Has anyone ever had a pet on a feeding tube?

[Rajah]

Since I know it's going to come up today... has anyone ever had a cat (or dog) on a feeding tube *and had the pet survive*? I know putting Blaze on a tube would increase the nutrition he's getting since he's only eating at best 1/4 can of moist food on his own (or 1/2 of the small cans), but does a cat on a tube ever come out of whatever they're on it for, or is it just a step to prolong a life for a few more days? If the test comes back to say it's cancer and that they can't do anything about it, I'm not going to make him go the rest of his life with a tube in his belly. But if it's just an infection and people have experienced that it does help and he could come off the tube in a bit, then that's another story.

Anyone have experience?

 

[sixcats]

I didn't do tube feeding but did deal with eating issues when I had a cat in the hospital with pneumonia. She would not eat at the vets at all so they sent her home with IV and syringes. It took about 2 months of forced syringe feeding and she finally got her appetite back. She lived for several more years.your cat.

Good luck with Blaze.

 

[Carl]

My cat didn't have a feeding tube, but I had to use a syringe to force water and baby food down his throat. But, at that time, he wasn't eating anything on his own. Finally, he got enough nutrition to start eating on his own again. But, as you know, this cat was old and had kidney failure, so he didn't last long after that. This would not be the case with your cat. Another time, earlier in my cat's life, we had him at the vet with and IV for feeding. That time he pulled through and lived another 10 years. I'm still praying for you and your cat.
Carl

 

[catsrule]

Cali had an IV feeding about a month ago, but it was because she hurt her leg and it got infected and she was hardly eating for a couple of days. With antibiotics, she was fine. She puked up her IV feeding when we brought her home, but the next day she was fine and eating again.