Hi Lisa,
I can hear the panic in your voice and how very much you love your
Kitty. You are right, you need to get him to eat. It is wonderful
that he has been so healthy and has a few extra pounds to help him
maintain right now. He is in danger of HL if he goes without eating
anything in a 24 to 48 hour period. That means if you get something
down him, he'll probably be okay. I know the sound of "syringe
feeding" can be intimidating. Don't think of it as "force" feeding,
think of it as "assisted" feeding. Like you would a baby. There is a
group for help with this, here's the link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/
Poor thing must be so panicky with his eyes giving him trouble like
that. Not to mention the vet trip from Hell. All he's going to want
to do is hide. Please try to calm yourself. Put on some soft music and
keep the room he's in dark. If he wants to hide, go ahead and let him,
(after you get his meds and some food in him of course). Speak softly
to him and tell him how the two of you will see this through together.
Tell him you will do your very best to make sure no one scares him, or
puts him through any more trauma than absolutely necessary. (I'd like
to punch your substitute vet in the neck btw).
Prayers that Kitty rebounds soon, please let us know how you guys are doing,
Nina
Elizabeth Paz wrote:
Hi everyone,
Has anyone got any ideas on how to get some food into my kitty?
He has had FELV since 03. He was a very sick kitty and we were a
breath away from having to put him to sleep. We wanted to try and
give him a chance, even though our Vet and the Ophthalmologist that
was treating kitty's eyes were against it. He was on Prednisone 5mg a
day for about 6 months, he began looking and acting healthier. then
his meds were changed to half a pill each day, and then finally a half
a pill every other day.
August of 04 he was taken off of all meds, and became a healthy chubby
cat. ( 16 lbs) He has been wonderful till Friday of last week. Then
over this weekend his eyes clouded over (Uveitis returned) and he is
not eating a thing. I have tried everything, even his favorite snack,
and no way.
We went to the Vet yesterday (Monday), and guess what, the Dr. who has
worked with us is on holiday. What a mess. The one that we saw was a
bit of a fruit cake. She tried to draw blood and had such a problem,
it took three tries with kitty crying, can't even tell you what I was
going to do to her if hubby had not stepped in. I spoke to her about
the prednisone. She said she did not want to put him back on the
prednisone at this time and on and on and on. I told her our Dr. made
it quite clear to us,( it was down on his chart also ) that if we saw
that he was sliding to get him back on the Prednisone. It was like
talking to the wall. She gave me an anti-biotic for ten days for him
and that was it.
Today I called and got one of the other vets who pulled Kitty's chart
and gave me a prescription for the prednisone. I will be starting it
later. Tomorrow we will be taking him to his Ophthalmologist and
hopefully she will be able to get his eyes back under control. Please
God.
I am quite sure at this time he is only seeing shadows, and is so
frightened from every noise. I can't get him to eat. I know how
important this is on a chubby cat, and how quickly they can get...
Hepatic Lipidosis and it may be fatal with his immune system..
A few moments ago I put a little food on my finger and had to force
his little mouth open and I put it on the back of his tongue. He did
swallow it, and is now sleeping.
Would anyone know of any other way of doing it.
Sorry about this winded letter, it has been a long and heartbreaking 5
days.
Thank you for taking the time to read it.
Lisa.
