Urgent: Need Advice Asap About Syringe Feeding

[rosegold]

tl;dr: I am very paranoid about hepatic lipidosis and other issues caused by not eating enough, so I’m reaching out to you all for advice on whether or not I should continue syringe feeding my kitty tonight (and continue majorly stressing her by doing so) before her vet appt tomorrow.

Chilli has been lethargic and not eating well over the past few days, so she’s going to the vet tomorrow. I’m suspecting a mouth issue and/or nausea since she comes to sniff the food, but just sort of plays with it in her mouth and doesn’t end up eating much before refusing. Meanwhile I have a new kitten who has been demanding all my time and attention as well as stealing Chilli’s food, so it’s been difficult to accurately gauge just how much Chilli is/isn’t eating... But today was the first day she refused everything (including her favorite treats and boiled chicken and canned mackerel) and I was getting paranoid, so I decided to blend up her wet food along with some pouch treats and syringe feed. She is a remarkably good girl about it but I know it’s very stressful for her. She’s longhaired with a big ruff and the food gets all over her fur. I know the basics of syringe feeding but I don’t think I’m particularly neat or competent at it so it gets everywhere.

It’s almost 10pm here now and I just want some advice on what to do between now and the vet appointment tomorrow. I can go in to the vet as early as 10am but it’s going to be FREEZING tomorrow morning so I was hoping to go a bit later to spare her the added stress of the cold during the walks to the car and from the car to the vet clinic... but maybe that’s not a big deal. I can always put blankets and hot water bottles in the carrier if necessary too. Anyway, point is it’ll be at least 12-16 hours before the vet appointment. With that in mind, here is what she’s eaten today:

-a couple small bites of wet food this morning
-using a 7 ml syringe, about 8 syringefuls this evening over a few hours - based on what I blended up, to be generous I’d say about 1/2 of what she eats in a day, plus the added water
-about 1tbsp boiled chicken
-possibly a couple of kibbles
-3-4 Ciao Churu lickable treat tubes - the only thing she would eagerly eat, until this evening when she started to get tired of them, so I just kept offering them

I’m not a vet of course but I’ve done my best to check her over thoroughly for any other symptoms:

-No fever that I can tell (if anything her ears and body are a bit cooler than usual, probably since she’s been inactive and it’s the coldest day of winter thus far!)
-No yellowing/jaundice in whites of eyes, ears, tummy, etc
-Gums seem normal colored
-Skin tent doesn’t seem to indicate dehydration, though it’s hard because she’s so fluffy
-Bright clear eyes, but pupils slightly more dilated and stressed looking than usual
-No reaction to any gentle palpation or touching of her body
-Still grooming herself but with a little less energy than usual. Maybe 85%.
-Still playing gently, and chased a wand toy very energetically earlier, but generally prefers to hide or sleep
-Litter box usage has slowly gone down over the last few days as she’s been eating less and less. Still drinking okay but not as much as normal
-Meowing - sounds silly, but last time she was ill she stopped “talking” for several days. Right now she is still talking, but less than usual.

In general.... she’s clearly just not feeling good.

What should I do? Should I continue syringe feeding? I’m sorry if I repeat myself or am missing something obvious here—I can’t think straight because I am so stressed and anxious. I just lost Chai three weeks ago. I just want my kitties to be happy and healthy.

 

[rosegold]

HELP! I syringe fed her more but about 30 minutes later she threw it all up and continued throwing up spit several times. There was a small hairball in the vomit. Then she drank water and shortly threw up the water too. She also used the litter box for the first time today and it was very watery diarrhea. Does she need the emergency vet or can it wait 10 hours until her regular vet tomorrow morning? I am so worried about her not having enough fluids. She just drank a lot more water but I don’t know if she will keep it down. I am going to try making a cat pedialyte I found on another thread here. I called the emergency vet for advice and he said “I don’t know, it’s your choice, I can’t give you advice without knowing her condition” and I just about hung up on him because I was so frustrated. Please help. I really can’t afford another ER vet visit but if I have to I will find a way.

 

[Kelly&AK23!]

I ended up buying a bag of $12 fluids from my vet and started supplementing that for food when my AK wouldn't eat. He is in jaundice and suffering from some liver/ gallbladder disease and its nothing short of a nightmare. He has started eating on his own (a month later) were making a little progress (not a lot but a little) But i still syringe feed him. I put something tasty in there like fancy feast... i know its not good for him but at this point i just want him to eat. At the beginning i started off with just juices from the tuna and the wet food cans and the wet pouch treats, he really enjoyed the juices but it wasn't enough. to be honest hes on 5 medications now and one of them is an appetite stimulant that i put in his ear. the vet said it works great.... and im getting results. i didnt find it easy to feed him with the syringe at first but when i realized its life or death i scuffed him and inserted on the right side of his mouth as many times as i could and or he would take until he walked away. just get it as close to the throat as possible and encourage him and tell him how good he is ;o) ugh its the worst and im sorry you're going thru this

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Try the cat Pedialyte and see if she might keep a bit of that down. Just start small. I will try to find a list of potential foods you can try with her - it's a list that Furballsmom usually provides members with, but I don't see her online right now.

 

[rosegold]

It’s been 30 minutes and she hasn’t vomited the water (and the homemade electrolyte solution, I syringed a couple teaspoons into her mouth) back up yet and seems stable. She was playing gently with a hair tie a few minutes ago and now she’s jumped up into her regular bed and is grooming herself. But I still feel totally uncertain about what to do. I guess I can just keep watching her overnight and I can take her to the ER vet at any time. They are only about 25 minutes away. I keep tenting the skin on her head and neck to check for dehydration but so far it looks normal. If anyone has advice please share.

It wasn’t explosive or uncontrollable diarrhea, but the vomiting was fairly severe. However it’s also worth mentioning that the syringe feeding itself was, again, stressful, and I had to rinse the food off her face and chest which was probably equally stressful.

And the hairball... I don’t know. She’s had several hair balls and never any symptoms like this. I really don’t believe that that tiny hairball is the root cause of all of this.

I don’t know what I did in a previous life to ever deserve all of these terribly stressful cat emergencies.

 

[rosegold]

Hi. Try the cat Pedialyte and see if she might keep a bit of that down. Just start small. I will try to find a list of potential foods you can try with her - it's a list that Furballsmom usually provides members with, but I don't see her online right now.

Thank you! I do have that list somewhere since she’s kindly provided me with it before. I was planning to try more cat foods tomorrow. The problem is that it’s almost 1am here so there’s only so many things I can try at the moment. Right now Chilli seems very repulsed by food so she’s probably still nauseated.

 

[Jem]

The watery diarrhea could be because she is constipated, the body will absorb more water into the colon to try and pass the harder to move stools. The vomiting and nausea could be because of the constipation also. You will know if she is nauseated if she licks her lips several times when smelling her food.
If she threw up a hair ball, she could also have a hair ball stuck in her digestive tract. You could try letting her lick up some hairball paste, olive oil or even Vaseline to help coat her tract to help pass whatever is not moving well.
Other than the last bout of watery diarrhea, when did she poop last? If she has been pooping up until yesterday, even if there is a blockage starting, I think (and this is only MY OPINION) you could wait till morning. Especially if she is still relatively active and the fact the the vomiting JUST happened.

Although she is refusing food at this moment, I will say that you did a fantastic job of getting some into her in the last 24 hours, so I personally would not be panicking about getting her to the ER asap. But I would not wait longer than the 10 am appointment either.

How is she doing right now? Has she vomited again since your first post 3 hours ago? Did she keep that water down she drank?

 

[FeebysOwner]

All good points by Jem !! Keep her on the Pedialyte for now, since she seems to be tolerating it.

 

[rosegold]

Other than the last bout of watery diarrhea, when did she poop last?

She pooped yesterday (well, day before yesterday since it’s now 1am) as I recall. Now that you mention it I did notice her poops getting slightly more constipated-looking over the past few days.

As for the hairball medicine, she hates it and gags and runs away if I try to give it, so usually I have to swipe it in her cheek. I do also use olive oil sometimes, mixed with a lickable treat, but right now I’m not sure she’d even take it. Would it be okay to give her hairball medicine on an empty stomach? Or do I need to try and get more food into her first?

How is she doing right now? Has she vomited again since your first post 3 hours ago? Did she keep that water down she drank?

Vomiting and diarrhea was about an hour and a half ago. Still keeping down the water. She did a full body grooming and right now she is sleeping. Her breathing is normal and her body position is normal, curled up (not weird and loaf-like as it has been lately). Should I wake her up to give more pedialyte and/or hairball medicine? I really hate to stress her or give her another reason to vomit but I want to keep her doing well.

 

[Jem]

I would let her sleep for now, the body digests and process food during rest so it may help her tummy. When she wakes up, see if she'll lick up some Vaseline off your finger, or smear it on her paw so she'll groom it off then you could give her some pedialyte.
It was for THIS morning that you could get her to the vet right? If so, your in the home stretch. She (from your description) seems to be comfortable and not in immediate distress, so take a breather for your self also.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Agree. If it were me, I'd let her sleep for a while. If she begins to stir, then maybe try some more electrolyte water. However, I would wait until she has kept more of this solution down before trying to get her to consume a hairball treatment - maybe even try a little bland food first.

But, you know her best; I am only looking at it from my own cat's perspective.

 

[rosegold]

She woke up a little bit and I gave her just a tiny bit more electrolyte water. She is sleepy, but not sound asleep yet as she keeps waking up to lick her lips as though she’s about to throw up. I hear some tummy gurgles too. If she throws up, what should I do??

Yes, this morning for the vet, so only about 9 hours from now. Even if she throws up, do you still think she can wait until then?

When she gets stuff on her paws she tends to freak out rather than lick it off, so not sure about that... maybe an olive oil treat. I don’t have any Vaseline in the house at the moment.

Her body position is less relaxed now. Her eyes are closed but not wanting to put her head down, so I think she is still feeling quite nauseous.

 

[Jem]

I hear some tummy gurgles too. If she throws up, what should I do??

I would still just clean it up and let her rest. She may feel nauseated because you just gave her the water, let it process, that's probably what the gurgling is. Water in an empty stomach can be quite loud. And don't worry too much about the hairball advice, it was just a thought. And also don't fret too much about not giving her any food before the vet visit. The vet may actually appreciate a short fast if there is any blood work that needs to be done. She did eat not long ago, so there should not be any worry on that front

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[rosegold]

She did eat not long ago, so there should not be any worry on that front

I guess so... She threw up all of the food I syringe fed her as well as the chicken, I think, based on what the vomit looked like. Hopefully she was able to absorb some nutrients from something before throwing it up (I don’t know how cat tummies work!).

She’s put her head down again now and is asleep. I will try to get some sleep as well but I’m sure I will wake up every few minutes to check on her.

I really need this kitty to be okay.

 

[Richard2121]

Honestly, with her not keeping any food down, having diarrhea, vomiting consistently, and having some undiagnosed underlying issue causing all of this, I would consider trying to get her to the vet today even if it has to be an emergency vet. She may be dehydrated which will just further exacerbate any issues she is dealing with. They can do subcutaneous fluids under her fur and do a physical exam. They could also give recommendations until you can see your normal vet tomorrow. I recently went through this with Richard by Bengal/Siamese when he had a severe URI. He wasn't eating ANYTHING. Not only was I stressed, but he was stressed and he could sense that I was freaking out. Sometimes peace of mind can be the best medicine for you and your cat. I know the emergency vet is expensive. Maybe a good first option would be to call your usual vet and see if they have gotten any cancellations today? It sounds like you have done all you can do on your own. Try to breath and weigh all your options. Kitty will be fine!

 

[gorgod1]

tl;dr: I am very paranoid about hepatic lipidosis and other issues caused by not eating enough, so I’m reaching out to you all for advice on whether or not I should continue syringe feeding my kitty tonight (and continue majorly stressing her by doing so) before her vet appt tomorrow.

Chilli has been lethargic and not eating well over the past few days, so she’s going to the vet tomorrow. I’m suspecting a mouth issue and/or nausea since she comes to sniff the food, but just sort of plays with it in her mouth and doesn’t end up eating much before refusing. Meanwhile I have a new kitten who has been demanding all my time and attention as well as stealing Chilli’s food, so it’s been difficult to accurately gauge just how much Chilli is/isn’t eating... But today was the first day she refused everything (including her favorite treats and boiled chicken and canned mackerel) and I was getting paranoid, so I decided to blend up her wet food along with some pouch treats and syringe feed. She is a remarkably good girl about it but I know it’s very stressful for her. She’s longhaired with a big ruff and the food gets all over her fur. I know the basics of syringe feeding but I don’t think I’m particularly neat or competent at it so it gets everywhere.

It’s almost 10pm here now and I just want some advice on what to do between now and the vet appointment tomorrow. I can go in to the vet as early as 10am but it’s going to be FREEZING tomorrow morning so I was hoping to go a bit later to spare her the added stress of the cold during the walks to the car and from the car to the vet clinic... but maybe that’s not a big deal. I can always put blankets and hot water bottles in the carrier if necessary too. Anyway, point is it’ll be at least 12-16 hours before the vet appointment. With that in mind, here is what she’s eaten today:

-a couple small bites of wet food this morning
-using a 7 ml syringe, about 8 syringefuls this evening over a few hours - based on what I blended up, to be generous I’d say about 1/2 of what she eats in a day, plus the added water
-about 1tbsp boiled chicken
-possibly a couple of kibbles
-3-4 Ciao Churu lickable treat tubes - the only thing she would eagerly eat, until this evening when she started to get tired of them, so I just kept offering them

I’m not a vet of course but I’ve done my best to check her over thoroughly for any other symptoms:

-No fever that I can tell (if anything her ears and body are a bit cooler than usual, probably since she’s been inactive and it’s the coldest day of winter thus far!)
-No yellowing/jaundice in whites of eyes, ears, tummy, etc
-Gums seem normal colored
-Skin tent doesn’t seem to indicate dehydration, though it’s hard because she’s so fluffy
-Bright clear eyes, but pupils slightly more dilated and stressed looking than usual
-No reaction to any gentle palpation or touching of her body
-Still grooming herself but with a little less energy than usual. Maybe 85%.
-Still playing gently, and chased a wand toy very energetically earlier, but generally prefers to hide or sleep
-Litter box usage has slowly gone down over the last few days as she’s been eating less and less. Still drinking okay but not as much as normal
-Meowing - sounds silly, but last time she was ill she stopped “talking” for several days. Right now she is still talking, but less than usual.

In general.... she’s clearly just not feeling good.

What should I do? Should I continue syringe feeding? I’m sorry if I repeat myself or am missing something obvious here—I can’t think straight because I am so stressed and anxious. I just lost Chai three weeks ago. I just want my kitties to be happy and healthy.

 

[gorgod1]

If the vet gives her prednisone, it will increase her appetite. Ask the vet if it would be okay to do that. Depending on what is going with your car, it might or might not be a good thing. My cat has been on prednisone for a while now in order to keep her weight steady. She was getting a pill twice a day, and in the past two weeks, she is getting one pill once a day. Best to give with food, I understand. If your cat is not eating, prednisone might be the way to go. Force feeding is okay, but it really stresses out the cats (as well as the owners!) Since my cat has been on prednisone, she has been eating fine. But I only feed her small amounts of wet and dry food about 6 times a day. I am told it is easier on her digestive system and her liver to feed small quantities throughout the day.

Did your vet say anything about her gums or teeth? They would have to do an x-ray to see if there is an abscess or significant tarter. This could be why she doesn't want to eat. I have another cat (17 years old) who is not eating as he should and it was determined that he has some dental disease and he is scheduled for surgery after the New Year. I am very anxious about that because of the anesthesia, but he has had all the pre-op testing and the vet said it would be okay; however, there is always the slight chance that something could go wrong. But, if I don't have the surgery done, I am told, and I have also read, that the poisons from an abscess or gum disease, could go into the blood stream and cause serious problems to the kidneys, etc. Talk about stress, I have two cats with problems!! If your vet has not already taken x-rays of your cat's teeth, ask her about it. Let me know what is going on after your vet visit.

 

[rosegold]

Maybe a good first option would be to call your usual vet and see if they have gotten any cancellations today?

Yes, it’s 5am here but we have the earliest appointment of the day at 10am.

5am (3 hrs later) update: She woke up and has been drinking tons of water. Regular water and a little of the electrolyte water. I am hoping she is just replenishing her body rather than there being a kidney problem or something... I don’t know when the last time she peed was as she’s been sneaking in and using the kitten’s litterbox over the past few days, but she hasn’t peed since I made this post. She hasn’t gone in her litterbox and tried at all.

She went downstairs and acted as though she were begging for food. Meowing and twirling around my legs like usual. I offered her her regular wet food, the chicken, etc, even some kibbles, but she just sniffed and then licked her lips. She did however eat another treat packet with a lot more eagerness than before. She kept wanting to jump on the counter to see if there was food. She wants to eat I think, so that’s a good sign, but she will probably need some kind of anti-nausea med in order to be able to eat.

She seems a bit more perked up and rubbed on me a few times and walked around the house. However after drinking a bunch of water, she again looks very queasy and is lying in her bed again with her eyes closed and head up. No vomiting yet so fingers crossed that she keeps the treat, and all the water, down.

If the vet gives her prednisone, it will increase her appetite.

Yes, I am definitely going to ask him for something to increase her appetite. She is a picky/finicky eater even when she’s healthy so she really needs that extra boost.

Did your vet say anything about her gums or teeth?

I will ask him. He specializes in dentistry and I’m sure he will have a lot to say about the state of her teeth, lol! They are covered in tartar but they don’t look any different/worse than usual. With the vomiting and diarrhea I am expecting some kind of stomach issue to be the cause of this particular illness, but no harm in a tooth checkup. I expect he will recommend a cleaning for once she is healthy again.

 

[mazie]

Thank you for the update, we are all looking forward to what the vet says, please keep us posted.