E tube questions

[Mmmmkat]

Hey y’all, my darling companion Tofu has been using a feeding tube in her neck for a week. She’s 16 and I’ve been with her since she was 3 months old. She’s a Manx and in the past five years has always had a little constipation. Lost weight and is now dealing with fatty liver. They did the needle biopsy and found no cancer, but I don’t feel certain that means it’s not there.
So it’s been a week and she is urinating 1-3x a day but has only pooped one day so far (1 normal, 1 diarrhea). She’s still quite jaundiced which I understand can take weeks to undo. But she’s just very lethargic, lying in strange places and strange positions.
If anyone has dealt with fatty liver and the e-tube, I’m just wondering how long it took your cat to show signs of vitality or happiness again?
She was honestly more herself prior to taking her to the vet, even though clearly something wasn’t right. She was eating a little every day and I always thought she had to completely starve to get this fatty liver issue. Feeling terrible about that. Any experiences would be appreciated! The feeding tube stresses me out although she tolerates it quite well. Just hoping for some more quality of life for her. She always loved eating!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't have an answer to your question but did want to point out - if you didn't already know - that you can still try to get your cat to eat some on her own if she is willing. The feeding tube doesn't preclude that.

 

[Mmmmkat]

Hi. I don't have an answer to your question but did want to point out - if you didn't already know - that you can still try to get your cat to eat some on her own if she is willing. The feeding tube doesn't preclude that.

Thanks! Yes, I’ve tried everything. She will lick the food a couple times but no interest yet

 

[FeebysOwner]

I've read numerous articles/documents that it can take weeks and weeks to turn a cat around from hepatic lipidosis.

Is she receiving any kind of anti-nausea meds? If not, you might ask the vet about that aspect. And also ask about B-12 injections. It seems that at least 40% of cats with HL are deficient in cobalamin. Is she on any liver support supplements?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

H/L is a very serious condition and when one of mine had it he was on the feeding tube for four long months.

Is your old girl receiving any medications along with feeding tube fed. Most cats with this receive at least a couple of meds. But the most important thing is to treat what caused the H/L in the first place or they may never really recover. You said they did a needle biopsy but didn't find cancer...why did they do the biopsy in the first place? Does she have IBD? Cats can lose their appetites for a few different reasons, but that definitely needs to be figured out and "fixed" in order for her to recover. So I guess I'm asking if she is on any antibiotics, pain meds, liver supplements, etc? (as well as what was mentioned above)

Additionally, are you able to syringe feed her enough calories? Are you using a recovery food from the Vet?

As far as her only pooping once since she's been on the tube, do you feel she is currently constipated? Is she acting like it? Not knowing how much food you are giving her makes it hard to know if (after diarrhea) she should be pooping yet. Anyway, if you feel she IS constipated, give your Vet a call and ask if you should intervene. Many of us here use Miralax, but they might recommend something else depending on her condition.

 

[Fergusboy]

My Emmy Lou had to be tube fed due to fatty liver for 6 long weeks. You have to to feed lots of calories every feeding. I fed her 4 times a day, it was like having a human baby! She was very good about it, but it just took awhile (4 weeks) for her liver values to return to normal and for her to want to eat on her own. I had to bring her in weekly to get her liver values checked. When liver values were normal once again - she still wasn't interested in eating on her own. So the vet told me to cut her intake in half, then half again a week later. That made her finally hungry enough to eat! I was afraid she'd develop fatty liver again if I cut her intake down too fast/too much. Be sure to keep the area under her collar and around the tube very clean - Emmy Lou's skin broke down and she developed an abscess there.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. There should have been some improvement by now. You need to contact your vet. Let them know how she is doing. Does she have an e-collar on or just a bandage. Did she have a test for pancreatitis? Was an ultrasound done? If so did everything else look okay? How much are you feeding at a time? What are you feeding? Do let the vet know about theconstipation.