[Felvtalk] Syringe Feeding

[Amani Oakley]

Bob - it is so painful to hear what you are going through. I am so sorry. But Jelly does know you love him. Trust in that.

With respect to the syringe feedings, I usually use a 3 cc syringe. I start by just trying to get a full syringe down in one sitting - little by little. My feeling is that, though I want to do it little by little, I still want to try to get at least 1/2 to 1 cc into the back of the mouth each time. That reduces the number of times of having to pry open the mouth and get the food in. If you are using baby food, I don’t water it down much or at all because the consistency will allow you to put it safely at the back of the throat without being concerned that it will trickle down the throat and cause choking or liquid in the lungs, etc. I will quickly squirt 1/2 to 1 cc at the back of the throat, hold the mouth closed for a few seconds and usually this results in swallowing. I can usually get in a full syringe this way in a very short period of time, thus minimizing the stress on the cat. If the food goes down fairly well, I will gauge if I should try a second or a third syringe. I try to do this 2 to 3 times a day, depending again on how much I am able to get in at a go. My philosophy is that I would rather bother them for a longer period of time each feeding, and try to go for 2 or 3 syringes, because this results in less numbers of times to harass them over the course of the day.

With respect to the Winstrol and Prednisolone, these will not just help regarding the anemia but may assist in drawing away fluid from the lungs. Prednisone helps deal with inflammation.

I know you are doing your best for Jelly and we all know what you are going through.

Amani 

-----Original Message-----
From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of ROBERT CHAPEL
Sent: April-06-17 7:14 PM
To: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Cc: felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Syringe Feeding

For folks who have Syringe Fed cats...
How much do you " force" at each feeding when a cat shows little interest in even swallowing that which you manage to get into his mouth...   Jelly fights it tooth and nail...   I am WAY behind in his caloric needs because he fights so vehemently now about taking meds or being fed that I feel that it is hurting more than helping....   I was using AD with High Density calorie paste but he doesn't like it at ALL so I am now using bits of baby food and alternating with KMR Kitten Milk and literally forcing him to swallow a couple of oz's...which is also far too little......  He still drinks water on his own and is urinating a large amount... for all I know at this point his Kidneys could be shutting down

He is  lethargic enough at this point that I am 75% sure that I will put him down before the weekend is out...  If he were just battling anemia I'd have more hope for the Win/Pred/Doxy combo but with the tumor I'm feeling I might not be doing him any favors.... Admittedly... it was only a couple of months back that I watched my other little boy fade away at home over the course of a couple of months but HE was eating at least.... Mostly... I don't think " I " can take much more of watching my lovely boy die... Every day I'm here living my life around trying to get him to eat.. watching that he doesn't eat cement or other detritus ( Pica r/t anemia) putting food in a thousand places so that if he IS inclined at one moment TO eat there will be something near at hand TO eat and getting more and more depressed with each passing day at the lack of response.....  This damnable disease!!!   6 short weeks ago he passed his wellness exam with flying colors....  They can be claimed in a heartbeat.       I don't know that I will take in another FeLV cat unless I can find a damn vet that will work WITH ME and give a dying cat a fighting chance.......  I can't take this amount of sadness again for at least several months...


> Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2017 02:19:39 +0000
> From: Sheri Burbridge To: "felvtalk at felineleukemia.org" Subject: Re: 
> [Felvtalk] New FELV mom
> Message-ID:
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I've struggled with Mo since he came home, literally, the only thing 
> he will eat on his own is the Temptations treats. I count them so I 
> know he's gotten more than his basic needs every day but he's never 
> bowled us over with his appetite, even on mirzapine (definitely 
> misspelled that). He will lick the gel off his feet still, I feel 
> lucky to have found anything he likes but a bit stuck as he won't try 
> anything else!
>
> On Wed, Apr 5, 2017, 5:30 PM Amani Oakley  wrote:
>
>> Good luck Sheri. I understand all too well the reluctance to add 
>> stress by syringe feeding, but I think that the ?gas in the engine? 
>> is also dependent on getting in those calories. I rely on baby food. 
>> I find that it is usually palatable enough that you can usually 
>> syringe a wee bit of it on their lips or just inside their lips ? if 
>> they sit or lie down beside you or in your lap (my preferred 
>> position), and they will lick at what is in or on their mouth. I 
>> think this helps to stimulate their appetite. The Winstrol will often 
>> also help improve appetite, strength and a sense of feeling better so 
>> that they want to eat a bit more.
>>
>>
>>
>> Amani
>>
>>
>>
>

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