Has anyone ever had to use one? Are they painful to the cat? Is it difficult to use one?
My Maverick has been having problems eating due to phlegmy stuff that gets caught in his throat from a recurring URI. He wants to eat and tries to, but has a difficult time trying to get the food down. I take him in to the vet every 1-2 weeks for an antibiotic shot, a vitamin B-12 shot, and another one that helps to break up the phlegm. He'll do better for about a week or so and will eat better, but then the phlegm starts building back up and he'll have problems eating again. He's starting to lose too much weight.
I've been feeding him watered-down baby food & cat food: I also water down his dry food so it's mushier so he can eat it, because it's too hard for him to get it down in the dry form -- it gets stuck in his throat. I'm thinking that maybe I should have the vet insert a feeding tube till he can eat better on his own again, and so he can get the nutrition he needs and gain back some weight. But I don't want to put him through anything like that if it will be too painful or be too much of a hindrance for him.
Has anyone had any experience using feeding tubes? What were the results?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
My Maverick has been having problems eating due to phlegmy stuff that gets caught in his throat from a recurring URI. He wants to eat and tries to, but has a difficult time trying to get the food down. I take him in to the vet every 1-2 weeks for an antibiotic shot, a vitamin B-12 shot, and another one that helps to break up the phlegm. He'll do better for about a week or so and will eat better, but then the phlegm starts building back up and he'll have problems eating again. He's starting to lose too much weight.
Has anyone had any experience using feeding tubes? What were the results?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.