Everyone please bookmark this web site http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/ It is the yahoo feline assist feeding group.
My sweet CJ, FeLV+, is the homepage kitty this month. At some point most of our FeLV+ kitties will crash. No matter what the cause the kitty will need food until you can determine the cause and develop a treatment plan. As Belinda has said most kitties can not go without eating or just taking a few licks of the gravy or a few pieces of kibble. FAF has files on helping a hesitant eater, syringe feeding, and the various types of feeding tubes. Your situation determines which method would work best for you. Personally I have been assist feeding kitties since 2006 when my sweet Albert was dx with CRF, went into CHF and dx with HCM. You can do a lot with a coated baby spoon or a syringe. Even though his vets only gave Albert days/weeks to live he enjoyed another 1 1/2 yrs. Yes there does come a point when it is time to let go. But not eating is not a reason to give up on a kitty. I have found it is better to be prepared than to be struggling over a week end to help a sick kitty. Sharyl --- On Wed, 6/17/09, Belinda Sauro <ma...@bemikitties.com> wrote: > From: Belinda Sauro <ma...@bemikitties.com> > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Cat crashing > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 12:53 PM > Amy, > I don't think your vet is very good, yellow is a > sure sign of liver failure and it doesn't happen > overnight. Blood tests should have shown there was a > problem and if your vet didn't mention it I'd run to find > another vet. > > If Maverick wasn't eating well he probably developed > hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease, this can happen > after only a day or two of an cat not eating enough. > Even if a cat is eating but very little this can happen, > this is curable by syringe feeding or a feeding tube, in > other words food is the cure, no cat should die from > this. Too many vets don't pay attention when we tell > them our cats aren't eating very much or at all, this should > be a huge red flag to any vet to investigate further but so > few do. > > I am writing this email because too few people understand > just how deadly it is for a cat to go without food, it can > kill them quickly. That on top of the anemia was just > too much for Maverick's compromised body to deal with. > Any vet who doesn't make a point of letting a client know > they need to get food into a cat that isn't eating enough > isn't worth anything in my book. > > Please, please people, if your cat is not eating, syringe > feed, spoon feed, put food on your finger and put it in > their mouths, get a feeding tube put in ... fatty liver > disease is almost always curable even when a cat looks like > it is on deaths door, food, enough food will almost always > bring the cat back .... > > Many people think when a cat is sick and stops eating it is > letting you know it is ready to die, this is not always the > case, think about it, when you are feeling very sick do you > feel like eating, I know I don't. And with a cat, they > feel sick, they don't eat, they don't eat, they get weaker > and feel sicker, they feel sicker, of course they aren't > going to eat. This cycle is going to obviously kill > the cat if there is no intervention. I will never > understand why this is so hard to fathom. > > All that said this is my own personal opinion and up front > I am one of those people who will go to extreme measures to > try and save my furkids, in some peoples minds maybe too > far, but that is how I am and would want the same for myself > ... I have seen enough miracles happen when I have been told > my furkids aren't going to make it and I wouldn't give up > and they lived years longer ... that is why I have to keep > trying. I know not everyone is of the same mind and > that is fine because we all have our beliefs but when I see > animals miss a chance because of a vet that isn't very > knowledgeable about something it just kills me. > > I sorry for your loss Amy, Maverick is in a better place > now. Take care ... > > PS. I'm mad at the lack of care Maverick received > from the "professionals" not at anything you did, just > wanted to make that clear. > > -- > Belinda > happiness is being owned by cats ... > > http://bemikitties.com > > http://BelindaSauro.com > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
