Re: Update on Gypsy

[Nina]

Michelle, thanks for the tips on syringe feeding.  I especially like the bit about having a paper towel nearby, ha!  After Belinda's last email I set my shoulders and syringed a bit of blendered chicken mixture into her, not nearly as much as you suggested though.  She certainly doesn't struggle like somebody close to death :).  After that she ate a tiny bit on her own.  A few minutes ago, I offered her some cod and broth, she floored me by practically licking the bowl clean.  Granted, they're small bowls, but that's more than she's eaten in one sitting for a few days.  I think it might have something to do with our talk about her eating, or I'd have to continue syringing her.  Thanks Belinda!  I brought her more and she lapped the broth up.  The really surprising thing is she didn't head off to the litter box directly after eating.  Maybe the Benefiber, along with everything else is helping her firm up a little.  Later tonight she gets her B12 shot.  I'm hoping that gives her even more energy and appetite.  I'll look into the A/D food.  Bless you guys, keep up the prayers, I think they're working! Nina [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I actually think baby food is fine for a while, as long as it is not all she gets for a long time.  If you are trying to get her over a hump and that is what she will take easiest, I would give that to her. Calories are calories and it does not matter where they come from if it is food they can digest, in terms of getting calories into her and preventing HL.  The only thing that is missing from baby food is some vitamins, and it is not very fatty, so it is not sufficient long-term. But it is what I am syringing Simon now to supplement the little he is eating on his own since getting chemo on Thursday.  The internist said a calorie is a calorie, and getting enough baby food into her is getting enough calories into her, period.   If you do want to do a fattier, more nutritious food for syringing, I had been using A/D, which you probably know is a prescription Hills' diet for sick cats, and thinning it just a little with chicken baby food. Simon seemed to like it for a while, until he got really sick and started fighting with me.  I find, with him, that the better he feels the more ok he is with syringing. Like now, he is just a little off from chemo, he does not mind it so much. When he was so sick I thought he was dying he was really upset about being syringed even a little bit.   If you want tips on syringing, here is what I do:  kneel down behind the cat, use the left hand to hold the head and open the mouth a little, and put the syringe in a little at an angle with the right hand. Syringe 1 cc and let them swallow, repeat a few times, and then take a break and pet (though Gypsy doesn't like petting, I guess).  I try to get about 20 or 30 cc in a day.  An average size cat needs about 250 calories a day if possible.  If you are just feeding Gerbers chicken baby food, that is 2 1/2 jars. If you are mixing with A/D it is probably a smaller amount. If she is eating some on her own, which she seems to be, you can reduce the syringing accordingly.   You may also want to have a damp paper towel next to you before you start, to wipe off what ends up on her face or yours (I get it in my hair a lot).  If she is hard to syringe and hold, you may want to pre-fill several syringes so you don't have to refill while holding her.   Michelle     In a message dated 1/29/05 12:26:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:       Nina,     If Gypsy doesn't mind the syringing too much you should try to get more food into her, not baby food but real food.  You can blend it to get it liquidy enough.  She really needs nutrition or she will not make it.  Even if you just try syringing her a bit to get her started every hour or so, but if she isn't eating enough, a tablespoon or two of food is not enough food to live on.  You might want to join the FAF group (Feline Assited Feeding), many on there assist feed or syringe and some