Steve
You've gotten wonderful advice already, and I'll vote for what you've
heard so far and add a PS.
This just doesn't all add up sound like a fracture. I've had kitties in
casts and traction splints that still gobbled up their food. I could
understand the first day or two after the injury, but after that their
appetite should not be compromised. And the heavy breathing doesn't add up
either. Again, the first day after the injury you could possibly chalk it up
to pain, but not at this point.
Dehydration, as you know, can be completely debilitating. I've been
dehydrated myself a few times and can tell you first hand that it make you
feel like you're going to die ... muscle aches, terrible cramps, even your
hair hurts! You can get lactated ringers from your vet and ask them to teach
you how to give them. If possible, they should show you and then have you give
the first session in the vets office under guidance. Be sure to clarify how
much and how often to give the fluids, and ask for a small gauge needle. The
big needles (usually 18 gauge) go faster, but when you're first starting the
smaller will hurt both of you less.
And, of course Leeloo has to eat to survive this crisis..whatever it is.
Cats can fall into "fatty liver" syndrome very quickly when they stop eating,
and it can be deadly. Baby food is OK to get you thru the night, but its not
nutritionally balanced for felines. Ask the vet for AD. In a pinch, you can
use a good quality kitten food which has more fat and calories than
regular (adult) cat food. I've used 2 methods successfully: syringe feeding
and hand feeding. The vet should have feeding syringes (I use a 30 cc) or
you can find one in a PetSupermarket-type store. Look in the baby bird section
as they're marketed for hand feeding baby birds. With hand feeding, you just
break off a bit of food and slide it into the side of the mouth. (Its messy,
so have a roll of paper towels and a wet washcloth by your side.) There
is also a good group on yahoo for assisted feeding (felines) and they can give
you lots of hints.
One last thing, for reference. Cats need about "27.5 calories per pound"
to maintain weight. I'm sending a link which will show the calorie content of
most common cat foods so you can get an idea of the calories per can.
Hope some of this helps. Please keep us posted.
Jo
____________________________
In a message dated 1/18/2005 3:58:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Leeloo appears to have injured her leg. I took her to the
vet and he
indicated a probable fracture at left stifle. She slowed
way down and ate
very little, which the doc says is normal with an
injury. Now, she is very
skinny and will hardly eat anything, is
very week and hardly moves. We try
to feed her baby food and she
eats a little, but not enough. I do not see
any signs of sores in
the mouth or anywhere else. Just today, she peed for
the first time
away from the litter box as it's too much effort to hop back
there in her
weakened state. Last night she sometimes breathed a bit hard,
but
is fine today just staying in one place.
I think I'm going to force
feed her starting today. Any advice? A syringe
with baby food
is what I thought. Quantity? If I feel she needs more water
(pinch
of nap of neck not returning quickly), do I syringe also?
Loki, the
former runt, remains very strong and health with the exception
of
lingering URI.
Thanks,
Steve
