Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and it seems very good so I'm hoping someone can help me. My 15 year-old Katie was not eating for awhile due to stress (I think) and she was getting better (eating little bits of food every couple of hours and starting to play again, and still purring like the dickens) but she had lost quite a lot of weight. I don't really trust vets too much, but I took her to see one and they insisted that they needed to put an esophagol feeding tube in right away. They put it in yesterday morning.

It is the worst mistake I've ever made.Gone is my sweet old kitty and in her place is a grumpy kitty who can hardly move. I'd like to have the tube removed, but I know she wouldn't make it through another surgery so soon after this one so I'm trying to make do in the meantime. Please, does anyone have any experience with cats on these tubes? Do you know how long it takes them to get used to them? She's not vomitting the food, but she's not really moving and can barely get up to go to the washroom. The tube is supposed to allow her to eat on her own (as well as being fed through the tube) and is supposed to encourage her to start eating again, but she's going to her water and food dishes and just staring at them helplessly. She basically moves from under the bed to under the couch and that's it.

And I'd just like to say that, in my opinion, this surgery for an old cat just seems to have totally reduced her quality of life. I regret not having let her grow old happily and gracefully. Sorry about the length/melodrama of this post, I'm just getting a more than a tad upset about the state of my kitty that I love so much.

Hi,
I am sorry to hear about your cat. I have no experience with feeding tubes. I hope she gets better soon.
Please keep us updated.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Poor, poor baby! I am so sorry!

Best wishes to you. I'll keep you both in my thoughts and prayers. Let us know what you decide and what happens.

Thank you both for your kind words, it totally helped to have someone tell me I was only doing what I thought was best. I needed the reassurance, it's crazy how panicked I got about the poor girl.

Katie is doing a little better, though I'm still a wreck

She's been keeping the food down, and did nibble at the baby food this morning, thanks for the suggestion!. She's still not moving around too much, but last night came out from hiding and purred on my lap for a couple of hours, and she slept on the bed with me (in her favourite spot between the pillows) so I think she's getting better. I'll still have the tube removed as soon as possible, but I need to wait until she's a bit stronger to give her a fighting chance. I've been talking to her and telling her everything is going to be okay and silly as it sounds, it seems to have helped.

I'll keep posted!

Thank you for the update. It does sound like your cat is getting better and will be strong enough to tolerate the surgery to remove the tube pretty soon.

Don't discound your soothing words. Many people think that animals understand more than we think and telling her that she will be OK is probably helping her.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!