Has anyone had a cat/dog that needed a feeding tube?
 

Trouble has (what they think is) IBS (he refuses to eat and has jaundice and is very skinny and depressed) and the vets recommend a feeding tube.. problem is my parents think that it is best to just have him put down right away in order to save him from the "trauma." However, this one site says that feeding tubes can be very beneficial for temporary illnesses and that cats aren't bothered by them at all.
Trouble is only about 8 years old and while I don't want to be selfish, I also don't want to pass up potentially saving his life and bringing him back to health. PLEASE give me advice if you or someone you know has had similar problems (I sound like a commercial for mesothelioma).

oh fuck man. I have never had to deal with that. best of luck anngela.

I love him so much.

oh man its not an easy situation to be in at all. well i think that you should do the feeding tube for a while and see how it goes, i dont think the trauma will be too much but if things do take a turn for the worse then you might have to prepare yourself for the inevitable. its not an easy thing to do but i say go for it.

that's a really hard call to make. nobody else can tell you what to do (well, yr parents can, but we can't).

I had a male cat that developed urinary problem and the only fix would have been chronic dialysis. he had to be put to sleep.

the cost really does have to be weighted.


ps: RIP Cooter

I find stuff like this so hard to read :(

But yeah your call, with any luck he'll recover quick if you go that way.

He ate all of the food I gave him tonight ( :D ) and drank a little bit of water. If he keeps this up we'll be able to give him more calories/food he needs + maybe medication or whatever if needed. I just wish procedures didn't cost so much.

My condolences, floating.

I agree with others in that if its possible, try the tube out as long as you can. I'm not sure if you have that option.

Fucking awesome that he's being a hungry boy tonight. Keep us updated, please!

I will!

My mom and I talked about calling this "alternative" (hippy) vet that she took them both to about a year ago but she was a little unsure about the alternative way of thinking that she had - another professional opinion can't hurt.

Absolutely. I mean...be skeptical about weird costly tests after very little evaluation, but another look cant hurt. I hope your baby is ok.

Me too. I would do anything in the world to restore his health.

Have you tried baiting him with raw cat food?

Well at one point he wouldn't even drink milk (which, as a healthy cat, he would BEG for) so that probably wouldn't have worked. The food he ate is the food that he needs, though.

Oh, the poor dear. As long as he gets some pets and some love.

He gets plenty of love and pets and talking to and kisses.

if he needs the tube, get the tube

It's not up to me, unfortunately. It's up to my parents who have to pay for it (it will cost about 1.5k total). We already spent money on bloodwork + ultrasound and there's definitely not money laying around to be able to afford it. My plan is to take it day-by-day and feed him as much as he'll eat.

He's going to the vet tomorrow. If they're going to put him down, tomorrow is when they're going to do it. I'm non-stop crying again. He seems to me like he's doing better - he doesn't seem depressed anymore, he's being more active and sitting on my lap right now and being more like his normal self. He's just so skinny and he has the sniffles and he's throwing up the food that my mom bought (which is just some 100% tuna BS) and I really want to get more of the special food from the vet and see what happens but my mom thinks that he's suffering and we should just euthanize him. I wish we had the money for a feeding tube, but we don't.
One of my only/best friends is going to be gone soon. I keep petting him and kissing him and telling him I love him and hugging him and he's sitting on me like he always does watching what I do on the computer. I'm going to miss him more than anything.

If you do decide to put him to sleep, be sure to be there when they do it. The animals tend to seek out their owners when they are left alone with the vet.

If they give me the option, I definitely will.
Do you read Post Secret? That was on one of the postcards last week.