Syringe feeding can be stressful, Buddie my cat hated it, I ended
up getting her a feeding tube and she did great with that. The main
thing with syringe feeding is get relaxed and calm, talk to your kitty
and explain you are trying to help get him feeling better, that witout
food he will feel worse and worse. The pick a place that is comfortable
and use it all the time, that way kitty will know that is what is going
to happen when you pick him up and go there.
If possible a try the couch and try sitting so that kitty is positioned
with his back end backed into the corner of the arm, you on one side
kitty in the middle and the couch arm on the other side. Then pet and
calmly talk to him and let him know what you are going to do, and then
calmly put the syringe in the side of his mouth and give a small amount
of food, wait a half minute or so and give more. If syringing is really
stressful, putting the food on your finger and offering that way is
fine, it may take alittle longer but if it works go with that. Or I
know someone that put the food on a spoon and actually spoon fed their cat.
Before Buddie got sick enough for the tube she had quite eating one
other time and I would put some food in a bowl and would hold the bowl
in front of her, I told her if she didn't eat on her own I would have to
syringe feed her, she would take a few bites and I would offer her food
every 15 minutes, it took me almost 3 weeks to get her eating normal
again. Later when se got very sick with a sepsis infection I had to get
the tube, it saved her life and she really loved getting fed that way,
she would run to the couch and wait for me when she heard me getting her
tube syringes ready. She purred through the whole feeding then promply
plopped over and took a nap, she wasn't happy when I was weaning her off
the tube.
The main thing is stay calm and you may try warming the food up, some
kitties can smell it better when it is warmed and will eat it then.
Prayers that things will go much better next time you try.
--
Belinda
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