A few months ago I brought home three new cats. They were all about 2 years old, and had lived together their whole lives. They were in need of a new home, as their previous owners had split up and moved away, and the owner’s mother was trying to clean their apartment, get rid of what was remaining of their possessions, and find homes for the three cats.
These poor critters had been left mostly alone in the apartment for a few weeks, with daily visits from the mother to feed them and clean their litter box. When I came to see them, they looked to be in good health, but were all rather timid. With their lives in turmoil, that was understandable, so I decided to bring them all home.
A few weeks ago, one of the cats, Chanel, started to lose some weight. She was quite listless, not wanting to eat or be around anyone. I contacted the local vet, and brought her in for them to look at.
The initial visit resulted in the need for some blood work. Then x-rays. We had to leave her at the vet so they could put her on an IV, and get some fluids into her, as she had also become dehydrated. Unfortunately, the test results didn’t clearly show what the problem was, so the vet wasn’t sure of the best way to treat her. After a couple of days at the vet with not much improvement, they recommended we take her to a specialist who would be able to perform an ultrasound on her.
The new vet had a look at her, and was pretty certain that she had a liver disorder of some kind, especially given the test results, and the fact that the inside of her ears, eyes, and mouth had turned yellow (which indicated she was jaundiced). He thought the most likely possibility was hepatic lipidosis, a condition of the liver, but there could also be a blockage somewhere, in which case she would need surgery to remove it.
The vet performed the ultrasound, and determined that (thankfully) there was not a blockage, so we proceeded with treatment for hepatic lipidosis. He felt she had a good chance of recovery from this, so after discussing with the vet, we proceeded with his recommendation of inserting a feeding tube.
A few things we quickly learned about this:
- Hepatic lipidosis is often caused by separation anxiety, stress from moving, or general changes in environment. These issues can lead to a cat not wanting to eat, and as the vet pointed out, the cat’s metabolism is very quickly affected if they stop eating.
- The feeding tube is a temporary solution, which could be required anywhere from two to six weeks (or until she starts to eat regular food again).
- The feeding tube is inserted through her neck, directly into her esophagus. It is stitched in at her neck incision and held in place with tape as well.
- She is fed a liquid food diet (canned, high-calorie food mixed with water into a liquid slurry), which is inserted by a syringe through the tube, several times a day. The vet had started off with four feedings, slowing progressing to 50cc per feeding.
- After each feeding, 10cc’s of water is flushed through the tube to clean it out, and prevent any buildup of food that could block the tube.
- If successful, this aggressive feeding schedule allows the liver to start working properly again, and the condition should eventually reverse itself.
Once the vet got the feeding tube inserted, they had to keep her for a few more days. He didn’t want to let Chanel come home yet, as she had developed a bit of a fever after the surgery. He did call us daily though, and kept us informed of her progress.
After several days, her temperature had come down to normal, so we brought her home and started our new feeding regimen with Chanel. Things started off fairly good, and the kids were great at helping hold her for each of the feedings.
We ran into a few issues though:
- We found the food was quite grainy after mixing it up with water, and it would get stuck a lot during the feedings (it would block up the syringe, so we’d have to keep stopping to shake it up a bit).
- Occasionally, we’d have to stop and flush out the feeding tube with water as well, whenever food particles started to block it up a bit.
A couple days after we had her home, we noticed during one of her feedings that there was food coming out around her “collar” (a fabric collar around her neck in which the tube was inserted through). This was NOT good, as it meant that the tube had come out!
Fortunately, the specialist vet had a 24-hour clinic, so I called and told them what was happening. They said I needed to bring her back in. So, off I went for the two hour drive back to the vet (it was Friday evening when this had happened). The vet needed to re-insert the tube, and since the opening was so new, food had gotten under her skin, so he wanted to flush all that out too. What an ordeal (for both Chanel and us!).
I left her at the vet and came home.
The re-insertion of the tube went well, but the vet wasn’t sure what would happen with the food under her skin. He had not seen this happen before, and hoped it wouldn’t cause any infection or other issues. Again, she had developed a bit of a fever, so he wanted to keep Chanel there for a couple of days. This time though, we were all a little more hesitant to bring her home too soon, especially after what had happened. I decided to ask the vet if they could keep her there for a few days longer, to give her a little more time to recover and make sure the feedings went smoothly. The vet was great – they only charged us a “special-needs boarding” rate for these extra days (instead of their regular hospital rate). I won’t even mention what the bill had come to at this point for everything. But, we have always taken care of our animals, and even though Chanel was such a new member of the family, we agreed that if she had a good chance of recovering, then we would do what we needed to help her.
Fortunately, there was no sign of problems with the food under her skin. Her temperature was back to normal, and she was gaining weight. After a few more days, we brought Chanel home again (this was a Thursday). However, that didn’t mean we weren’t in for another surprise.
This time, the vet had taken extra measures to secure her feeding tube. He had also marked the tube so we could see if it started to pull out at all. He told us to call if it moved by more than an inch. We had a couple days of feedings with Chanel, then Sunday morning we went to feed her and noticed the mark had moved out by 1.5 inches!
We had no idea what she could have done to pull out the tube, as the tape and the stitches still seemed fine. I called the vet’s office again, and again, they said I should bring her in. This time, the vet that saw Chanel happened to be the wife of the vet who we had been working with. She had a look and agreed it didn’t look like the tube was out, based on its position in Chanel’s neck. She even tugged on the tube, and it didn’t seem to budge. But she talked to one of the technician’s who was there when they initially inserted the tube, and she agreed the mark had moved out. They did a quick x-ray, and compared the position of the tube to the previous x-ray, and indeed it had pulled out by almost 2 inches. However, she was able to push it back in WITHOUT any further surgery. She taped it up again and put an extra layer of vet wrap around the tube to keep it from getting snagged on anything.
We are all HOPING that her feeding tube doesn’t pull out again!
I brought Chanel back home, and we are trying this again. She is getting about four to six feedings per day, at 60cc per feeding. The vet had given us some larger syringes, which seem to help (we previously were using several smaller ones, which was challenging having to use three syringes per feeding). The food still gets stuck a bit, but I’m just loading up the syringe a bit more, and I don’t push through the last 5cc’s or so. This really helps to not get those grainy bits stuck in the tube. So, we seem to have a pretty good system going now. Chanel has been great through all of this, and has really started to seem like “her old self” again (even after today’s ordeal). She is active, and purrs whenever we get close. She also seems to like the extra attention she is getting with all the feedings!
Tonight, Chanel even started to nibble on some regular cat food. Keep your fingers crossed for her, and maybe the next time the feeding tube comes out, it will be because she doesn’t need it anymore!
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for this note. I am considering putting a feeding tube on my old cat, but I am very afraid of the process. Your story has not taking the fear away, but I need that information. I just want to know the conclusion of it.
How old was Chanel when you did this procedure? My cat is 16 yrs old.
Hope all went well, thanks.
Maritere
Hello — Chanel was only around 2 yrs old when we got her. All three cats we acquired were in a bad situation, so we brought them all home. Chanel was only with us for about a couple months before she started getting sick. I’m happy to say though, she recovered completely from this (it is over a year later), and she is the sweetest, most loving cat. She practically lives in my daughter’s room (except when she is hungry – then she is totally under foot until she gets fed). There didn’t seem to be any negative effects from the feeding tube, and she is healthy and eating really well ever since. It was a tough month with the feeding tube though, and we ended up taking her back to the vet for a couple additional weeks (as the tube came out several times), and they kept her there to keep an eye on things. There was certainly a lot of time required to administer food several times a day. Given how young she was though, she had a really good chance of coming through this (and she did), so we are glad we made the decisions we did to keep her with us. I know it is a hard choice though, especially with an older cat, as there may be many other considerations and complications. Good luck to you – I wish you all the best and hope things work out well for you and your cat.
Hi my cat is 6 years old and just became ill 3 days ago when she stopped eating. They ran tests and don’t seem to have a definite answer as to why she stopped eating. They are going to try giving her a good stimulate and if that doesn’t work they said I should consider the feeding tube. Did your cat seem uncomfortable? I’m wondering if I should try bringing her home first to see if she might eat back in her comfort zone and if that doesn’t work I’m willing to try the feeding tube. How long was your cat with the tube before she could eat again on her own and is the tube out now? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Hi – so sorry to hear about your cat. Our girl had only been with us a short time when this happened and it definitely seemed related to being in a new environment and the stress of what she had gone through before we brought her home. However, once they stop eating, it is really important to work quickly to get that food back into them. Having the feeding tube in didn’t seem to bother her at all. It didn’t seem painful, and she really wasn’t trying to rub at it. However, it was challenging to get the food to the correct consistency for feeding, and it was hard for her to keep still while being fed, so it took a couple of us to hold her and feed her each time. Her feeding tube did end up coming out a couple times, so we finally ended up having to have the vet help. They kept her for the last couple weeks so they could better monitor her and keep the tube from coming out again. She ended up having the tube for 4-5 weeks I believe (that was a couple years ago now, so I’m not totally sure if I remember the exact length of time). The amount of time depended on her progress, and once we were able to get her fed regularly (I think it was 5 times a day at first), she did start to recover very well over time. It did take time though, and lots of love and patience. And it really helps if there are other animals around, if she could be kept in an area where they wouldn’t bother her or the tube. Good luck – hope this helps a bit.
My Romeo was 9 yrs when fatty liver was diagnosed.
This is a stressful and sad thing to get our Romeo through.
He has not started to drink water but is eating. He has tube still two wks into this and c3,500 he is worth every penny.
R omeos Mom Brenda
Hi Brenda – I know how difficult this must be for you and Romeo. I wish you both all the best!
Hi
I’m feeding my Kitty through the tube right now , so just a little aditional advice to whoever is reading this .
When mixing food with water – half and half -use blender .
On high speed , add water slowly at first , little by little and there will be little to no grains .
At first I used a spoon to mix the food and my Husband advised me to use blender so it’s faster but I also noticed it’s a lot smoother and it doesn’t clog the tube .
The advice I’m looking for , my Kitty has the tube in for 3 weeks and he does not want to eat anything.. I’m trying all kinds of different foods and even things he loved , he’s just not touching anything
Hi,
So sorry so many people have been going through a similar experience! This was a very difficult time for us, so I can really understand how hard it is when your cat is faced with this. As a follow up, when Chanel kept having her feeding tube slip out, we ended up taking her back to the vet and had them keep her for the last couple of weeks to continue with her feedings and monitor the tube. The vet we were working with was 2 hours away, so we didn’t want to be faced with an emergency and not be able to get Chanel there in time. We were very fortunate, as she did AMAZING, and was back to her normal self in no time after the tube finally came out. With Chanel, it didn’t take her long to start eating again afterward. We were lucky, as she went back to her old food without a problem. I know it can be challenging when they don’t eat on their own, so trying various foods (wet and dry) can sometimes help, and I know we’ve even tried just canned tuna in a pinch, just to get them to eat something (prior to her getting the tube initially). However, if your cat still has the feeding tube, they are probably getting the nutrition they require through that, so I wouldn’t be too worried until your vet has determined they are ready to have the tube removed. It took almost 5 weeks with Chanel before she was back to a normal weight and healthy enough to remove the tube! Today, she is doing so good, eats normally, and snuggles in bed with us every night! We are so glad she is still with us – she has turned out to be such an amazing family member.
I’m hoping you can give me a little advice. I am in a very similar situation that you were. I adopted 2 siblings and the girl Sheba just had dental surgery to have 6 teeth pulled. Fast forward 3 weeks Sheba was admitted to the vet hospital for fatty liver disease. She was able to come home after about a week with a feeding tube. The vet had me feeding her 15ml of science diet ad slurry 3 times a day. We went back for a follow up after 3 days and they told me to increase her to a full can a day but didn’t really tell me how much how often so after some reasearch online I settled for 20ml every 4 hours but after reading your story I am wondering if I should slowly increase thay. The vet told me that her stomach can only hold 35ml of food at a time and if I do more she will throw up. I am barely getting the full can a day which still isn’t enough calories for her. We have another followup on Thursday. She was 17lbs when I adopted her, 13lbs when she was 1st admitteded and now only 11lbs.
I think with Chanel we were feeding her at least 5-6 times a day, and our vet had us up to 60cc each time. They wanted to be quite aggressive in making sure she was getting enough food, and I think since it was mixed with water, that was why it was such a large amount. It did take a long time to see improvements with her though (5 weeks of tube feeding), so just keep at it! If you are concerned, I would recommend to discuss again with your vet to make sure they can help.
Hi Cindy,
I noticed from the above comments that it took your Chanel about 4-5 weeks to eat again on her own. How did you entice her, and how did that process begin? My cat Ivey had a feeding tube placed for a bad upper respiratory infection that caused anorexia. She’s had it in since July 19 (stopped eating anything substantial on July 9) and has yet to eat more than a treat or two. It’s almost as if she’s forgotten HOW to eat! She seems interested, tries, and just can’t effectively feed herself. Physical examinations don’t show any problems with her teeth or mouth. Anyway, I’m just curious if you ran into any of these additional challenges and how you finally tempted Chanel to eat regularly on her own again. Thank you!
Hi,
So sorry you’re having to go through this with your cat Ivey! With Chanel, she really wasn’t too interested in food while she had the feeding tube in. Probably because she was receiving a LOT of food that way. When the tube was removed, she started almost right away to eat normally again, so we were very fortunate that we didn’t have to worry about getting her to eat. I wouldn’t be too worried about Ivey until she is healthy enough to have the tube removed, as she should be able to get all the nutrition she needs through that.
I am having a similar situation now. Can you provide an update on your cat??
Hi Sara – Sorry for the late reply. Chanel is doing great! She made a full recovery, and has become the most lovable and cuddly cat now. She eats really well, with no issues, and has had no further problems. We are so thankful we saved that girl!
Hello
Our female cat also had dental surgery October 2nd and 3 weeks ago became very ill with pancreatitis / liver disease. She was under a veterinarian’s care for 4 days and then was admitted to our animal emergency clinic for an additional 4 days. She had an e-feeding tube inserted the night before we brought her home. She has shown no interest at all in eating on her own. She is now up to 62ml. of food every 6 hours and is taking vitamin k1 and 2 antibiotics through the feeding tube, We are taking her to our family veterinarian in a few days, and were initially told the feeding tube would only be necessary for approximately 6 days total from day of insertion. Her lack of wanting to eat on her own, makes me think the tube may be necessary for a longer period of time
My question is, if this is the case, are there other methods besides wearing the cone, that will insure she cannot try and remove the feeding tube? The tube is doing a fantastic job of making sure she is getting food and water and her medication. She, of course, cannot groom herself — a small price to pay for the fact that she is getting nourishment. But in some of the posted pictures, I see the cats have bandages in place. Is this a possible alternative or is the cone, a “must”?
Thank you
Hi Linda – So sorry you are having to go through this with your cat. Hope she is doing ok now? When our cat Chanel, had her feeding tube, we did not have to use the cone. We had her in a small room by herself, and she did not have a lot of energy, so pulling out the tube herself was not a big concern at the time. As we did have a lot of difficulty with the tube staying in place, we eventually had the vet board her so they could better monitor her tube, and continue to feed her (and so we didn’t have to keep driving her the 2+ hours to the vet’s office to keep having the tube repaired). Good luck with your girl!
http://www.kittykollar.com makes special collars for feeding tubes… the online order form is pretty clunky but they are a good product and much more comfortable than a cone.
Interestingly the Kitty Kollar the vet provided with my boy’s E-tube still let the whole thing slip out, much like Chanel’s, despite the Velcro strap on the top of the neck to keep it in place. Additionally, the whole thing is still pretty bulky and, like a cone, prevents him from really cleaning himself from the chest up. I think I may need to invent a better, possibly temporary solution of letting him have free mobility a few hours a day for bathing.
While I had to get the tube put back in yesterday, the vet had the idea of wrapping the collar on the non-buttonhole end with a doubled up rubber band which also holds the feeding port down (the excess length was flopping around and basically getting it caught on everything).
So far it is doing its job at keeping the whole thing fairly secure. However, I did notice that this morning it had still managed to work its way out a fraction of an inch based on the mark, probably due to him turning his head or something. But since the tube itself is not stitched onto his skin, but rather laced and held in place by a plastic clamp that is also stitched to the skin, I can gently just wiggle it back in and he doesn’t seem to mind much.
Hello,
Glad to hear that Chanel is doing great! Our baby had a feeding tube put in on Saturday, June 6th. We have had her secluded from our other cat and one of us has been with her 24/7. On Friday, June 12th we woke up and went into her room to check on her and the tube was out. We took her back to the animal hospital that inserted the tube (not our normal vet, they were back logged due to COVID) and they said this never happens and were going to charge us another $950 to reinsert the tube. I talked them down to $538. They informed me that this time they did a Chinese ladder stitch which is way more secure. I was so upset to have to put her under anesthesia again in less than a week and have to pay for a tube that was not securely attached in the first place. Did your vet charge you for reinsertion after the tube came out the first time? Thank you so much for your time.
I’m so sorry for the late reply! There were a few of our comments that got “stuck” and I’m just finding them now. I’m hoping your baby is doing well now. It has been several years since we went through this, and I don’t recall if we had to pay to have the tube re-inserted, but it was definitely costly to keep Chanel at the vet for the time we did.
My 4yo Bon Jovi went in to get 2 teeth pulled, ended up with 6 pulled then stopped eating a couple days after. Of course this happened over the weekend and our vet was closed. By Monday (8/31/20) morning Jovi just layed on the floor, sometimes hiding under the bureau, had a hard time walking and was breathing very rapidly. Even when we placed him in the litter box he just layed down and hung his head over the side. We were heart broken, and broke after spending over $2000 and felt for sure he was dying. When we took him to our vet that morning the doctor strongly encouraged us not to euthanize Jovi but to let him stay for a couple days to try a feeding tube – which was put it on Monday. I have visited him the last 2 days and during today’s visit the tube just slipped out of his neck. I am praying the vet will keep him over the long holiday weekend because if the tube falls out during that time I really can’t go through that anguish again of him not eating and fading away. I am terrified to bring him home and have the tube fall out again. He is doing much better and I am anxious to get him home and into his relaxed environment which I hope will make him want to eat on his own again. Thank you for your encouraging story.
Thank you for sharing your story. I can certainly appreciate how hard it is to deal with this, and even though it ended up costing a lot, we also felt that it was best to keep Chanel at the vet after we started having problems with the feeding tube coming out. I wish you the best of luck.
Hi Cindy,
I am happy that your cat Chanel recovered without any problems! My only cat smokey just diagnosed with liver failure 2 days ago and we are crying ever since 🙁 they put the feeding tube yesterday and we just did our first feeding. The doctor told us to give water 10ml first to clean the tube, then 10ml food then another 10ml water to flush it down. We will do this 4 times a day for now. My question is, during feeding, he is meowing a lot and I feel like he is having discomfort. Did this happen to you too? Also after feeding, he looks nauseous and hiding. Thank you for your advice!
I’m so sorry to hear about your Smokey. I don’t recall Chanel meowing a lot when we went through that. She was quite fidgety though, and two of us would usually do the feedings together (one to hold Chanel, and one to use the syringes for the water/feed). Chanel didn’t seem to have a lot of discomfort, so you may want to discuss this with your vet and see if they have any ideas? I wish you all the best, and sincerely hope for a good outcome for you and Smokey.