SOOOO Glad I found you guys~ New to Feeding tube also

My kitty Dr. Hush Puppy, a Lilac Point Oriental age 15 just had a feeding (eg tube) placed this past Monday. He also has vestibular disease due to a raging inner ear infection. He had an MRI on Thurday and thank goodness no tumors anywhere- brain perfect- but he is wobbly like crazy so he has to be caged most of the time.  We take him out and cuddle him several times every hour and he is just delighted to be home finally.

We had a lesson in using the tube but I am awfully afraid of making mistakes. He also has several medications that he must get through the tube as well- in separate small syringes passed into the tube entry.  I still don't know the technical names of all these things.

He has a bandage wrapped with vet-wrap and the tube is hanging out there in space. Is there something I should be using to prevent damage to the tube or it to get caught on the cage or anywhere else.  Since he is vestibular we can't let him roam around the house of course for fear he will injure himself or the tube.

I would love any suggestions you all may have. I was told that we didn't have to clean anything and the bandage would be changed by the vet every few days- but I am wondering if there is anything I can do to protect it, and any suggestions that folks who are old hands at this can offer me.

Thanks so much.. I may be a worry wart, but I am stressed to the max. We tried syringe feeding to no avail- since the infection in his ear was causing a huge amount of pain in his mouth- so in went that tube. I should have done that from the very beginning.

Take care,

Jo, my husband Marty and of course, Dr. Hush Puppy.

He is beautiful!

I also have a kitty with an e-tube.  We are on day 8 today.  I have heard great things about kittykollar.com.  I have thought about getting one for Crimmie, but have decided to use the money for her vet bills, and make due with other things to cover the tube.

I bought a roll of the vetrap from the grocery store and also picked up some velcro strips with adhesive backing.  I cut a piece of the wrap to fit once around her neck and stick the velcro strips in the appropriate places to keep the wrap snug.  It works great for me!  I can throw it away when it gets dirty, and it's very cheap to replace.  I also cut the collar off of an old button up shirt and put the velcro strips on that.  It also works great!  

I had a hard time finding the right syringe to use.  My vet used a red rubber catheter for her tube.  The end is pretty wide and didn't really accept a slip tip syringe.  I ended up cutting the end off a bit, so my syringes can fit inside.

I wish you luck and patience...We have good days and bad.  But as long as I'm putting calories into her, it's a good day!  

Are you doing subcutaneous fluids also?

Your kitty is gorgeous.  I too did nothing with the bandage.  He went back to the vet every few days for bandage changes.

My vet actually sutured the tube to his side.   I know that sounds bad but it worked well.  She did it when she put in the tube.  She shaved a little spot on his side made a good size loop with the thread and the tube went through it.  Of course it isn't worth having anesthetic again to do that.

I hope  your kitty gets better very soon.

No we are not doing subq fluids yet. He seems to be getting sufficient fluid with all the flushing we are doing. Our vet wants us to flush 5-10 MLS before we feed and 5-10 everytime after we feed. He also is getting meds through the tube so he gets 2 MLs with each of the meds we give him in the tube. I check him for hydration and see if he is hydrated sufficiently. He is NOT an easy cat to inject. He was getting pain meds subq and he hated it- very fiesty about any injections or needles in him. My vet did some acupunture with him and he was NOT a happy camper.  SIGH.

He gets SynOtic-Baytril in one ear ,25 ML once a day for the infection - which is causing his vestibular issues. But I am happy to say that he is beginning to sit up straight and is a little less wobbly which makes us very happy.

I was thinking about the KittyKollar also but I am tapped out financially with the tube and the MRI and the services that the specialty clinic gave him. But I have to say that AVS was spectacular and their neurologists were great to us. They loved him which also helped.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking about getting an infant T-shirt but I don't know how readily he will accept anything on his body.

Thanks again for your support ladies. It means a lot to us.

Take care, and I hope your kitties are doing well and get better very soon. Sending kitty prayers to you both.

Good to hear he is hydrated enough with the flushes and meds!  

I'm tapped out as well...I used up my care credit and almost all of a new credit card.  Wish the vet could bill me and take payments like the human Dr does!

Hang in there.  You are among friends 

Bonks to you crimmie! Thanks so much for your encouragement. It really helps!

We just bought a bird-water dish that attaches to the cage.  He is fast asleep so will wait to attach it when we do our 1:00 PM (ET) feeding.

Boy do I wish that pet health care was tax deductable as it is for humans!

I just texted my vet about the fact that he hasn't pooped yet. He is peeing fine and asked her when he will have a bandage change. It is beginning to look a little "ratty". 

I am having a little difficulty loading a 10 OR 20 ML syringe fully without the plunger trying to escape out the top. I am experimenting with adding more water but I am really wanting to make sure he gets the entire can of AD in four feedings.  I am going to try and see if he will eat a little of it by himself at our next feeding. He did eat a little on his own at the speciality hospital after his MRI.

Again, I am so glad that this area exists. It is so helpful to be with folks who understand and who are having the same situation- with more experience than I have-

Have a great day- and will check back later.

Did you see this arrangement by yet another kitty "parent" whose cat is currently on a G-tube?  This is Bucket:



I think this is probably the same arrangement that Crimmie explained using the Vetrap from the grocery store, it's just that Bucket has a bow added to hers   Gives it a little added "something". 

This is the dressing that the vet puts on.  The pink is Vetrap, and the rainbow is duct tape


This is the dressing that I put on over what the vet does.  It's just white Vetrap.  I put some duct tape at the end so I can easily find where to open it. 


Here are a few I have made up for when I need them  The velcro pieces are on the left.

@jo singer

How is sweet Dr. Hush Puppy?  Hoping for a good update    

Hi! My kitty, too, had a feeding tube a few yrs ago. I also was scared of feeding and basically going anywhere near it bc I thought it would hurt her if I touched it. Of course, she was on meds and food via the tube, so I had to deal with it! After a couple of days, I was much more calm, and it was actually very easy to administer the meds via syringe. They should give you the right size to work with the tube so that it doesn't spill at all. The vet should take care of that so you don't need to worry about it. My vet had used sort of an Ace bandage type of thing, but much softer, and the good thing was, it adhered to itself without any clips. It loosely held on with adhesive, and it was simple to remove if you wanted to change it. Also, you probably don't need to worry about the incision area getting dirty or infected, but if you are concerned (as I was), the vet gave me a simple cream that you can apply to keep it free of any germs. 

Good luck! I hope it gets easier soon - I bet it will! 

Crimmie

I am so sorry to be so late in responding. Things have been extremely hectic here.

We finally got the hang of feeding! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and Hush Puppy had no problems initially with the feedings. In a few days he was feeling better and even was eating some of the A/d off my fingers before we blended it in the blender. He wasn't interested in eating off a plate but my fingers were fine!

This is such an up and down issue- with the vestibular problems along with the chronic rhinitis that was causing  those problems, we were on a roller coaster ride about his health in general.

He had good days where he was quite frisky and wanted to roam around the house which we let him do for exercise (under very close supervision of course).  Then he had bad days where all he wanted to do was to curl up in his little cave-bed and sleep.

Then his breathing got much worse and back to the hospital he went. He is now hospitalized and having medications changed to remove some that are causing nausea and adding some that will boost his immune system.

Right now we are cautiously optimisitc and the fight is not over.  He is on IV fluids to rest his tummy- no tube feeding since he vomited twice. He will be starting on IV Vitamin C to boost his imune system along with nebulizing with a steroidal medication. They are taking excellent care of him and we are visiting him daily. We just got home in fact from having some snuggling time with him.

I was worried that perhaps we had done something wrong- but our vet said that we had done everything perfectly and that it is this darned inner ear infection that is causing all this mucus causing him to gag and not be able to breathe- making him very upset of course. So we hope that these treaments will help his breathing.

The good news is that he is walking a little more steady on his feet and he is really fighting to get well. 

Thanks so much for asking about him. It means a lot to us. 

Jo and Dr. Hush Puppy, and his "daddy", Marty

JenMeow,

Yup- we are on top of the bandage issue now with our vet. We had another bandage change this past Friday and another one today I would imagine.

I did leave an extensive update in my response to Crimmie.

This support here has been so helpful and makes me feel a lot more confident.   We will see how he is by Monday  and hope that he can come home then.

And the feeding DOES get easier.. I was amazed by that! Thanks for reminding me!

I am sorry to hear he is having some complications, but it sounds like complications that are able to be overcome! Sending love and healing thoughts his way...and yours Keep doing what you have been! You guys are taking such good care of him xoxoxo
Thank you for the update. He has been on my mind

Many vibes that Dr. Hush Puppy gets better quickly and can get back home to you sooner than later

Dear new friends,

It is with great sadness- and great difficulty that  share that Dr. Hush Puppy went peacefully and softly to the Rainbow Bridge last night. Our vet called to tell me that he had taken a huge turn for the worse. I asked her if it was TIME, and she replied- "Yes, I think so."

So we went immediately to her hospital to be with him. 

He had taken a very strong turn  for the worse. I won't go into details - it's not necessary- but he was telling us that he wanted to go.  

He was surrounded by the folks at the hospital who loved him- who took such amazing care of him- given with love and gentle care.

What was really odd about this was the associate veterinarian- who should have been long gone from the clinic- had a strong feeling to stay late- but she didn't know why. When she went to check on him- she knew immediately and called our vet- who called us.

Our vet, Dr. Erin- joined us soon and very gently and with tears flowing- assisted him in his transit to the Bridge. His journey was so peaceful. He was so relieved that he knew that it was ok to let go. 

So my new dear friends who have given me so much help here- I just want to thank you- and he wants to thank you too. You helped me be able to take better care of him - but it was his time to leave ... 

Thank you all again...

Much love to all,

Jo and Dr. Hush Puppy ( now with wings)

I'm so sorry, Jo. Wishing you peace and comfort.

Jo, my heart is breaking right along with yours .  I've been through just what you're going thru.  So many of us have.  My boy, Sven , let me know when he was ready to go, and like your Dr. Erin, our Dr. Christina was crying so hard I was afraid she was going to have a problem with the needle, but she didn't, and she barely touched our guy and he was gone....that's how ready he was .  And now your boy is with my boy (and so many others) and they are whole and happy again, and we are not.  But we hold their precious memories in our hearts forever.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Run free at the bridge,  Dr. Hush Puppy