Poor thing, sorry to hear that. I could not stand to see her suffer...... so without a very good prognosis, I would have her put down.

Can you explain how you're tube feeding her......did the vet place a tube or are you syringe feeding her by mouth? It's very important that she stay hydrated so the vet should have given her sub-q fluids and then explained how you should monitor her hydration.

What annz says is valid, and though I have never done it, I have a friend who herself has on a daily basis given sub-q fluid injections to her cat with cancer. I am assuming also that when you say "by tube", that you are syringe feeding her. You can do this as well with regular wet catfood that you've watered down. Talk to your vet again - they should give you the background information on these things.

Here is a link that might be useful: TIPS ON GIVING SUBCUTANEOUS FLUIDS

Is she able to swallow properly? If so, you should be able to feed her adequately with an oral syringe. She'll need 5-6 oz of canned cat food daily to meet her nutritional needs. That can be a time consuming effort, since it will require numerous feedings throughout the day and evening.

If she has difficulty swallowing, it would be much safer for her and easier for you if you have the vet insert a stomach tube through which you can inject food directly. It will bypass her throat so that there will be no risk of aspiration into her lungs, and it'll make it much easier to get her full daily food portion into her.

Fluids, as mentioned above, can be administered subQ at home. The procedure takes a bit of practice, but it's really quite simple once you get the hang of it. Your vet can teach you the procedure, and there are plenty of tutorials and videos online to help you with it, as well.

Laurie

I am syringe feeding her and checking her hydration. I do know how to do that as I had a 4 yo who had kidney failure. Mysti does seem to bed moving around a bit more and is able to stand and walk for longer periods of time. I will not have her put down as I do know that it can take more than three weeks for real improvement to be seen. We have a 5 yo canine who had a stroke at 2 yo and it took him 3 months to be 85% back to normal. My real question is what is the best kind of syringe to use for her? She is a small cat, weighs 6 lbs., which is a normal weight for her. I took a half jar of turkey baby food and 1/4 can of pate and put that into a blender to make it like gruel. Thanks people for your help.

You might ask your vet, but you could also go to the feed store & look at the syringes they have;
you probably can tell the best size by looking.

The best syringe is the one that works easiest for you. I've used everything from a 5cc-20cc size, with and without 0-rings, with a straight tip or curved tip. Syringes are cheap, so just buy a few from your vet or a pharmacy and see which one works best for you and your cat.

Depending on the number of feedings you can do per day and your cat's tolerance for syringe feeding, you'll probably feed anywhere from 10-60 cc's per meal.

Laurie

I feel the need to caution the use of human baby food, if that's what you're using, simply because it doesn't have the fiber that cats need for proper elimination. Years ago I made the mistake of giving kittens human baby food and ended up with 5 constipated kittens! Some edible laxative took care of the problem, and then I switched to the proper kitten food. Some kitten pate would be good, though, and have the extra nutrition. Plus you might be able to give her some KMR - kitten milk replacer, maybe a little diluted so it doesn't upset her stomach by being too rich.

What were her symptoms? Strokes are extremely rare in cats...

My dog had a stroke a little over a year ago. She has made a full recovery. She's 14 now.

My vet had me give her some Nutri cal. It's loaded with calories and Sissy licked it right up. Boiled chicken is what really got her appetite back.

I hope your Mysti is doing better.

Shasty,
Maybe this will help, maybe not. For several years I bred exotic cats, and found my self tube feeding a few babies (yes, really tube feeding). Squirrels and more (http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/ ) has lots of supplies for this type of thing and they're pretty reasonable. Chris is a fount of knowledge and she's willing to share it. I know folk that order from her from Europe.

Regarding human baby food-it's really fine. Just try for the low sodium kind. Most cat breeders I know use it to feed abandoned or orphaned babies. It's not typically necessary to add any veggies into the situation. Cats are obilgate carnivores, meaning that's their diet. Veggies may be helpful in a stroke situation because her body may not be able to do what it normally does. However, from my perspective, it's more about getting enough fluid into the body to properly digest.

For your kitty, you really want the highest protein, highest caloric count and highest moisture content you can get each time you feed her/him. Her (assuming) intake will really depend on how much she can handle at one time.

Fluids are essential and can be given as sub-Q--as Laurie mentioned above-but if you can get her to take it from a syringe, it's less invasive. I've found most cats will take it from a syringe-especially if it's flavored with something like fish or turkey (think about the gravy from Fancy Feast (R) type food). Even chicken or canned tuna broth is fine (just dilute the sodium).

Best,
Judy

judyj,

Any experienced dog breeder has likely had to tube feed a pup or pups with formula.

The equipment is readily available, essentially a soft tube of "appropriately" sized tubing that is inserted down the throat into the stomach. There are lots of tricks of the trade as to knowing how far to go as well as insuring that you are in the stomach and not the lungs.

Your Vet may be able to put you in touch with someone to instruct you, or he or she may be able to do so. (Not all Vets have bred litters, but I'm pretty sure they've all had experience with tube feeding.)

I must confess, that my experience is with (English) Bulldog puppies less that say 14 days old... don't know how well I'd do with a full grown cat, and candidly I don't know if it is feasible.

I wish you and the cat the very best success.

This post was edited by saltidawg on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 16:59