What a crappy year. I had to put down my Caspurr at the very end of 2012, then her brother in February and now my last kitty has been diagnosed with fatty liver disease. But I was told to try feeding him at home first to see if I can improve his liver function before considering more invasive options. I'm no stranger to syringe feeding,as I did it for Caspurr when she couldn't eat. But she was also pretty weak and didn't struggle....too much. Kip is sick and an old man, but boy he sure is wily. He puts up a pretty big fight when I force feed him, and considering he also has a heart murmur, I'm sure that just makes feedings suck even more.
I was told to feed him a small meal every 2 or 3 hours. The thing is I have no idea what constitutes a small meal for a cat, especially when it's watered down enough to go in a syringe. Earlier today I got half a can of Fancy Feast in him, and later on gave him some chicken baby food. He ate a little of the baby food on his own, but left probably half the jar, so I fed him that via syringe a few hours later. And he definitely does not like; he's been hiding in the corner since I fed him about 20 minutes ago. From what I know, the biggest concern for a kitty with fatty liver disease is that they eat. First priority is food in general, second is the quality of their meals. Though part of me is worried that Kip will come to associate food with stress with the syringe feeding. Tomorrow he goes to the vet for a shot of vitamin B12 and I'm going to see how he likes Hill's Science Diet A/D and maybe some canned kitten food (which I think is about the same nutritionally as A/D and not as expensive).
Any suggestions from folks about what else I can feed him? He won't drink goat's milk, but he likes cow's milk. Not sure about raw egg yolks (which I've been told are okay maybe 1-2 times a week for kitties). Could I maybe mix an egg yolk with some baby food and warm water? Would that be too disgusting to feed him? I've never had a cat with a fatty liver, so I'm not sure where to begin besides getting food into him. About how many cc would you say to give him at a time?
I was told to feed him a small meal every 2 or 3 hours. The thing is I have no idea what constitutes a small meal for a cat, especially when it's watered down enough to go in a syringe. Earlier today I got half a can of Fancy Feast in him, and later on gave him some chicken baby food. He ate a little of the baby food on his own, but left probably half the jar, so I fed him that via syringe a few hours later. And he definitely does not like; he's been hiding in the corner since I fed him about 20 minutes ago. From what I know, the biggest concern for a kitty with fatty liver disease is that they eat. First priority is food in general, second is the quality of their meals. Though part of me is worried that Kip will come to associate food with stress with the syringe feeding. Tomorrow he goes to the vet for a shot of vitamin B12 and I'm going to see how he likes Hill's Science Diet A/D and maybe some canned kitten food (which I think is about the same nutritionally as A/D and not as expensive).
Any suggestions from folks about what else I can feed him? He won't drink goat's milk, but he likes cow's milk. Not sure about raw egg yolks (which I've been told are okay maybe 1-2 times a week for kitties). Could I maybe mix an egg yolk with some baby food and warm water? Would that be too disgusting to feed him? I've never had a cat with a fatty liver, so I'm not sure where to begin besides getting food into him. About how many cc would you say to give him at a time?