Advice Needed..Alex Recovery After Being Hit By A Car / Brain Swelling / Wont Eat

[kittens mom]

 
Hi,

Update on Alex progress.

The breathing has got much better and is normal now, physically he is improving every day. He moves much better and is getting more comfortable around the house.

We have stopped the pain meds.

The wire in his jaw is due to come out in 2 weeks.

But he is still not eating. Which is the most worrying part.

Nina my partner is amazing at feeding him, she tilts his head back and puts the food inside his mouth and he seems to enjoy it as there isn't a struggle.

But we have tried pretty much every technique possible to try and make him eat by himself.

I know it could be the wire in his jaw but I think the more likely is he just does not know how to eat.

We can manage like this for a while but its not a long term solution and I am worried that he will not learn this.

Its been a long road and he has come so far we are just praying he will eat by himself!

Thanks for reading

Per the eating. Stop putting the horse before the cart. As long as he has wires he may not eat on his own. You can start working on that once they are out and he has realized he has mobility back. He is letting you feed him. Most cats fight force feeding. Count your lucky stars. You may have to put food in his mouth and move his jaws to stimulate him. it may take a few weeks. You have so much progress. Now is not the time for despair. You may have to give pain meds for a while after the wires come out. Discuss this with your vet.

I wouldn't dig a hole for him yet.  Also when you are sure he's fully able to eat on his own the vet can prescribe appetite stimulants.

Good job. You should make more notice of how far you've come.

 

[red top rescue]

BTW if you read the article you will see that a cat CAN eat with an e-tube in because it isnt in his mouth at all.  Many cats have started eating again with an e-tube in place, and as soon as that is accomplished, the tube can be removed.  If you are getting enough down him now without it being painful for his jaw, then more power to you, but if it is a struggle to keep up with his calorie needs or making him swallow food hurts his jaw, then the e-tube might just make your next few weeks a lot easier, for all 3 of you!

 

[alexrecovery]

Hey

Thanks for the post and link.

He did have the tube in, it actually came out as he was shaking his head a lot, the vet suggested as we are able to feed him without any stress that we don't put the tube back.

We are ok managing like this for the foreseeable future, we do have a holiday booked in August so we might need to come up with a plan while we are away if he is not eating by then.

I think when the wire comes out he will eat.

Best

 

[alexrecovery]

thank you and I think you are right.

He has jumped every hurdle that has been put in front of him so far.

I guess when you are with him every day its hard to see how far he has come.

thanks for the post

 

[alexrecovery]

Very Positive Update on Alex!

He has started eating by himself. 

I realised at some point that he was connecting eating with people and hands. He was getting very excited when we would go for the food, the brain damage had made him forget it's something he can do by himself. 

I put some food on the palm of my hand and put him between my legs crouching so he couldn't back up. I then put my hand right next to his mouth and after a few tries he started licking the food, the next step was to put my hand just over a plate of his food and I slowly moved my hand away and pushed his head towards the food and he started eating from the plate! He then got super excited and wouldn't stop eating and is now meowing for food all the time!

My partner fed him (with some help from me) for 5 weeks 3 times a day, she is amazing with animals, very natural and confident, no fussing and after a couple of weeks he would just sit back and lift his head back without prompting. Without her patience and attention with Alex I am not sure this would have been possible.

Its really good to see him eat.

He has developed another problem, he has nerve damage around his eye, he is not producing tears and has an ulcer, which is not healing. The vet has suggested removing the eye, as its very rare for this type of nerve damage to repair, we want to give it a little longer and try a different med to tackle the ulcer. If it does heal he will need eye drops daily for the rest of his life. I know cats adapt really well with one eye, but it does have an impact. They have to be indoor cats, the depth of vision is effected and they will be less agile. Alex loves the outdoors. We will never let him out as before and only let him out when we are around as I think he is much more at risk since the accident.

I guess if after all of this he looses an eye its pretty good going, it could have been a lot worse!

Its been a long road with this little fella, he brings so much to our house and it seems a miracle that he has come this far.

 

[mservant]

What wonderful news about Alex starting to feed himself again.  

 

 

      That is a great step to being an independent and happy cat.  

Poor guy having that ulcer on his eye, it must be really painful for him.  Loads of positive vibes for you all that it heals - I think I would want to do the same as you at this point and try something else before removing the eye, but not to keep him in pain for longer than need be.  You know him well and saying he loves being outdoors and wanting him to be able to continue experiencing that seems worth that extra attempt with medication.   He is a very lucky cat to live with and be adored by such caring humans and I am sure he knows this given the strength it must be taking him to over come his injuries.  

Thank you for the update, and please do let us know how things progress with his eye.  

   

 

[red top rescue]

One eyed cats do just fine.  We have lost a lot of eyes in rescue due to viruses like herpes.  Since these guys dont have to hunt for their food, it's really not a problem.  The adjust to their limited depth perception.  Even blind cats do just fine.

 

[Norachan]

That's such good news about him eating again.

I have a one eyed cat and he does just fine. He goes outside, we have a large enclosure (very large, more like a field) and he has no trouble chasing the other cats around out there. He can climb and jump and do all the things the other cats do. He even catches bugs.

Maybe you could get Alex used to walking on a harness so he can go outside with you?