Need advice on assist-feeding

Angel's been having elevated kidney values lately, and even though they've come down slightly with increased sub-Q fluids, she's still not eating much at all. I tried mirtazapine yesterday, but she had a weird reaction to it, so I don't want to give her that again. She apparently can't take cyproheptadine because of its interaction with another drug she's taking. The mirt did make her nibble a little more, but it's not helping nearly enough.

She'll typically come over to the bowls and act very interested in eating, but then she'll only eat a few bites if anything - but I can hear her stomach growling.

I figure that maybe she feels like I do when I've been sick, and my stomach is totally empty, like I'm so hungry I feel nauseous. Does that make sense? I thought if I could just get a little food into her, to help her stomach get used to food again, that that might help. So I gave her about a tablespoon of turkey baby food (the pure meat kind) this afternoon. She did okay with it, but I know she hates having anything forced down her throat, and she already has to have too many meds.

One of the vets at the practice where I take her has repeatedly warned against force feeding, saying that in his experience it makes cats develop food aversions. Does anyone else have experience with this?

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

No experience with this but am sending prayers for Angel. Hopefully more will come with help.

One thing though will she eat pill pockets? Maybe that will help the pilling and she wont be stressed out? My Waldo is impossible to pill. Thank God for pill pockets I can use 1 pill pocket to cover each of his heart meds and he swallows them whole he likes them that much. Just a thought.

Jeanne

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

Hi Jeanne,

Unfortunately, pill pockets don't work for her. She bit into one once and tasted the meds, and that was that. Plus, she's not into food enough.

Pill pockets have worked great for another of my cats, though - if we even open the drawer where we keep them, she comes running over and meows like crazy!

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

Yes, I've got PLENTY of experience with force-feeding. It never caused a food aversion for my cats and my BF had to do it for his dogs too. I used a prescription high-calorie food for cats who need to eat/gain weight - I got it at the vet - it may be A/D. I also got syringes from the vet - big ones. I watered down the food, sucked it through the syringe, put the cat in a place where I could comfortable reach him and squirt the food in the side of his mouth. They don't like it but when I started feeling bad I kept thinking of what could happen if I didn't get food into him and THAT was WAY worse. Sometimes after eating a little they will get interested in food again.

Good luck!!!

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

I think this is one of those every cat is different things.
I have used a baby spoon and wiped small amounts of sticky food on the top palate behind the teeth and my civie does fine with this, in fact sometimes he waits for me to feed him. I know my guys are atypical, they were bottle fed orphans, and they let me do nearly anything to them. I can't see too many cats being happy about this however.

The fact that yours is sick makes it totally different. Is there anything safe you could sprinkle on the food to make it more interesting? Would a tiny bit of freeze dried meat/fish crumbled on top be interesting? or safe?

Are the sub Q fluids maxed out? Does spreading fluids BID help? I assume he's diabetic and with kidney trouble?- sorry this is out of my league.

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

I have syringe feed quire a few cats. Some for as long as 2 1/2 months. No food aversion at all. I recommend you join Yahoos Feline Assisted Feeding (FAF) group. Assisted feeding is the tern used vice force feeding.

See:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

I haven't force-fed cats but I have fed ferrets exactly as described above--A/D is the high calorie stuff. After being forced a little, the ferrets would get interested just like above with the cat. If you do this, my only suggestion is to do small amounts often if it isn't going well, that way you're not forcing a ton down at one time, which would make *my* cats puke and my ferret refuse to come out of her hidey-hole. Don't know how any other cat would react. Good luck!

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

A/D is NOT hig calorie. It has 180 cal per 5 1/2 oz can which is comparable to standard canned food. One of the highest calorie food is Eukanuba Maximum calorie which has 340 ca/ per 6 oz can.

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

Have you tried either Zantac or Pepcid A/C (*not* Pepcid Complete) for the presumed nausea? Those can help a lot.

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Angel already gets Pepcid-AC every day since she's believed to have chronic pancreatitis. I did try sprinkling some catnip on her food this afternoon, and it got her a little more interested in sniffing the bowl at least. She's eaten a little more tonight than she has been doing lately - I hope that's an upward trend. I hadn't thought of the baby spoon idea - maybe I'll try that and see if she prefers that to a syringe.

Larry, do you know if there are any reasons I wouldn't want to use the Eukanuba maximum calorie food you mentioned, considering all of Angel's conditions? (FD, CRF, pancreatitis) Is it Rx only, or can I get it at a pet food store?

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

Is it just that it's more easily digestible then, that it's given to sick/skinny animals?

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

I assist fed Latte for 9+months (mostly with syringe). She has kidney disease, pancreatitis, ibd/lymphoma, fd, and ma. She is on prednisolone and its the only thing that has helped her feel well enough to eat, with an occassional touch of cypro. She also takes a multitude of other meds for tummy, acid, etc.

Do I think Latte developed food aversions? Yup! But not to everything. It took a little time to get past that, as she started feeling better. But now we are back on track. I will only use it again for a short period of time, in a crisis. Would she be alive without what I did? Nope. Does or did she hate me? No, and No.

Also, take out the word force and replace with 'assist' if you might. ;-) Assist feeding involves many creative techniques from having them lick off your finger, or putting dabs of food in their mouth for them, spoon feeding, syringe feeding, etc. It does not need to be forceful or mean. It can be quite gentle and bonding, depending on your cat.

I would recommend joining the assist feeding group that Larry put a link to. It has extremely helpful information and wonderfully, supportive people to guide you.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Re: Need advice on force-feeding

I had to "assist feed" Jock for a few weeks when he had fatty liver. I joined the Yahoo group that Larry links to above, and as you can see, Jock didn't mind being assisted all that much:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhxO_Of0ECc

And Rorschach was the purrfect assistant!

Jock was being syringed with pureed chicken breast which I had microwaved first for a couple minutes. Rorschach loved it.

 

Good heavens, Steve! What a good little helper you had there! It looks like Jock took the food a little better than Angel does, though. As with her meds, anything I have to "force" into her mouth requires that I wrap her in a towel first or else she fights like crazy. It's weird, she doesn't mind her sub-Q for the most part (unless I warm the fluids first, which for some reason makes her squirm to get away. She prefers them cold - weird, right?), or the ear prick tests, or insulin, but if I mess with her mouth she gets very upset. Maybe it's partly because her teeth and gums are so bad. It probably hurts when I touch it with the syringe. :sad: The last thing I want to do is hurt her.

 

Hey Heather, maybe a dental right now would help a LOT. If her teeth hurt enough she might even stop eating.

Also, A/D is for inappetant cats. It's supposed to be extremely tasty and easy to eat.

 

Hi, Steve,

Angel has needed a dental for quite a long time, but she can't have one because her kidneys couldn't handle the anesthesia.

 

Oh dear!

So the inappetance might be caused by the rotten teeth, or by liver or kidney illness... Poor thing. Changing foods or adding pepcid are probably not gonna help. You'll probably need to find what's causing her to feel bad and somehow help her.

 

Steve-

I've been reading your posts and looking at your website (wiki), photos, etc since I started on the old board in November. You are such a GREAT cat father! I am so impressed by you and all the you do for your cats. I've never met a sphinx in person - they are so cool! It was SO CUTE to see this video; it's hard to see because it's dark, but I loved it. It's nice to have a second cat to help clean up. I hope you'll keep posting.