[Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy
first you put the cat's bib on, the one from marta's cafepress site that says, remember which one of us has the claws.--there's actually quite a good assist-feeding group, i'm told--someone, the link? belinda, you've done assist-feeding a lot, yes? it's DEFINITELY something anyone with a challenged cat should know how to do MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 12:43 PM, Sander, Sue sue.san...@ssa.gov wrote: How do you assist feed a cat? -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of MaryChristine Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:35 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Thoughts Prayers Needed for Darcy echoing kerry's thoughts, and everyone else's prayers--please let us know what the vet has to say--spaying is usually a simple, straight-forward procedure, but even when complications do arise, they usually can be overcome. GLOW for the little one! MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Kerry MacKenzie kerrm...@gmail.comwrote: Sending prayers for sweet Darcy. The exact same thing happened with my FeLV Flavia and she recovered: She did so badly after her spay (the boys all did fine; it's the females that have it harder), that when i took her to the vet as an emergency I was totally distraught thinking she would have to be euthanized (a housecall vet who came the night before and gave her fluids had basically washed his hands of her in the morning when I called to tell him she was still not eating). My *new* vet showed me how to assist feed her--which made all the difference. So important to get those calories inside. I'm sure she gave her antibiotics too, maybe even more painkiller but i can't recall. She recovered beautifully. Please let us know how Darcy does. Darcy and her mom are in my thoughts. hugs, Kerry Our sweet baby, Darcy, ten months old and FeLV+ was neutered on Tuesday. We brought her home Wednesday and she seemed okay, considering she'd just had surgery. Yesterday she was in more pain, but we just figured the pain shot they'd given that was supposed to be good for two days was wearing off. Today is even worse. I called the vet this AM. She suggested giving a baby aspirin, which I did before going to work. Tonight, she barely lifts her head and is mewing so pitifully. She ate some earlier in the day but won't eat tonight. I called the vet again, and she had me give 1/8 of an antibiotic and we'll bring her in tomorrow morning first thing. We've had other FeLV kitties neutered with no troubles, but I'm getting scared tonight. I just needed to share this tonight. Any encouraging words or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Jody ( Darcy) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.or g ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy
In my case, Flavia was so weak that she offered no resistance. I would just settle her on my lap with the (wet )cat food next to me, put a little dollop of food on my finger, open her mouth (clench each side of her jaw---a cat's mouth opens automatically when you do that) and then SMEAR the food on the ROOF of her mouth. It's a pretty certain way of getting the food to stay in the mouth--she'll then take it from there. Repeat until she has enough cals inside here. It can take a while! It's also good to do this when a cat has no smell, perhaps because of a--URI--- upper respiratory infection. No smell = no want food. When the food is put in the mouth it gives a chance for the taste sense to take over the job and get the appetite going. On 30/05/2009, at 11:47 AM, MaryChristine wrote: first you put the cat's bib on, the one from marta's cafepress site that says, remember which one of us has the claws.--there's actually quite a good assist-feeding group, i'm told--someone, the link? belinda, you've done assist-feeding a lot, yes? it's DEFINITELY something anyone with a challenged cat should know how to do MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 12:43 PM, Sander, Sue sue.san...@ssa.gov wrote: How do you assist feed a cat? -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of MaryChristine Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:35 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Thoughts Prayers Needed for Darcy echoing kerry's thoughts, and everyone else's prayers--please let us know what the vet has to say--spaying is usually a simple, straight-forward procedure, but even when complications do arise, they usually can be overcome. GLOW for the little one! MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Kerry MacKenzie kerrm...@gmail.comwrote: Sending prayers for sweet Darcy. The exact same thing happened with my FeLV Flavia and she recovered: She did so badly after her spay (the boys all did fine; it's the females that have it harder), that when i took her to the vet as an emergency I was totally distraught thinking she would have to be euthanized (a housecall vet who came the night before and gave her fluids had basically washed his hands of her in the morning when I called to tell him she was still not eating). My *new* vet showed me how to assist feed her--which made all the difference. So important to get those calories inside. I'm sure she gave her antibiotics too, maybe even more painkiller but i can't recall. She recovered beautifully. Please let us know how Darcy does. Darcy and her mom are in my thoughts. hugs, Kerry Our sweet baby, Darcy, ten months old and FeLV+ was neutered on Tuesday. We brought her home Wednesday and she seemed okay, considering she'd just had surgery. Yesterday she was in more pain, but we just figured the pain shot they'd given that was supposed to be good for two days was wearing off. Today is even worse. I called the vet this AM. She suggested giving a baby aspirin, which I did before going to work. Tonight, she barely lifts her head and is mewing so pitifully. She ate some earlier in the day but won't eat tonight. I called the vet again, and she had me give 1/8 of an antibiotic and we'll bring her in tomorrow morning first thing. We've had other FeLV kitties neutered with no troubles, but I'm getting scared tonight. I just needed to share this tonight. Any encouraging words or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Jody ( Darcy) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/ felvtalk_felineleukemia.or g ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/ felvtalk_felineleukemia.org -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/ felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/ felvtalk_felineleukemia.org -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy
LOL, keeping in mind who DOES have the claws, the best thing to do is probably wrap a large expendable towel around the cat, including the paws (they don't like this!) with only the head showing. In a pinch, use Gerber 2nd Foods baby meats (or puree your own baked meats and cooking juices!), although the force-food of choice is A/D food from the vet. A/D is high in protein, lower in fat, which is what you need for a cat that hasn't been eating for a while. The danger is always hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) in which the liver becomes overwhelmed trying to process stored body fat due to the cat not eating. So your best goal is to get food in that won't tax the liver even more with high fat content, but the more immediate goal is to get calories into the cat. You can water down the A/D or the baby food until it can be syringed, or you can spoon or finger feed as Kerry describes. Idea being to get the food beyond the point where the cat has the option to turn away from it., Heating stuff enhances its odor -- which in the case of the A/D may put YOU off your food for a bit. Two people is the best way to do an assisted feed, but one person is doable if you've got fingers that are good at multitasking. You and the cat will both end up wearing about as much of the food as has gone into him -- absolutely no different from feeding a baby except that the airplane/hangar ploy never works on a cat, and I would strongly discourage trying to burp him. Diane R. -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of MaryChristine Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 11:47 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy first you put the cat's bib on, the one from marta's cafepress site that says, remember which one of us has the claws.--there's actually quite a good assist-feeding group, i'm told--someone, the link? belinda, you've done assist-feeding a lot, yes? it's DEFINITELY something anyone with a challenged cat should know how to do MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 12:43 PM, Sander, Sue sue.san...@ssa.gov wrote: How do you assist feed a cat? -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of MaryChristine Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:35 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Thoughts Prayers Needed for Darcy echoing kerry's thoughts, and everyone else's prayers--please let us know what the vet has to say--spaying is usually a simple, straight-forward procedure, but even when complications do arise, they usually can be overcome. GLOW for the little one! MC On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Kerry MacKenzie kerrm...@gmail.comwrote: Sending prayers for sweet Darcy. The exact same thing happened with my FeLV Flavia and she recovered: She did so badly after her spay (the boys all did fine; it's the females that have it harder), that when i took her to the vet as an emergency I was totally distraught thinking she would have to be euthanized (a housecall vet who came the night before and gave her fluids had basically washed his hands of her in the morning when I called to tell him she was still not eating). My *new* vet showed me how to assist feed her--which made all the difference. So important to get those calories inside. I'm sure she gave her antibiotics too, maybe even more painkiller but i can't recall. She recovered beautifully. Please let us know how Darcy does. Darcy and her mom are in my thoughts. hugs, Kerry Our sweet baby, Darcy, ten months old and FeLV+ was neutered on Tuesday. We brought her home Wednesday and she seemed okay, considering she'd just had surgery. Yesterday she was in more pain, but we just figured the pain shot they'd given that was supposed to be good for two days was wearing off. Today is even worse. I called the vet this AM. She suggested giving a baby aspirin, which I did before going to work. Tonight, she barely lifts her head and is mewing so pitifully. She ate some earlier in the day but won't eat tonight. I called the vet again, and she had me give 1/8 of an antibiotic and we'll bring her in tomorrow morning first thing. We've had other FeLV kitties neutered with no troubles, but I'm getting scared tonight. I just needed to share this tonight. Any encouraging words or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Jody ( Darcy) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia. or g ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.o rg -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe
Re: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy
Yes I was a member back when I had a couple of sick kitties, it's is a very knowledgable and supportive group. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/ -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... http://bemikitties.com http://BelindaSauro.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy
Ah Diane it's not that bad. You will end up wearing some of the food. I have feeding t-shirts for that purpose. LOL Now finger feeding is pretty messy. Short term a meat baby food (no onions or garlic) is a good food to use. It is easily syringed, doesn't need to be diluted and many cats like it. Mine love Gerber 2 Chicken and Gravy which has 100 calories per jar. A/D is actually pretty high in fat but again should be easily syringed without diluting it with a liquid. Any pate style canned food is syringe-able if you blend the dickens out of it and add a little liquid. Some will have hard lumps so you may need to put the food through a metal sieve. What is critical is you get some kind of food into her. A sick kitty generally needs more calories than a healthy kitty. She will need food to have the energy to fight whatever the problem is. Hugs to Darcy Sharyl --- On Sat, 5/30/09, Diane Rosenfeldt drosenfe...@wi.rr.com wrote: From: Diane Rosenfeldt drosenfe...@wi.rr.com Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] assist-feeding: was re: Darcy To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1:46 PM LOL, keeping in mind who DOES have the claws, the best thing to do is probably wrap a large expendable towel around the cat, including the paws (they don't like this!) with only the head showing. In a pinch, use Gerber 2nd Foods baby meats (or puree your own baked meats and cooking juices!), although the force-food of choice is A/D food from the vet. A/D is high in protein, lower in fat, which is what you need for a cat that hasn't been eating for a while. The danger is always hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) in which the liver becomes overwhelmed trying to process stored body fat due to the cat not eating. So your best goal is to get food in that won't tax the liver even more with high fat content, but the more immediate goal is to get calories into the cat. You can water down the A/D or the baby food until it can be syringed, or you can spoon or finger feed as Kerry describes. Idea being to get the food beyond the point where the cat has the option to turn away from it., Heating stuff enhances its odor -- which in the case of the A/D may put YOU off your food for a bit. Two people is the best way to do an assisted feed, but one person is doable if you've got fingers that are good at multitasking. You and the cat will both end up wearing about as much of the food as has gone into him -- absolutely no different from feeding a baby except that the airplane/hangar ploy never works on a cat, and I would strongly discourage trying to burp him. Diane R. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
