back on canned or dry...ich.. I've also cooked turkey to help with digestion.

Back to Tig. He got picky with the food, lost the weight and then stopped eating..he'd eat a few mouthfuls and that's it. So back to syringe feeding, I can't seem to get enough in him and now he runs and hides from me. The last vet visitDec/23, he was under 8 pounds and vomiting. So he has a weeks reprieve with anti nausea and prednisolone. He's back to 8 pounds, no vomiting, but still does not want me to feed him.

So what to do? Feeding tube, as the stress of syringe feeding on both of us is becoming too much, or let him go by having him put to sleep. Aside from not eating, he's we think healthy.

I'm grasping at straws, I don't want to kill him because I can't get him to eat, but I don't want him to suffer if eating is causing pain? Sigh

Opinions, options and questions are welcome.

[Barkingdog]

If it was me I would let him go , I know this very hard to do , b/c I had to do this when my dog was not able to keep food down b/c he had cancer .

[tiggy2]

I would let him go if I knew he had cancer, but there is no evidence that he does. He can keep food down, as he has done so the past week and put on .2 of Kg. I think he was throwing up because I was shoving food in his mouth faster than he could consume, plus it was raw food and he may not have been up for that. Kindness and all.

If I knew what was wrong and that whatever it was was terminal I would not hesitate to let him go, it's the, what is wrong with him that's frustrating, is it something that he just needs time to get over or is it more serious?

Sorry to hear about your dog and yes it is hard I had to do it with another cat, my first one and that was brutal.

[Longblades]

I'm sorry, 12 is not at all old and this is so difficult. I've recently had similar things with my dog, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but dogs, particularly Labs are easier to get to eat. We went to raw food as well as per our new Holistic Vet. My VEt is also giving him various Chinese medicines and my dog is now looking better in his coat than he ever did previously in all his 7 years of life. so I wonder if this is a route you might consider? Holistic with Chinese medicine? It's not cheap. It's not a guarantee either. Good luck, I hope you find something that works.

[marko]

This is so personal and so difficult but I don't think I'd let him go at this point...because the cat is healthy. Yes 9 to 8 pounds is a loss of weight, but it's not deadly at this point.

I've always liked and shared this article when trying to think about such decisions. http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/euthana...e-pet-tip-228/

I wish you much strength

[tiggy2]

Thank you Marko for the info. It does put things into perspective and will help with my other 2 elderly kitties, one with very bad arthritis.

This will be the 3rd time Tig has come through this "not eating" First was after surgery from a blockage in his stomache. I wish she has done a biopsy, instead of assume it was a hair ball. That was in 2011, he was on his last day of a hunger strike and decided to eat. The next time was last year, summer/fall 2013 which we never did find out what was wrong...$5,000 later..sigh. That took about 5 months of syringe feeding and he finally started eating, again no particular reason we humans could figure out.

And now this time fall/winter 2014. My vet is at a loss as to what is wrong with this guy. He is leaning towards a cancer, but doesn't cancer show up in blood work? White/red blood cells? Or am I out in left field? Can an animal have cancer and not know it? If it was cancer why would he get better for a year and then get sick again? I just wish I knew what was wrong

If anyone has lost a pet to cancer, did they not know about it? If so how to you know your pet has cancer?

Anyway time to feed old Tiggy

[tiggy2]

Has anyone had any luck getting raw food liquidy enough to syringe feed? And what foods are good or bad for IBD in cats?

Thanks again guys for all you help and please send the strength, I'm wearing out.

[tiggy2]

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Just wondering how long before Tig will start moving around? For those who have had ETubes before, did your cat stay hunched up for a period of time? Every time I pick him up he moans. He had runny/watery poop last night and just sleeps, won't even open his eyes. I've given him 80 ml of food yesterday and started today with 30 mls. Figure I'd do 30-40 ml stretches with 15-30ml water.

Should I be worried? Great New Years

[Reg]

Happy New Year Tiggy2:

It has been my experience that whenever I decided to do something different, it takes up to maybe 24 hours or more for there to be any kind of change. This also applies to if they have had surgery of some kind too - which your Tig had. So you have to give time for recovery from that stress.

Did you change the kind of food you are giving to kitty? and what are you feeding him now? You're better to be on the light side with the food until he's more mobile and up and around.

A lot depends on the cat too. Some are more willing to change and some don't like it at all. So it may take a day or two for his system to adjust to the new routine. We humans have the same sort of problem when it comes right down to it.

His body is likely saying - hey this is new, let's just take it slow and easy till we see what's going on here.

[tiggy2]

Originally Posted by Reg

Happy New Year Tiggy2:

It has been my experience that whenever I decided to do something different, it takes up to maybe 24 hours or more for there to be any kind of change. This also applies to if they have had surgery of some kind too - which your Tig had. So you have to give time for recovery from that stress.

Did you change the kind of food you are giving to kitty? and what are you feeding him now? You're better to be on the light side with the food until he's more mobile and up and around.

A lot depends on the cat too. Some are more willing to change and some don't like it at all. So it may take a day or two for his system to adjust to the new routine. We humans have the same sort of problem when it comes right down to it.

His body is likely saying - hey this is new, let's just take it slow and easy till we see what's going on here.

its 24 hours now and he just had a pee that was frothy and still not moving. I've given him 30ml of Recovery A/D cat food and going to give another 30 now. He's had a prednisolone which I crushed up and put in his water syringe, also some morphine (can't spell the correct name). Cat food is the same I've been syringe feeding him, no vomiting or urge to do so. He does has a phlegmy cough. He's so despondent and I'm so worried. Trying to have some kind of New Years celebration, but not feeling much like it.

Should I be worried about frothy pee?

[Reg]

Hi again:

The phlegmy cough could be due to irritation caused by the insertion of the tube. No idea what would cause the frothy pee. There is a possibility that some of the meds could be causing some sort of issue as well. All sorts of reasons could be at play here and we just don't know.

For piece of mind, if you have an emerge number for your vet, give them a call and just tell them what's going on and what has you concerned. We know it's a concern, but sometimes we need to let meds and time take the necessary time to do the healing.

We fully understand your frustrations over this - I'd be the same way.

[tiggy2]

Originally Posted by Reg

Hi again:

The phlegmy cough could be due to irritation caused by the insertion of the tube. No idea what would cause the frothy pee. There is a possibility that some of the meds could be causing some sort of issue as well. All sorts of reasons could be at play here and we just don't know.

For piece of mind, if you have an emerge number for your vet, give them a call and just tell them what's going on and what has you concerned. We know it's a concern, but sometimes we need to let meds and time take the necessary time to do the healing.

We fully understand your frustrations over this - I'd be the same way.

I did contact my vet with my concerns and he eased my mind. The frothy pee could be due to air in his bladder from a test we had done to check urine/kidney/protein levels. He's at least opening his eyes and I try and have him in an area with some activity and where I can keep an eye on him Mother hen that I am. Thanks for the support always needed. Happy New Year