Syringe feeding Critical Care

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deliamaj

love my chins!
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
78
Location
chicagoish
So we had a "fun" adventure yesterday. We got to get in our carriers and take an hour long car ride to the vet! I don't think they thought it was very fun. Especially the vet part. But Cloud wasn't pooping properly. And Elena's urine seemed to me to be too dark in color. So the vet says she'll give them both some medicine to get their digestion going - I don't have it in front of me or I'd tell you what it is - and she's concerned about Elena's temperature, which I guess was too low, and her kidneys, which might be having problems indicated by the dark urine. (Tseng had kidney problems, and they may have been siblings, is that genetic? That worries me.) So, more medicine - antibiotics - and going back next week for blood and urine tests. And Critical Care for all. So we finally get to the question. They want me to stuff 20-30 ml of CC into each of them twice a day. How do you get them to eat it? I have enough trouble getting 0.38 ml of medicine into them. The vet gave me this giant syringe for the CC, which Cloud has already bitten the end off of, but it does me no good if they refuse to open their little mouths. If I can get Cloud annoyed enough at the syringe to bite it, I can get a little food in but it's hit or miss. I'm supposed to be wrapping them like burritos, which does not work in any way. Cloud eventually will crawl out of the burrito, and Elena crawls further into it. Both of them end up with almost as much CC in their fur as they get in their mouths. Not to mention the amount of it I end up wearing. I've only fed them twice so far and both times it's been not very successful. I barely got Elena to eat any tonight, probably less than 10 ml. I'm more worried about her than Cloud now. Any suggestions for making syringe feeding easier? Or at least more successful? I need my babies to eat. I wish I could make it less stressful for them, but i can see why being wrapped up in a burrito and held still while someone sticks syringes in your mouth might be pretty stressful, and I can't think of any way to make it easier. Anyone with experience with Critical Care, your advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Okay now Elena won't eat at all. I couldn't get a drop of CC in her this morning. Anything I was lucky enough to actually get into her mouth, she spit out. The vet originally recommended a hospital stay for her, but the idea of her being out of my sight and cared for by strangers makes me super nervous. How do I know they'll take care of her? I don't even like how my vet takes their vitals in a room I'm not in. What if they put her in a cage with newspaper or Carefesh or something? She'll eat it. What if they feed her a bunch of greens? But what if I can't get her to eat myself? If they can help her, should I risk it? But what if they can't, and she goes without me, surrounded by strange people? I really don't know what to do. I'm scared for her, I know she's getting up there in age but I'm not ready to say goodbye. I guess we're never really ready to say goodbye. I'm at a loss.
 
I've never had the misfortune to have to give CC, but I have had to give meds and other stuff to chins in the past. Not all chins like the burrito wrapping and will fight it, have you tried just offering the CC without wrapping her up? Also apparently CC comes in flavors, maybe your vet can get you a different flavor that she might like better? I've also heard some chins that don't like CC will go for Essentials for Life from Fuzzies Kingdom or some thing like that.
There is also suggestions on hand feeding chins if you scroll down that page I linked.

My only suggestion about leaving her at the vet if it comes to that is, if you are very worried about the care then make sure everything is in writing. So have it written out, no newspaper or carefresh bedding, no greens, CC and the pellets you give them only for food, filtered not tap water, etc. That way if someone other then who you speak to cares for the chin (a vet tech or a different vet) the instructions are all there.
 
She actually ate the CC the first night. Gobbled it up, in fact. She loved it when Tseng was sick, she used to steal it from him. I just tried mixing in some oats and some crumbs from their oat cookies, and offered it to her in her cage, no burrito. She picked out the oats. At least she ate those. I left piles of alfalfa around her cage, she had nibbled that. She took the medicines. But it's still next to nothing in her stomach. I don't know why she's suddenly not eating. She was fine before she started these medicines. Could they be affecting her appetite? I mean, the one is supposed to make her digestion work better, not worse. I don't know.
 
If the antibiotic is in the fluoroquinolone family, the appetite is killed and it becomes a chore to try to get them to eat.
 
I looked up baytril, it is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. So I'm not going to be able to get her to eat while she's on it. It would have been really nice if they had warned me about this possible side effect. I kind of feel like they are basically giving me no choice but to hospitalize her, just so she can both take medicine and eat. I called and the receptionist said they might be able to change the medicine to a different antibiotic, but I would have to talk to the doctor, who is busy right now since they are on emergency hours. She said she could have the doctor call me back but now that I'm thinking about it, she didn't take my phone number so I guess that's not happening. I am getting super stressed about this whole thing. I feel like I can't take good enough care of her by myself. Besides, she needs those blood and urine tests and they were all concerned about her temperature being low. Maybe it's for the best that she goes in. I just don't like the idea so much.

The lady at the vet also said i could mix canned pumpkin in with the critical care. To make it taste better. Is this something that i can do or is it one of those things like vegetables that they recommend even though it's not a good idea?
 
sometimes they need 'the big guns' - Baytril. I am not a vet so I don't know if in your case it is needed. So part of giving Baytril is always syringe feeding. I find you have to tightly burrito chins when feeding, at least at first. Yes, pumpkin can be used. It is one of the few veg. that is actually good for chin's digestive system. - just not too much
 
I checked Elena into the vet hospital tonight. I got home and cried. No idea if I made the right decision. The vet tech tried to show me how to feed her, he tried to feed her, we tried burrito, no burrito, a smaller syringe, an even smaller syringe, we barely got any CC in her. Of course the first thing they did when they took her back, before even talking to me, was give her a pile of romaine, which apparently she ate. I don't know whether to be glad she finally ate something, anything, or terrified it will make her more sick. I'm kind of both. I guess at least if it makes her sick she's in the right place to get treated. Still, I hate having her so far away. But I just couldn't make her eat, I feel like the worst chin parent ever, even though I'm pretty sure it was because of the Baytril. (They are putting her on a different antibiotic they hope will be better.) Anyway, that's the current situation. BTW, Cloud at least is doing better. He doesn't really like the Critical Care so that's not so great, but he is eating his hay too and some of his pellets, and drinking water, and pooping. Much improved. I will continue to give him his medicine and as much CC as he'll take. I'll keep posting updates.
 
I had to feed CC a few times years ago because two of mine were on Baytril. It was always a challenge, with or without the burrito wrap. You could also try Lifeline or Essentials for Life (as Amethyst said). Some chins do like the taste better than CC.

So sorry you have to go through this! It can be brutal! Good luck!!!
 
When the baytril is discontinued it may still be a few days before the chin starts eating again, the gut needs to repopulate bacteria.
 
So I put in a whole update the other night, fell asleep and didn't hit post. When I woke up I didn't feel like typing it all again... Anyway, things have improved. Elena's home, she came home last Tuesday and has been eating CC for the last week, as well as nibbling alfalfa. Once in a while she tries a few pellets or orchard grass or Timothy. The vet said that now that she's eating some on her own and pooping normally, to start cutting back on the CC to encourage her to eat other stuff. She's also eating the CC more or less voluntarily, she will eat bites off my finger now so no more syringe, no more burrito. I'm hoping she'll be getting more like her normal activity level now that I'm not traumatizing her twice daily. She's still not chewing a lot of wood. I don't know what that means. Anyway, unless she stops improving, I think we are going to be ok.
 
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