What to feed a senior cat that can't eat

yort

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Our beloved 16 year old cat Bailey was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma in October 2015. The tumor has now progressed to the point where he cannot feed himself. We are set to have a feeding tube inserted into him this week, but in the meantime we need to force feed him with a syringe. I need some advice as to what to feed him? He would need a high protein liquid of some sort, possibly KMR? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
 

donutte

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I imagine KMR would work, as would any food you could puree in a blender. But for his purposes, might be easier to stick with pure liquid. How much does he weigh? You need to make sure to get enough calories into him each day, approx 20 calories per lb of weight.
 

Columbine

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Hills a/d is ideal for syringe feeding - just thin it a little with water or goat's milk. It's a high calorie, nutrient dense food designed for sick cats.
 

donutte

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Hills a/d is ideal for syringe feeding - just thin it a little with water or goat's milk. It's a high calorie, nutrient dense food designed for sick cats.
D'oh! How could I forget about that? Only thing is you have to get it via prescription or from the vet, but that shouldn't be a problem (unless the vet isn't open at this time).
 

white shadow

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Hills a/d is ideal for syringe feeding.....
That would - at least for now - be an excellent choice. You need to know that it's only available from  veterinarians.....after office hours, your best bet would likely be a walk-in emergency clinic. Perhaps call them first to see if they'll just sell it to you....hopefully they won't insist on hearing from your own Vet first.

For the longer term, you might want to get some knowledgeable diet advice from the specialized online feline cancer community....the real experts in managing these kitties' health issues. You'll find those people right here: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline-cancer/info    They've been active for the past 17 years - so, they know a-thing-or-two.

Hope that helps !
 
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