Glad to help... yes, Cats stopping eating is something to be really concerned about it... You know it - you had one who got Hepatic Lipidosis... It is no joke...Originally Posted by lindalee
THANKS so much for the advice. I was just worrying about it because I had no idea how much I should aim for. I spoke to my Vet today and she insisted like you did, that I make sure Gizmo gets food in him, that I had to step in and force feed him at this point. Guess she thought he could eat on his own which didn't happen. I held him while my sister gently squeezed the food onto the top of his mouth forcing his tongue to lick it off. He didn't seem too happy about all this but we felt so much better knowing he got at least some food into his body. I am going to look at the syringe to see how much we ended up giving him today, I betcha it's not nearly enough. Yes, I'm glad tomorrow is still the weekend and we will make sure Gizmo gets the adequate amount however many feedings it may take.
He seemed to really not want the second helping (we used half a syringe and then went for another half), my sister almost sensed he'd had enough.
Do you think it's hard for him to get back into eating, would he feel full sooner than usual? Thanks so very much for your concern and for sharing your knowledge. Your post helped convince me to do this and I showed my sister when she came home. We both foolishly felt that force feeding was some bizarre and mean thing to do (crazy as that sounds) and thought maybe it was extreme. Something only the Vet could attempt for instance.
I hope we got to him in time with this food. The verdict is still out. He's kind of tired but has brief periods of almost seeming like his old self.
Now to see if our relationship will ever be the same with Gizmo after suffering such indignities
Try wrapping him in a towel, like a tight burrito, instead of holding him like that... Might be less traumatizing... See, I have a bag that works great for that... I use it to give medication to my IMPOSSIBLE to medicate kitty: this is it: Klaw Kontrol Bag... I bought it from here, really cheap (shipping says $12.00, but they charged me $4.50 and sent USPS, got here really fast) - even if they charge $12, it will be the cheapest place
You can also try to put some wet food on your finger, and dab it on the roof of his mouth, or smear it on the side of his teeth, on his cheek - see if he will take some like that... You can do that with a little tsp...
Did your vet say anything about an appetite stimulant?
