Our first feeding at 11 last night was near-disastrous. The feeding tube had stopped up solid as concrete, and it took several tries to clear it before we could get the food in. Tiggr got so agitated that we had to stop for 15 minutes and let him down (one of us has to hold him during the process; the other has both hands engaged). Finally we got the tube clear and about half the food into him.
We were dreading the next feeding at 5AM, but this time the tube was clear and our procedure was a bit more scientific. I’d filled the food syringe ahead of time at 11, but with the trouble we had, the water syringe had to be filled three or four times and we hadn’t had extra water handy on the table. Nor had I thought to fill the cimetidine (Tagamet) syringe ahead of time, so 11PM was just a disaster all the way around; we nearly took him back to the vet to have them feed him.
5AM took 5 minutes and minimal trauma to Tiggr and ourselves.
11AM was very smooth, very quick. We came to the conclusion that the tech who showed us how to feed him hadn’t cleared the tube after feeding him. Our procedure is now
- 5cc water into the tube to clear if necessary
- 1cc cimetidine
- 30cc of Eukanuba high-calorie food (prescription)
- 10cc water
This seems to keep the tube clear enough that it hasn’t been clogged either at 11AM or at 7PM when we fed him again. We waited till 7 because he had been eating some solid food! Not enough, though, so we’re still feeding by tube, but hopefully the pump has been primed.
He’s also getting antibiotic and a histamine pill (for appettite stimulation) twice a day.
What a workout. I don’t envy veterinary techs their jobs.