Hepatic lipidosis--anyone have experience with tube feeding?

[moochy]

I gave Stubby 8-9 feedings (2 hours apart) since she came home. She hasn't coughed up yet but she is extremely weak. I can hear her stomach grumble when I get about 5 ml of food into her stomach during a feeding.

The cap for the feeding tube is attached to the tube with a lanyard. It shouldn't get lost.

Stubby now has a KittyKollar and it's wrapped around her neck as loose as possible. See new picture of Stubby with new collar.

I wouldn't blame Stubby if she slept for an entire week. She finally looks relaxed and comfortable (but very, very weak). I am praying that Stubby will survive the choking that she went through and that the veterinarian didn't do any permanent damage.

Stubby's KittyKollar.JPG

• moochy
• Dec 28, 2014

 

[pedalgirl]

What a nightmare! I just do not understand how anyone can be that incompetent. Thank God you were in tune with Stubby's needs. If the vet you are using now does not sell 30ml syringes, you might be able to get them at a Banfield clinic. I also saw some online. I recommend BD Luer Lok -they are easier to manipulate. Let us know how she's coming along.

 

[moochy]

Now that I think of it, I don't think that Stubby ever had a chance to properly expel the anesthetic that was given to her for her feeding tube surgery. I think that the vet put that choke collar on her during surgery.

Stubby has been almost lifeless all day long. But I continue to feed her every 2 hours.

 

[denice]

Kitties with fatty liver are very sick and consequently act very lethargic.  The way she is acting now could well be from the illness.

 

[moochy]

Thanks, Denice. That lifts my spirit and now I have a little more hope.

 

[moochy]

It's 2:00 AM. Stubby has finally closed her eyes and she's getting some real sleep for the first time since I brought her home. The tube feedings are causing no stress for her. I think that she actually enjoys having warm food traveling down to her stomach. But I'm just guessing

 

[pedalgirl]

When Phradie first came home from her 4-day hospital stay, she fell asleep on the back of my couch, and I was lying on the couch. She literally fell into me and never woke up-slept a good 4 hours without moving. I believe that they instinctively know that you are helping with tube feedings. When Phradie feels better, she nibbles on our faces and purrs during the process. She almost always wants to curl up in my lap for feedings.
We are still struggling. Even though we increased her back to 60 ml every four hours on Dec. 22, she still produced and vomitted bile yesterday. My Berkley is empathizing with her lately, and he is usually way too busy for such nonsense.

 

[danacbus]

Glad stubby is doing better. Give her time. Any chance Phradie is getting food in the night? I discovered this with Joey and when fed him he was already a bit too full to have a tube feeding. He's staring at me right now. Lol Guessing he wants something. They always do. Lol

 

[moochy]

Stubby passed away in my arms today at 12:45 PM. She was extremely weak and she couldn't walk more than 5 steps without collapsing.

The vet that wrapped that constricting bandage around her neck so tight that she couldn't breathe killed her.

I'm going to bury Stubby in my backyard. I dug the hole next to a Blue Spruce tree.

I hope that the animal-abusing-veterinary-doctor who killed my cat ......

I have to take care of Stubby now.

 

[pedalgirl]

Oh, no, Moochy! My deepest sympathy for Stubby. I know she felt your deep love and compassion.
DanaCbus-we started feeding Phradie religiously at 6, 10, 2, 6, 10, 2 on Dec. 22 - 30 ml at a time. She responded favorably until last Saturday when she started vomiting after every other feeding or so. Very yellow bile again. We had not seen that since Thanksgiving. She has another appointment Wednesday morning. Vet said last time we might need a liver biopsy. Scary!

 

[denice]

 
Stubby passed away in my arms today at 12:45 PM. She was extremely weak and she couldn't walk more than 5 steps without collapsing.

The vet that wrapped that constricting bandage around her neck so tight that she couldn't breathe killed her.

I'm going to bury Stubby in my backyard. I dug the hole next to a Blue Spruce tree.

I hope that the animal-abusing-veterinary-doctor who killed my cat ......

I have to take care of Stubby now.

I am so sorry.  I don't usually get into recommending this but do you have a copy of the paperwork from the emergency vet showing what they did?  If you do and are so inclined I would report this vet to your state's licensing agency.  I think another possibility was misplacement of the feeding tube.  If this is what happened I don't fault the vet for not knowing how to insert a tube but I do fault him for trying to do something he didn't have the experience to do.  Sometimes vets like other professionals have too much pride to admit that they are in over their head.

 

[moochy]

I have the paperwork from the ER. And I have pictures of the vet's bandage that killed Stubby.

I talked to the vet that killed Stubby this morning. I told him that he choked her to death with that bandage. He said that it was liver failure. If Stubby's liver had failed, she wouldn't have kept all those feedings down without vomiting. He got very defensive and didn't want to talk about the bandage around Stubby's neck.

I am looking at the web site for filing complaints right now.

I wish that I had taken a movie of Stubby choking to death with that bandage around her neck. But it's too gross to think about.

 

[misterwhiskers]

I have the paperwork from the ER. And I have pictures of the vet's bandage that killed Stubby.

I talked to the vet that killed Stubby this morning. I told him that he choked her to death with that bandage. He said that it was liver failure. If Stubby's liver had failed, she wouldn't have kept all those feedings down without vomiting. He got very defensive and didn't want to talk about the bandage around Stubby's neck.

I am looking at the web site for filing complaints right now.

I wish that I had taken a movie of Stubby choking to death with that bandage around her neck. But it's too gross to think about.

I am so very, very sorry for your loss.

 

[snugglecat]

 
Stubby passed away in my arms today at 12:45 PM. She was extremely weak and she couldn't walk more than 5 steps without collapsing.

The vet that wrapped that constricting bandage around her neck so tight that she couldn't breathe killed her.

I'm going to bury Stubby in my backyard. I dug the hole next to a Blue Spruce tree.

I hope that the animal-abusing-veterinary-doctor who killed my cat ......

I have to take care of Stubby now.

I am just heartbroken to hear this news. I am so sorry for your loss, my thoughts and prayers go out to you during this difficult time.

 

[cocheezie]

So sad.

 

[pushylady]

moochy I'm so very sorry to read this update. That poor cat! You did so much for her and it breaks my heart that she didn't survive this. RIP Stubby.
I second the advice about taking this further. If that vet was so incompetent that he ended up killing Stubby, other people need to be aware of this.

 

[pedalgirl]

Ditto on the complaint to an agency-the vet needs to be held accountable. You more than did your part as a responsible pet owner! Phradie is obviously having severe liver issues, and she has easily made it for almost 2 months on a feeding tube, so don't see how it could have been liver failure. I feel so bad for you.

 

[lulukikimom]

I'm so, so sorry to hear that Stubby didn't make it. My Kiki dies of HL 2 years ago. She died so suddenly after the tube surgery they offered to do an autopsy and found that she had a tumor on her lung, which was the first domino in a long chain of events. Anyway, the vets were willing to look into it to see if they caused her death. This vet sounds horrible and I would pursue it as far as I could with the authorities. That's not only malpractice, it's animal cruelty. We're so vulnerable to our vets because we have to trust them. If you know this one cannot be trusted you should make sure he can't do this to another beloved pet. Very sad and also very mad for you.

I would post on yelp and other consumer sites about him.

 

[moochy]

The veterinarian has so much more knowledge than the rest of us about taking care of animals. The vet that wrapped that bandage around Stubby's neck was outraged when I told him that he almost killed my cat. He got very angry when i told him that Stubby was choking to death and would have been dead within 10 minutes if the ER vet hadn't cut the bandage off. I'm going to do everything I can, for Stubby's sake, to make him understand what he did.

I want to thank everyone here for your kind words and thoughts. I hope that all of your feline companions have a healthy New Year.

I don't know who suffers more, the patient or the caregiver. i can tell you that I'm suffering pretty good right now.

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[moochy]

I copied this off Stubby's report from the ER vet. I thought that it might shed some light on what happened. The bandage around Stubby's neck was like stretchy spandex. The vet stretched in around Stubby's neck and then it choked her more and more as it slowly collapsed. I still can't believe this happened to my cat.

The following abnormalities were found:
Dyspnea, drooling, icteric
Assessment:
Constrictive bandage around neck
Plan:
Remove and replace bandage
Monitor for continued dyspnea
Bandage removed and Stubby immediately began to breath more freely and became much more comfortable.
Hypersalivation subsided after about 10-15 minutes.
Dispensed Kitt E collar - demonstrated use of collar.
Continue to monitor Stubby for respiratory rate and effort. Recommend follow up with rDVM Monday.
BShampo, DVM