More progress
The bionic kitty is gaining more and more energy everyday. She downright demanded her food today. I finally hit on some kibble she likes--Iams Original Formula. (This is NOT, by the way, an advertisement for Iams. I'm just telling it like it is.) For the first time today, she ate more than one or two pieces of kibble. I put her bowl beside Isabelle, who was enthusiastically inhaling her ration of kibble. It might have helped her to see Isabelle voraciously eating away--just like old times! Anyway, Jezebel did her best. I'm not exactly sure right now how much she ate, but it was relatively impressive. I measured the volume of her portion before serving it to her, and I'll measure the remainder tonight to get a better idea of how much she ate throughout the day.
Given that she's eating a bit (but not her full daily caloric requirement), it's hard to tell how much to decrease her tube feedings by. I can do the calculation if I know exactly how much she's eaten, but even that's hard to judge. I've been watching Jezebel like a hawk during her tube feeding, and as soon as she looks like she's had enough, I stop. It's an imprecise science at best. I'm really petrified she'll throw up.
I'm eager to give up the tube feedings altogether. It hasn't even been a week yet, I know. It's not so much the hassle of filling the syringes, remembering the schedule, getting Jezebel to sit still for 25-30 minutes while I pump the food into her, etc. That part (though I could do without) isn't as bad as I expected--a mere inconvenience. What really stresses me out is wondering if everything's okay with Jezebel--has she had too much? Did her stomach digest the last feeding properly? Am I giving her the feeding too early? Too late? Will she throw up? Tube feeding feels so unnatural. A normal, healthy cat can decide for herself how much food is enough, how often to eat, etc. When I pump food into Jezebel's tummy, I'm making that decision for her. You can talk all you want about being in tune with your cat--but the reality is you don't have the same, immediate knowledge that your cat does about how full her tummy is, how much more she can take, how nauseous she is, etc.
Then there are the physical risks of having a foreign object sticking out my cat's abdomen. Are there any problems with the tube? Will it clog up? (It hasn't yet, thankfully--I've been really diligent about flushing it out with water after each feeding.) Will she get it caught somewhere when I'm not looking? Will she get sick of it herself and try to yank it out? She really hates the tube top she has to wear. Not only does it clash with her natural sense of style (tube tops are so 1983), it must be itchy as hell. She's constantly scratching at it, and I'm constantly cutting off the stray threads that keep unravelling at the edges. A few days ago she tried to pull off one of those stray threads with her mouth, and it got caught in her throat--I heard her choking and gagging in the dining room, and I pulled the thread out of her mouth. Arghh! What if I hadn't been here?!? I don't want to leave her unsupervised until that tube is outta there.
On the bright side, I'm starting to really appreciate how smart Jezebel is. Although I've done the tube feedings just about everywhere in the apartment now except the bathroom (and I'm sure that'll happen sooner or later), we mostly do it on the couch in the living room. I bring a stool next to me so I can have the food syringe, water syringe, and a little cup to hold the tube plug nearby. As soon as I place that stool next to the couch and put the feeding gear on it, Jezebel usually hops up on the couch, lies on her side and waits for me. Such a good, smart, wonderful cat!
Right now she's lying on the couch, legs stretched out, sleeping with her paw over her eyes. I'll never take that sight for granted again!
Given that she's eating a bit (but not her full daily caloric requirement), it's hard to tell how much to decrease her tube feedings by. I can do the calculation if I know exactly how much she's eaten, but even that's hard to judge. I've been watching Jezebel like a hawk during her tube feeding, and as soon as she looks like she's had enough, I stop. It's an imprecise science at best. I'm really petrified she'll throw up.
I'm eager to give up the tube feedings altogether. It hasn't even been a week yet, I know. It's not so much the hassle of filling the syringes, remembering the schedule, getting Jezebel to sit still for 25-30 minutes while I pump the food into her, etc. That part (though I could do without) isn't as bad as I expected--a mere inconvenience. What really stresses me out is wondering if everything's okay with Jezebel--has she had too much? Did her stomach digest the last feeding properly? Am I giving her the feeding too early? Too late? Will she throw up? Tube feeding feels so unnatural. A normal, healthy cat can decide for herself how much food is enough, how often to eat, etc. When I pump food into Jezebel's tummy, I'm making that decision for her. You can talk all you want about being in tune with your cat--but the reality is you don't have the same, immediate knowledge that your cat does about how full her tummy is, how much more she can take, how nauseous she is, etc.
Then there are the physical risks of having a foreign object sticking out my cat's abdomen. Are there any problems with the tube? Will it clog up? (It hasn't yet, thankfully--I've been really diligent about flushing it out with water after each feeding.) Will she get it caught somewhere when I'm not looking? Will she get sick of it herself and try to yank it out? She really hates the tube top she has to wear. Not only does it clash with her natural sense of style (tube tops are so 1983), it must be itchy as hell. She's constantly scratching at it, and I'm constantly cutting off the stray threads that keep unravelling at the edges. A few days ago she tried to pull off one of those stray threads with her mouth, and it got caught in her throat--I heard her choking and gagging in the dining room, and I pulled the thread out of her mouth. Arghh! What if I hadn't been here?!? I don't want to leave her unsupervised until that tube is outta there.
On the bright side, I'm starting to really appreciate how smart Jezebel is. Although I've done the tube feedings just about everywhere in the apartment now except the bathroom (and I'm sure that'll happen sooner or later), we mostly do it on the couch in the living room. I bring a stool next to me so I can have the food syringe, water syringe, and a little cup to hold the tube plug nearby. As soon as I place that stool next to the couch and put the feeding gear on it, Jezebel usually hops up on the couch, lies on her side and waits for me. Such a good, smart, wonderful cat!
Right now she's lying on the couch, legs stretched out, sleeping with her paw over her eyes. I'll never take that sight for granted again!
posted by Kathleen at 10:26 a.m.
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