? New to assist feeding

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Amanda and Button

Amanda and Button

Member Since 2016
Hi all,

Button is not interested in food right now so I have begun syringe feeding. I am very used to her having a lack of appetite, but this is the first time I have has to resort to using a syringe and I want to make sure she gets enough food to stave off Hepatic Lipidosis. I am feeding her baby food today (Gerber Beef / Chicken and gravy). If this persists I will make up some syringes with watered down Fancy Feast. I will also be testing her for keytones the next time I am hope to catch her at the litter box. Her BG has been 300-350 at preshot / 150-170 at Nadir, with the exception of yesterday and today while she has not been feeling good. I have been able to regulate her GI issues / bowel movements lately through use of Miralax and Cisapride. Her appetite began to flag a few days ago though I could still get her to eat on her own with some encouragement. Last night she threw up twice and would not eat. Still wouldn't eat this morning so I took her to the clinic. The vet gave her Ondanestron injection and Famotidine today. Last night she only ate 10-15 cc's of food from a syringe. This morning I was able to give her 20 cc's and so far this evening I have been able to give her 45 cc's over several hours.

My main question at the moment is how many calories does she need per lb per day to stave off HL?

Thank you!!!
Button and Amanda
 
This is what I did for my cat when he had eye surgery and had to have a large e-collar for several weeks. I used A/D from the vet (there is another high calorie one that I can't remember at the moment). I added enough water to make a thick paste, pureed with a hand blender in a drinking glass. I found he would only eat about 15 mls at a time. He was fed ever 2 hours. Yes, it was intense. Check with your vet to see if the higher calorie food would work for your kitty. It might be higher carb, but better high bg than HL as you pointed out.
 
Just-As-Appy said:
I used A/D from the vet (there is another high calorie one that I can't remember at the moment).
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The other one was likely Iams MaxCal but last year Iams announced that are no longer manufacturing their line of vet diets
https://smileydog.com/iams-veterinary-formulas-discontinued/

I have had to syringe feed several of my cats. Some for about a year. I just used the standard Friskies pate foods and either used a syringe that originally held L-Lysine paste or a syringe make for baby feeding. Those had a large enough opening for the standard food.
 
JanetNJ said:
Did you have her tested for pancreatitis?
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I have done the SnapFPL and the SpecFPL tests and both have shown inflammation. My vet has not confirmed that this is Pancreatitis, I think because of the controversy over treatment and the specificity / sensitivity of the test. But from her test results it would seem that she has inflammation in her pancreas. My vet would prefer to treat the GI disease to manage pancreatitis rather than give her pain medication or steroids.
 
Amanda and Button said:
I have done the SnapFPL and the SpecFPL tests and both have shown inflammation. My vet has not confirmed that this is Pancreatitis, I think because of the controversy over treatment and the specificity / sensitivity of the test. But from her test results it would seem that she has inflammation in her pancreas. My vet would prefer to treat the GI disease to manage pancreatitis rather than give her pain medication or steroids.
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Pancreatitis is very painful. My cat had a bout of it a few months ago. He didn't need pain meds for long, but it's what he needed to get eating on his own again. I think we have them to him for 4 days. He had pain meds, cerenia for nausea, and daily sub q fluids. Did your vet at least give you fluids to give?
 
It's been two weeks, he's still not eating on his own? I might ask for his test records and go get a second opinion.
 
JanetNJ said:
Pancreatitis is very painful. My cat had a bout of it a few months ago. He didn't need pain meds for long, but it's what he needed to get eating on his own again. I think we have them to him for 4 days. He had pain meds, cerenia for nausea, and daily sub q fluids. Did your vet at least give you fluids to give?
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That's helpful to know. I have been giving subQs for a while now, before the FPL tests. She is also on cerenia. What pain meds did your doctor use? She has given me one dose of ondanestron when Button was vomitting. I've seen bupe recommended.
 
Amanda and Button said:
That's helpful to know. I have been giving subQs for a while now, before the FPL tests. She is also on cerenia. What pain meds did your doctor use? She has given me one dose of ondanestron when Button was vomitting. I've seen bupe recommended.
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My cat got bupe. The first dose and I saw him just relax and sleep for HOURS then he got up and ate. It was like you could see the immediate release take over his body as he had been uncomfortable and achy for several days. I'm so glad you are already doing fluids as what lands most cats into long stays at the vet is dehydration. We had already been doing fluids with our cat too, eod, but for that week were told to do them every day until he was feeling better. It took about five days on the extra fluids, cerenia, and a few days on the bupe to see him eating and acting like himself.
 
I am definitely going to see if I can get my vet to let us try this. Thank you for the details on how long you used the pain medications. My partner was concerned thinking that his was something she would have to be on for a while.
 
Amanda and Button said:
I am definitely going to see if I can get my vet to let us try this. Thank you for the details on how long you used the pain medications. My partner was concerned thinking that his was something she would have to be on for a while.
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We had gotten at least 10 days worth of pain killer in the prescription, but once we saw signs he was feeling better about 3 days in so we did one extra day of pain meds then held off to see how he was and he did good. We did almost week of the cerenia though. This is him sleeping that first day on the pain killers, and then snuggling with his kitty friends a few days
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Maybe someone can straighten me out on this. I thought BUPE was an opioid, Noah is on it for long term dental problems. Enlarged heart and cardiomyopathy means surgery is not an option. Because of my rather bizarre combination of neurological conditions I have been taking opioids for a long, long time (everything else I've tried is a preventative drug, it just does not work) so I know what withdrawal feels like and I would never, ever want to see an animal go through that, especially not even knowing why they're feeling that way. Our cats have put their trust in us to do the right thing. Am I just reading too much into this? Noah's dose is measured extremely accurately and if I had to reduce it I would be using a magnifying glass to measure the dose. I basically just dropped my drawers in front of 1,000 people so no preaching please. Thanks
 
Oh crap! That was NOT meant to be judgmental of what anyone else is doing with their cat. Sorry, I have to remember, first your pants, THEN your shoes!
 
Amanda and Button said:
My main question at the moment is how many calories does she need per lb per day to stave off HL?

Thank you!!!
Button and Amanda
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I don't know much about the main body of your post, but I can help you on this.
The Calories needed daily for a cat are (30 x kg)+70, so if Button is 4 kg (8.8 lbs) he'll need (30 x 4)+70 = 190 Cal or kcal or 795 kJ
This formula was handed to me by a vet who found it on a specific book, so I trust it. I had found other tables on the internet and were the same.
 
Noah & me said:
Maybe someone can straighten me out on this. I thought BUPE was an opioid, Noah is on it for long term dental problems. Enlarged heart and cardiomyopathy means surgery is not an option. Because of my rather bizarre combination of neurological conditions I have been taking opioids for a long, long time (everything else I've tried is a preventative drug, it just does not work) so I know what withdrawal feels like and I would never, ever want to see an animal go through that, especially not even knowing why they're feeling that way. Our cats have put their trust in us to do the right thing. Am I just reading too much into this? Noah's dose is measured extremely accurately and if I had to reduce it I would be using a magnifying glass to measure the dose. I basically just dropped my drawers in front of 1,000 people so no preaching please. Thanks
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I think what they may be saying is that the pain relief is helpful to make kitty feel better. Taking away the pain is sometimes enough to get them to eat and do their usual behaviours. That is what I am reading anyways. You are correct, a narcotic isn't going to fix anything but it may be enough to make them feel well enough to eat, which in turn corrects other issues related to not eating.
 
Thanks very much. We all have problems but Noah was born into a family of six and they all have/had cardiomyopathy. His Mom Zoe died in the back seat with an oxygen tank on the way to emergency, brother Simon made it to emergency and died in his crate, brother Andrew only made it past the first night. It's an awful way to go. One day Noah will just start wheezing and it will all be over, a day my wife and I think we're prepared for but you never are. His heart is so enlarged no one knows how he made it this far. I'm not going to put him through Hell because I'm afraid he'll be an addict. If anyone else even suspects their cat has this condition there are things you can do to lessen the burden. Also important to know that cardiomyopathy has different variations. Some people call it the Broken Heart disease because a percentage of seniors who die unexpectedly soon after their spouses die have this condition.
 
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