3 month old kitten on feeding tube and it's blocked, unknown illness, liver issues

Hey yal - I posted last weekend about my worries with my kitten, Louie.  He hadn't been feeling well and was on Clavamox due to high white blood cells on his test results.  I've updated my thread, but I can't figure out how to edit my original post (especially the title) now that our situation has changed.

Tuesday, he really took a huge drop in health and by Tuesday night, he hadn't eaten in 24 hours, even with the most stinkiest tuna or even anchovies. He would barely even lift his head, so we rushed him to the animal hospital. The clavamox did nothing for the 10 days that he took it. He was missing a massive amount of red blood cells, white blood cells were through the roof, and now he had developed jaundice with elevated bilirubin. His platelets were not clumping. He was running a 103.4 fever and dehydrated, so he got his 3rd round of SubQ fluids.  The vet said that there was no telling what he had that was causing this, but that all of his guesses were terminal diseases.  Instead of putting him to sleep, we decided to take him home and find another 2nd opinion.

We force fed him liquidy food for another day, which was stressful, and then we were able to see another vet this morning. She informed us that the only way to give him a chance was to put in a feeding tube and that would give us some time to send off some blood samples to test for FIP. I was crying so much this morning because I didn't want to put in a feeding tube. I felt like he was way too weak to go under anesthesia. He was already woozy and almost vegetable-like.  Thank God, he woke up after!

Today has been very difficult learning how to do this feeding tube.  I think we did okay for the most part of the day, but tonight, Louie looks like he's in a coma, but his eyes are open. It's been so hard to watch his little frail body go through this. He's only 3lbs!

So during our last feeding, we added in one of his liquid medications at the end of it, then then followed it with some water to flush through.  But it's blocked.  We've pinched the tube up and down to try and move whatever was blocking it.  We've tried warm ginger ale (twice).  We have tried to suck it back out with the syringe, but that's when Louie started crying, so I fear we are hurting him by sucking with the syringe.  It's still blocked after an hour of feeding, and the liquid meds are in the tube, too.  I'm so frustrated and emotionally drained.  Does anyone have any tips that have helped you?  I hope we don't have the other end of the tube stuck to any inside tissue or anything?

Also, we are feeding him Iams Veterinary Formula Maximum Calorie Plus as prescribed.  It's a pate consistency that we were mixing with a little warm water in the syringe so that it flowed easily, but I guess chunks still end up clogging the tube. It is a thin tube since he's so tiny.

Also, how long before we expect him to poop?  He's had 3 meals in him and he's only been peeing in the litter box all day.  So I'm worried about that, also.

Thanks for your help!

Also, we are feeding him Iams Veterinary Formula Maximum Calorie Plus as prescribed.  It's a pate consistency that we were mixing with a little warm water in the syringe so that it flowed easily, but I guess chunks still end up clogging the tube. It is a thin tube since he's so tiny.

I'll send my mother a message and ask her what to do for a blocked feeding tube.  She's a nurse and she's currently working in a nursing home, but she used to work at a care facility for severely handicapped and medically fragile children.  She's worked with feeding tubes quite a bit.  I know a kitten isn't the same as a person, but feeding tubes probably aren't that different, right?

But it's 1:30am here so she's asleep.  She'll probably get this message in the morning.

Thanks Alicia!  It was still blocked this morning after being filled with water all night.  We needed to get some water and do our first feeding of the day, so we had to really work on it again.  We sucked on a syringe that had warm water in it, then pushed, then sucked, then pushed, over and over and I guess it created a little plunger effect. It pushed through, but it was with a little too much force that Louie made a little cry from the contents hitting his throat.  I'm just thankful that we had it cleared out!

We tried to do another feeding with more water mixed in, then stopped halfway to flush back through with clean water, then go back to the feeding, and we still managed to get it clogged AGAIN!  This food is so hard to get through this itty bitty tube!   It took a lot of work to get it unblocked again.  It looks like this is going to be a normal thing.  We feed every 3 hours! Ugh!

Mom said to take a VERY little bit (cuz it's a kitten) of coke or pepsi and put it in the tube with a syringe and work it back and forth gently with the syringe and if you have to, let it sit in the syringe for a little bit, then work it back and forth.

One of my cats was on a feeding tube a few years ago but as an adult.  I was using the Hill's A/d which I think is the Hills version of what you are using.  I mixed it half and half with water so it was thin like water.  I don't think that would be an option with a kitten though because of the amount of food that can be given at a time.  That would probably be too diluted.  My vet had told me to use soda pop if it became clogged as well.  I think it is very rare for a 3 month old kitten to be this ill.  My cat had developed fatty liver that resulted from at that time undiagnosed IBD.  I have no idea what this could be with a young kitten.

UPDATE - I'm devastated to say Louie most likely has FIP. 

Yesterday, his abdomen got really bloated and it got worse over the day. He was looking very uncomfortable last night, so we skipped the last feeding.  I was worried that his digestive system was backed up and that he needed a laxative or something to give him some relief.  He had a huge pot belly and the skin was tight.  He walked with a waddle at best. 

So this morning, I called the vet and I was expecting them to have me come by and pick up a laxative or something, but they asked me to go ahead and bring him in to be looked at.  I get there and the vet suspects this is fluid building up in his abdomen, since he had other symptoms of FIP previously (low RBC, high WBC, Jaundice with excess bilirubin, weightloss, dehydration, fever).  We had blood samples sent off last Thursday to test for FIP and we are waiting on results to come back next week. 

After an ultrasound, she found the pockets of fluid and did an aspiration to look at the fluid.  It was yellow, and almost syrup-like, very sticky.  This is pure protein and other essential nutrients that leak out of the internal organs and this is a very classic FIP symptom.  Given all the other previous symptoms, she's pretty sure that he has FIP, but we are going to wait until we get the results back next week to be absolutely sure.  Apparently, Louie is not in pain and it's more like the feeling of having a beer belly, maybe a little uncomfortable. We just keep up with the feedings, the care and try to keep him as comfortable as possible and pray that the results come back negative.

If they come back positive, we will have to make arrangements to put him to sleep, since FIP is fatal with no cure.  I guess he got this virus before he got the vaccination, before we adopted him.  And now I have to sanitize my house and litter boxes because I have another cat in the house, and it's contagious. 

I've been crying all day while holding his little body in my lap.  Next week is going to be so hard for us.

I am so sorry to hear this news - FIP is one of the most horrible things, I know from personal experience. The test results cannot 'prove' he has it, only show that his levels of virus are much higher than normal, as most cats will test positive for actual presence of the virus. Only occasionally does it mutate to the actual disease, and no-one knows exactly why. However, given his symptoms, it does sound very likely. The abdominal fluids are a dead giveaway. The jury is still out on whether it is contagious or not - the virus certainly is, but over 80% of cats in colonies and multi-cat households will test positive. The vast majority will never get the disease. The chances are that all your cats will have the virus already, but you do not need to panic. A normal cleaning of everything will be enough.

Thank you JennyR.  Louie did pass away at noon today.  Late last night, he started drooling quite a bit and started loosing control of his limbs.  We decided it was time, so we were going to find a vet that was open on a Sunday morning. This morning, I noticed that he didn't move all night and ended up peeing right where he slept.  He couldn't even lift his head.  We were able to find a vet to come by our house and put him to sleep at home.  It was so hard to watch him go through so much over this past week. I was surprised how fast it all happened. I've been cleaning, sanitizing and violently crying all day.

I'm so sorry for your loss of little Louie who was with you and on this earth far too short a time. Louie thankfully knew love because he was loved by you. He went in peace at home surrounded by that love. Louie is at rest now and no longer in pain.

[emoji]128149[/emoji]RIP little Louie[emoji]128149[/emoji]

I'm so sorry.  This breaks my heart.  You did all you could for him and he'll be looking down on you with love.

I am so sorry - sadly, there was nothing else you could have done. You gave him everything he needed and at the last he was comfortable and in a familiar place. That is great that you could do that for him. Out of respect for Louie I shall now close this thread. if you wish, and there is no rush, you can open a tribute htread for him on the Crossing the Bridge Forum

I am so sorry.  Yes FIP does advance very quickly and there is nothing that could be done.  It is a horrible disease.