11/12 Tawny pmps 344 WILL NOT EAT Need Advice!

Status
Not open for further replies.
DD & Tinkerbell

DD & Tinkerbell

Member Since 2009
From Tawny's condo yesterday:

Karrie and Maverick said:
Do assist feed to make sure she gets the calories. She has to get in lots to keep her out of DKA and to recover from FHL. A baby scale will tell you if you are feeding enough. When you assist feed, use a food that you don't normally feed. Finger feed, feed when they are sleepy - often bringing them a bowl and waking them up they will eat, make sure you get them calories in.
Click to expand...

Karrie, I wondered about that last night, it seemed like she nibbled a little but didn't eat near what I would have liked. If I cannot get her to finger feed do you think I should syringe feed her?
-----
Tawny does seem a little better and brighter this morning, tho if she nibbled overnight it does not appear to have been much. She is peeing and drinking water. No biscuits yet tho. I got up at +6 (3 a.m. here) to get a mid-cycle spot ck, 309. This I am not liking one bit. With a pmps yesterday of 312, that's not much of a drop. She gets her Mirtazepine (appetite stimulate) today, they said 1/4 tablet every 3 days, today is her next scheduled day.

She is sequestered in a room by herself so her critter brothers and sisters will leave her alone and when I opened the door this morning she was up and walking around and wanted to go out (of her room, not outside). Just about everybody else had gone outside or into their feeding room so I let her out and she went downstairs exploring. Her tail is flipping, that's a good sign.

I am gonna go assist feed her now and get a morning spot ck, she is free-feeding so even the little bit she eats is going to affect her BGs, and she will not eat her LC so she is getting the same thing she got at the hospital. I will assist feed her her favorite LC.

I will keep you all posted, please keep the prayers and healing vines coming. She still needs you. Me, too.

Desi
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

My thoughts and prayers are still continuing for Tawny. I don't think that trying to syringe feed would be a bad thing. She needs her fuds, either by finger feeding or syringe or both. She needs to gain her strength back, and get better. Wishing for her to continue to make a speedy and full recovery. Come on Tawny, you can do it!!! :YMHUG:
 
11/12 Tawny amps 314

She got her 1u of insulin, her meds, and I finger fed her about 2 spoonfuls of LC Friskies Liver and Chicken. Some of these meds are probably affecting her BGs too.

How much do you all think I should try to get into her at one time? Not too much I wouldn't think, I don't want it coming back up.
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

Good Morning :-D
I'm not an expert, but I think you want to give her small meals every hour or two. Others will be along to help, more.
Has she lost a lot of weight? If so, you might want her to eat 1 1/2 times her normal amount of food per day. Again, others more experienced than I can help with that.

I'm glad her tail is flipping.
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

Karrie knows much more than I do about HL, but I agree with small frequent meals. I have seen the 1.5 times the normal amount suggested, and that's what I aimed for with Angel when I was syringe feeding. Remember she has been sick, and her reserves are depleted even if she has not lost a lot of weight.

Please be sure to get a ketone test every chance you get....
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

Ditto on what the others have said re. food. Remember, you can work the insulin dose around the food -- especially if you need to give a higher carb food than usual to get her to eat.
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

Yes definitely syringe feed. Consider food medicine for her both for DKA and FHL. With DKA its 1.5 x's the normal amount of food. For FHL the only way the liver can recover is if you feed enough to prevent further weight loss or her liver will continue to be damaged further. I'm so happy she's home.

In order to avoid food aversion issues though, you want to syringe feed a food she wouldn't normally eat on her own.
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny will NOT EAT pmps 344

Tawny will not eat. She is drinking a lot of water, but she will not eat. I tried to finger feed her about an hour ago but after all her meds I only got two bites into her. It takes a really long time to get all those meds into her. Could they be spiking her #s?

She is not exactly alert but not exactly lethargic, I would call it exhausted and weak, and is flipping her tail & walking around some. She is out of her room and every time I let her out she heads straight for the community water bowl downstairs, even tho she has 3 different water bowls in 3 kinds of containers (metal, glass and plastic) in her room with 4 different kinds of feed, she wants to drink out of that -one.

I had not considered the food aversion thing, I will force-feed accordingly. I am going to go put something she doesn't normally eat as suggested in the food processor in a minute with some water and syringe feed her. How much do you all think at one time?

She is laying here on the bed next to me at the moment and seems to be resting comfortably but SHE NEEDS TO EAT.

I spent 20 minutes on the phone with the clinic about an hour ago and they suggested I ride down there in the morning and get some A/D, which they said was an easily syringe-feedable food. Anybody got experience with this? I will take her w/me when I go, hopefully they will give her the once-over just because she happened to come along and it won't cost anything or at least not another small fortune.

I'm wondering if the stress of the long ride home and then being sequestered in a room at home most of the time was stressing her...That is why I have let her out of there and put her on the bed w/me, maybe she will be more comfortable out here & start eating. Tinkerbell, Angus, Shadow and Bob are all piled up here on the bed with us, she just moved and is laying right in the middle of them at the moment.

What should I do????????

Desi
 
Desi:

I've very often assist fed with a/d and a syringe. I use the 10 or 12 ml syringes. A/D is very easy to mix with just a little water and a whisk to make it a consistency that will easily flow through the syringe.
Instead of trying to suck it up into the syringe, I make it to the consistency where it can slowly pour into the syringe. If you want less water, you can use a spatula and put some in the syringe, then tap the syringe
tip on the counter to get the food to move down. But...you ought to be able to add just enough water that it will slowly pour into the syringe.

A/D has approx 180 calories in a 5.5 oz can. If you know how many calories Tawny should normally get and you multiply that by 1.5...then you can figure out how much you will need to feed her. You may need to
syringe feed her 10-12cc or more every couple of hours. HOpefully she will allow you to do that.

Does that help? BTW...Recovery is another food you can use but the consistency is more difficult to put through a syringe and my cats did not like it. The other thing you can do for more calories is mix clinicare
in with the a/d in place of water.

Sending Tawny many healing vines.
 
Awww Tawny...come on and eat your fuds.

First, I'd check her ketones and temp.....just to get a baseline for right now.

Folks have recommened 1.5 times her normal caloric intake for feeding. Do you know what her normal caloric intake should be? Do you know how many calories she's has had today?

When I puree a 5.5 oz can of food, it equal about 6x10cc syringes. One of my cats will only tolerate 2 syringes max/ feeding.....and I don't add water.

So Sid eats about 150 calories / day. Grammy Pot Pie is about 151 calories per 5.5 oz can. Equals about 6 syringes. Each syringe is about 25 calories.
 
Ozzie was given baby food - Gerbers chicken and turkey in the jar was given by the vets in Minnesota to get him to eat the 1st time around. It worked and you can water it down and feed just a little at a time either by your finger or on a little plate or syringe. Then she might transition to her favorite food. Anything at this stage is worth a try.
Prayers for you and Tawny - just keep trying anything.
 
Marje, thanks for the input, it helped a lot, I will definitely go get some a/d tomorrow then.

Thanks everyone else, too. The vet tech this evening talked about calculating out the amount she needs and they are going to help me with that when I get down there tomorrow.

I just put a mushy mix of Meow Mix & SO, which is the food she was eating at the clinic--the only thing she would eat--into the food processor w/warm water, liquified it, and got about 3-1/2 to 4 3cc syringe fulls of that into her, a little bit at a time. Then she was done.

I know this is not the best food for her but what is the highest priority here? Getting her to eat anything at all or keeping her on LC foods? My gut tells me, and the clinic said, for now just get her to eat.

She is back on the bed next to me curled up.

I did spot ck just b4 feeding her just now and she was down to 304 @ +2. This feed of course will spike her back up.

I guess I'll try to syringe feed her every couple of hours overnight then and get back down there in the morning.

D
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny

just making sure you saw this:

Sienne and Gabby said:
Ditto on what the others have said re. food. Remember, you can work the insulin dose around the food -- especially if you need to give a higher carb food than usual to get her to eat.
Click to expand...

sounds like eating anything is the most important thing.
 
I don't know if it's helpful,...but someone mentioned baby food...
and the few times Boinks has had issues eating...it was baby food that saved the day.

the meat and broth ones...Beeches, gerber, etc.

wishing you the best of luck, Tawny..
 
Desi,

Eating is far more important. You can manage higher BGs with insulin. You may have to get some "R" (Regular) insulin to do that, but there are many here experienced with R. (R is the insulin Tawny was on at the clinic before they switched her back to Lantus.)

A/D is a food most cats will eat. And while you are at the clinic get some Clinicare to thin it with. That is what Tawny was getting by infuser when she had her nasal tube in.
 
Re: 11/12 Tawny - Need Liver Supplement Advice

+6 321

I just managed to get about 11cc's of the liquidated Meow Mix/SO concoction into her. She had gotten off the bed and was lying downstairs in front of the community water bowl again. I brought her back upstairs and she is in her room now.

The community water bowl is stainless steel. The first bowl of water she had to herself in her room was Melmac-like (hard plastic). Earlier I put a glass water bowl in her room and a metal one too, and she looked at all three and went straight to the metal one. She will drink out of the plastic one but when the metal one was an option she went to it first. Weird.

Venita mentioned s/thg about liver supplements, anyone have any experience w/this? What can I give her as a liver supplement?

Desi
 
Get Recovery RS not AD - its higher in calories and 6% carbs. You have to get at least a 5.5 oz can into her a day. So if you can't do this consider an etube.

Most cats can handle 30-40ccs every three hours. Some cats can work up to more than this amount.

A liver supplement has been proven to improve survivability. I'd recommend going with one that is over the counter - marin, denosyl or denamarin (combo of the two).

If you join the Yahoo Feline assisted feeding forum you will be sent an autofile on how to safely assist feed. It gives some tips. I'm not up to speed on all of them.

I'd recommend not considering it "Forced feeding" but assist feeding. It is a minor thing, but if you think of it as assist feeding your attitude about it and how your cat feels about it will be better. Cats can feel our emotions. So make it a time of love and bonding. Reward them.

Anti nausea medication is a must with FHL also. Liver disease is horribly nauseating. My Dad had liver disease and didn't eat solid food for six weeks. My Dad could verbalize how it made him feel.

Sending lots of hugs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top