I will try to make this very long story as short as possible. My boyfriend's cat, Bob, escaped out an open window a few weeks ago, and broke his front two legs. He did not, however, sustain any internal injuries. After a week long stay at an animal hospital (and two "walking casts" on his front two paws) he's been home for the past two weeks. The legs are healing just as the vet said they should. However, he still has another 4-6 weeks with the casts on, and our major problem is that he refuses to eat.
He's had to go back to the vet rather regularly for check-ups and bandage changes, and initally had a feeding tube through his nose, with victorian collar. We assumed the stress of all of this was causing an already finicky cat not to eat. However, he's now home most of the week, with only one or two vet visits. They took the tube out, and we were instructed to feed him anything he showed interest in. He ate some tuna, and then refused to eat (but happily drank water) for 2 days. He's a large cat, and the vet was concerned about his not eating resulting in liver damage, so they put a different tube (called an E-tube, i believe, goes through his neck, he really does not seem to notice that it's there). So, we're back to feeding him through this tube. We offer him "real" food often. He ate a small amount of tuna last friday, but that's it.
The whole process of feeding him this way is incredibly complicated, and we're at a loss of what to do, and worried that he will continue to refuse to eat for the duration of his legs being bandaged, or even longer. Has anyone ever found themelves in a remotely similar situation with their cat, and perhaps has some suggestions? It's gotten to the point where we're having "conversations" with Bob, trying to talk him into eating....
Thanks!!
He's had to go back to the vet rather regularly for check-ups and bandage changes, and initally had a feeding tube through his nose, with victorian collar. We assumed the stress of all of this was causing an already finicky cat not to eat. However, he's now home most of the week, with only one or two vet visits. They took the tube out, and we were instructed to feed him anything he showed interest in. He ate some tuna, and then refused to eat (but happily drank water) for 2 days. He's a large cat, and the vet was concerned about his not eating resulting in liver damage, so they put a different tube (called an E-tube, i believe, goes through his neck, he really does not seem to notice that it's there). So, we're back to feeding him through this tube. We offer him "real" food often. He ate a small amount of tuna last friday, but that's it.
The whole process of feeding him this way is incredibly complicated, and we're at a loss of what to do, and worried that he will continue to refuse to eat for the duration of his legs being bandaged, or even longer. Has anyone ever found themelves in a remotely similar situation with their cat, and perhaps has some suggestions? It's gotten to the point where we're having "conversations" with Bob, trying to talk him into eating....
Thanks!!