Phlegm vomit in etube

[Nats0421]

Hello,

Our cat Binx is 13 and was diagnosed last week w fatty liver. We had the etube put into place on Friday, so he’s had it a week. He’s starting to perk up a bit, but still doesn’t move around a lot and won’t eat.

Recently he started vomiting up a light color phlegm right before we feed him. It’s happened about 5 times. But not every time. After he vomits the phlegm he’s fine, and we can feed him and he doesn’t vomit up his food. Any idea on what this is? The vet told us to just reduce the food, but it’s not food he’s vomiting and we can’t reduce him we need to keep him at 30 or more because we can only feed him 4 times a day.

 

[Sharon14]

I have no experience with either fatty liver or feeding tubes, I’ll tag @Kris & Teasel she’s had a cat with a feeding tube and maybe will have an answer for you.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

I don't have any experience of this as it relates to a feeding tube. Some cats will vomit pale frothy liquid when their stomach is empty and that can be due to the irritation caused by stomach acid. I will say, though, that when my cat had a feeding tube I had to feed her small amounts every few hours - ie., more than 4 times a day.

 

[JeffJ]

Leo had an e-tube earlier this year. In summary, it was before we had him diagnosed with Small Cell Lymphoma (SCL).

Leo wasn't eating. The e-tube was helpful. We ensured that he was getting more than the proper calories for a 17 pound cat, so he could regain some weight.

Leo has always had some vomit in the past 2 years. Usually at night when he doesn't have food in his stomach. Usually it is clear, and there is not much. He has always been a heavy eater, so I think it is his gut reacting to lack of persistent food. To counteract it, we usually leave food out at night.

You may consider some hunger stimulants. Your vet can prescribe them. E-tubes should be short term measures to get the kitteh back on track.

 

[Tanya and Ducia]

Hi,

If by phlegm you mean whitish foamy liquid then it could be due to acidy tummy – like Kris explained above – mine vomits like that if she hasn’t eaten in over 4 hours or so. Either feeding more frequently or adding tiny amount of Famotidine (Pepcid, sold OTC @any pharmacy) plus small dose of anti-nausea/ anti vomit medication called Cerenia (from vet’s) might help with this issue. Meds dosages are vary per cat of course, but my little girl does fine on 1/8 pill of 20 mg Famotidine + ¼ of 16 mg pill of Cerenia. When she had her E-tube in I used to crush the pills and mixed it with her slurry food to be given via tube. It is best not to give Fam long term.

30 ml per feeding might be too much if given in a single sitting… IMHO. Splitting this much into smaller portions might be good idea. My cat’s appetite restarted when I was feeding her about 10 ml of slurry via tube and then offer her LC wet food on a plate – little by little she started to eat more and more on her own. If she refused to eat I’d use the tube a little later to provide necessary amount of calories. The amount of food to be given daily depends on how much calories your kitty requires. Mine was Dx with fatty liver and needed to gain some weight so we aimed at one and a half (one and a quarter later on) of 5.5 oz can of Friskies Pates – average caloric value is 180 per 5.5 oz can; her daily intake was about 250 Kcal per 24 hours-she gained nicely and fatty liver issue was resolved. Do you know how much calories your kitty needs and was is the current weight – how much gain is needed?

One very important thing about vomit and E-tubes I wanted to mention is that it risks infection – happened to mine. Sometimes vomit shoots up to the tube’s insertion site and infects the tissues. We caused it by feeding too much too fast and haven’t noticed the leakage right away. The bandages became a little soiled, the site looked fine one evening but by the next evening the infection was all over the tube insertion site – we ended up in ER. Do you check and change the bandages daily?

I hope this is helpful. Good luck!

 

[JeffJ]

Leo would not leave the feeding tube alone. He kept messing with it. I put a mark on it with a felt pen. That way if he pulled it out a little, I knew exactly how far to push it back in. You have to be careful though. If they pull it out too far you can't push it back yourself. You risk pushing it into their lungs.

 

[Tanya and Ducia]

Leo would not leave the feeding tube alone. He kept messing with it.

I used to buy Sports Wrap @Walmart first aid isle (very cheap) - it is sort of self adhesive or Velcro like band that holds tightly around the the tube - it helped a lot with keeping it in one place. Totally agree on not pushing the tube back in if it got out too far - very risky.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

Sorry I don't have experience to help you, but I wanted to check in and see how you and Binx are doing?

Hoping for the best for you both!
Sandi&whisper.