Syringe fed cat not pooping

[Leroy17]

I have been instructed by our vet to syringe feed our Romeo with Hills a/d.
After a bite or some kind of puncture wound to his back 9 days ago we brought him to an emergency vet, they administered sq, antibiotics and methadone. This was on Thursday morning and I told them he hadn’t eaten since Tuesday night. They assured me he would start eating again. Believe me, tried EVERYTHING.
Phoned our regular vet explaining concerns Romeo still is not eating Friday morning and I asked for transdermal appetite stimulant and pain meds. Made an appointment with this vet on Monday. That was the soonest I could get. He still did not eat even one bite. He was checked, labs done more sq and instructions to syringe feed. I have not given him pain meds since Monday evening. Scared of impending results of liver damage due to his not eating for six days.
Tuesday evening they called and said his liver values, among other things were only a couple of points off. Start giving him Hepato with his syringe feeding.
He started eating very little i.e. 3 temptations treats one teaspoon of cat food the last couple of days. I started giving him Churu last night (just after Amazon dropped it off) and he ate about half of one.

I have syringed about 2 cans of a/d maybe 4 tablespoons of Friskies and no poop since early morning Wednesday. 1 crayon size stool. He is peeing throughout the day. Was able to get 1.5 tablespoons of beachnut chicken with his Hepato this morning. Of course now the syringe does not work. Ordered more. Still applying Mirataz even though it doesn’t seem to work with him.

Has anyone experienced no pooping for a while with syringe feeding? He mostly sleeps all day and is not interested in play (or catnip).
Still waiting to hear from the vet.
Thank you

 

[verna davies]

If he hasnt been eating then there's nothing to come out, it may take a couple of days for something near normal. The meds may be upsetting his tummy and making him feel sick. Have you tried fresh chicken, tuna, even kitten food as that has more calories.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I apologize I'm not clear, he was pooping during those six days that he wasn't eating? Oh, Verna Davies and I were typing at the same time

His system needs to digest food for there to be poop. With more food that you're getting into him, you should see more poop. Also, you could try a tongue depressor/popsicle stick, scoop a little late style food on one end, open his mouth and gently scrape the food off on his tongue or the roof of his mouth. This method was suggested to me by my vet, and I give my boy his supplements in food this way.

 

[Leroy17]

Hi
I apologize I'm not clear, he was pooping during those six days that he wasn't eating? Oh, Verna Davies and I were typing at the same time

His system needs to digest food for there to be poop. With more food that you're getting into him, you should see more poop. Also, you could try a tongue depressor/popsicle stick, scoop a little late style food on one end, open his mouth and gently scrape the food off on his tongue or the roof of his mouth. This method was suggested to me by my vet, and I give my boy his supplements in food this way.

 

[Leroy17]

Furballsmom,
No, the last poop I saw was near his sleeping area last Thursday, very small. Wednesday morning my husband found the small crayon size poop. Otherwise before his injury he was eating well and pooping normally.
I have already feed him about 2.5 cans of food. Mixed with water per vet feeding instructions since Monday.

We all hate this syringe feeding-horrible. I find it strange that all that food is not coming out. No pain meds since Monday 5:30p.m.
Vet said on Tuesday feeding tube is done at the emergency vet. He would not take food hand fed to him.

 

[Leroy17]

Update…..Heard back from vets office. They say this is normal, be concerned if he is straining while trying to go.
Just finished getting a whooping total of 1 tablespoon of a/d into him. There was such a fight I’m calling it quits! I think he is putting more energy into fighting this syringe feeding that it’s not doing any good to stress him anymore. He has not vomited.

Yup, tried warming food, tuna, ground his favorite treats into a paste, every type of lickable pouch, 3 different flavors baby food, hand feeding, making a paste of his regular dry food, many specialty canned food types and flavors, let him choose to eat his regular dry/wet food and treats. He never ate human tuna or boiled chicken but I tried that plus beef type cat food that he never ate anyway. Several attempts throughout the days have been tried. I always fed my cats off small glass plates. He does not have an interest in any flavor of Churu. The appetite stimulant has made no difference. Nor the vet administered sq.
Left food in his regular spot plus other areas around the house. Changed every couple of hours. He will not drink water if there is any food near it.
He is about 12 years old. I inherited him 4 years ago when my sister died. There were 2 others. One died from pancreatitis the other from a stroke or brain tumor, in 2019. Both home euthanized. Pricey but worth it.

I have one other male cat (LeRoy, 17 years old) who is happy and healthy but will not eat any of the Churu or other special treats either. Arrrg!
This Romeo character is about #37 of cats in my life. He just now ate 3 Temptations treats. I’m off to Petsmart to dump another fortune on food and treats. No more force feeding. Wish us luck!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am not sure whether or not it would make a difference, but there is another appetite stimulant used in lieu of Mirataz - which is what I assume you are currently using. It is called Elura, although I think it is only in pill form, but can be mixed with anything you might get Romeo to eat. You might ask the vet about it. Also, ask the vet if he might need anti-nausea meds as well. If he is nauseous, an appetite stimulant by itself may not work. And no, not all cats that are nauseous vomit.

There is another type of treat to try if you haven't already - Hartz Delectables - they have them in Stews and Bisques. There is also a line by Friskies - Lil Grillers, Lil Soups, Lil Gravies, & Lil Shakers. I think they have most of these at PetSmart, so hope you will come across them while you are there.

 

[Leroy17]

Hi. I am not sure whether or not it would make a difference, but there is another appetite stimulant used in lieu of Mirataz - which is what I assume you are currently using. It is called Elura, although I think it is only in pill form, but can be mixed with anything you might get Romeo to eat. You might ask the vet about it. Also, ask the vet if he might need anti-nausea meds as well. If he is nauseous, an appetite stimulant by itself may not work. And no, not all cats that are nauseous vomit.

There is another type of treat to try if you haven't already - Hartz Delectables - they have them in Stews and Bisques. There is also a line by Friskies - Lil Grillers, Lil Soups, Lil Gravies, & Lil Shakers. I think they have most of these at PetSmart, so hope you will come across them while you are there.

Thank you! Yes, I tried all of the above treats and such. He never took to fish or tuna, which most of the enticers have in them but I will still put out a variety.
The nausea was discussed a few times. Doc thinks that this should soon pass and appetite stimulant and sq should help. I have tried duck, turkey/chicken kitten foods etc also. He was always picky.
I will ask the vet about a different stimulant.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Yes, I tried all of the above treats and such. He never took to fish or tuna, which most of the enticers have in them

Most of the treats I mentioned above offer chicken-based ones that do not contain fish at all, but that is not to say he would like them anyway. I just know I had to find them because Feeby is not a fan of most fish either.

 

[verna davies]

You must be so frustrated after trying so many different things to get Romeo to eat. The only thing I can think of that I dont think you have tried is to crumble a few Temptations on top of a little food and see if that will work. I hope you get him to eat something soon. Keep us updated.

 

[Leroy17]

Most of the treats I mentioned above offer chicken-based ones that do not contain fish at all, but that is not to say he would like them anyway. I just know I had to find them because Feeby is not a fan of most fish either.

Thanks! I did try the ones that were fish free also. Spent $76.00 last Thursday and $42.00 today. $26.00 for the Churu treats from Amazon. Believe me, that’s a lot of variety. This guy was always hard to please and didn’t care much for wet/canned food. Funny guy! Always pestered the heck out of me when I walked in the door begging for Temptations. Today, no different but was able to see him eat about a tsp of Wellness Core Tiny Tasters. Cat treats are always available for him. I have them counted out to keep track if he eats any. If he gets better I’m gonna wring his neck!
Seriously, he may do WAY better without the syringe. Fingers crossed, been this route before. First time force feeding though.

 

[Leroy17]

You must be so frustrated after trying so many different things to get Romeo to eat. The only thing I can think of that I dont think you have tried is to crumble a few Temptations on top of a little food and see if that will work. I hope you get him to eat something soon. Keep us updated.

Thank you!

 

[Leroy17]

This morning I cleaned Romeos personal litter box. Hurray! Poop. Can‘t believe I wrote this.
He is still eating very little but he never was a big eater of wet food, no interest in the dry Purina that is always freshly put out. Seems he’s lost interest in Temptation treats.

I have better results feeding 1 teaspoon at a time. Maybe he is overwhelmed with more on his plate. Wellness core duck or chicken/turkey pate recipe seems to be the only thing he will eat but turned his nose away when I mixed in Hepato suppliment. I tasted this stuff, tasted like vegetable oil. What’s the big deal?

Still sleeping most of the time. I made him a cat cave from a box so he wouldn’t hide where I couldn’t reach him. Also a special litter box for him that he didn’t have too much trouble getting in and out. He is still having trouble walking after his injury of unknown origin, but looks better than he did 5 days ago. As of 3:00p.m he has eaten 4 tsps on his own. Of course this is killing me!

 

[BellaBlue82]

This morning I cleaned Romeos personal litter box. Hurray! Poop. Can‘t believe I wrote this.
He is still eating very little but he never was a big eater of wet food, no interest in the dry Purina that is always freshly put out. Seems he’s lost interest in Temptation treats.

I have better results feeding 1 teaspoon at a time. Maybe he is overwhelmed with more on his plate. Wellness core duck or chicken/turkey pate recipe seems to be the only thing he will eat but turned his nose away when I mixed in Hepato suppliment. I tasted this stuff, tasted like vegetable oil. What’s the big deal?

Still sleeping most of the time. I made him a cat cave from a box so he wouldn’t hide where I couldn’t reach him. Also a special litter box for him that he didn’t have too much trouble getting in and out. He is still having trouble walking after his injury of unknown origin, but looks better than he did 5 days ago. As of 3:00p.m he has eaten 4 tsps on his own. Of course this is killing me!

Hang in there!! My baby girl got extremely sick this past March, and I ended up having to syringe feed her to avoid feeding tube/hepatic lipidosis. I syringe fed her for about a week and she finally started to get her appetite back. I know it's stressful for both of you, but it does help!

 

[Leroy17]

Hang in there!! My baby girl got extremely sick this past March, and I ended up having to syringe feed her to avoid feeding tube/hepatic lipidosis. I syringe fed her for about a week and she finally started to get her appetite back. I know it's stressful for both of you, but it does help!

Thank you for the encouragement! I was only able to syringe feed, 3 times daily for 3 days. He was fighting so much I thought he would hurt himself with the struggle. I did have him wrapped in a towel which was another barrier for me.
He trashed so violently the last syringe feed I nearly squirted him in the eye. The risks of aspiration or choking etc outweigh the benefits of getting the small amount he would tolerate at any given time. I watched many videos on ”how to”. Sure, the first two were not so bad.
I am so happy to read of your success! Many happy and healthy years to you!