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Struggling to syringe feed after surgery!

T

tinycosmo

New Born Pup
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Sep 5, 2023
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Last week we noticed blood in Tiny's urine, so of course we took him to the vets. We were given a week of Baytril and Metacam, which we completed with no improvement. We took Tiny back to the vets on Wednesday, and they took an ultrasound and spotted a bladder stone, so he had surgery that afternoon to remove it. Overall he seems to be recovering well, he is just taking more naps than usual. However over the course of the last week he has lost about 100g. He is eating much less than usual - he is barely touching his hay and nuggets, just occasionally eating dandelions / cucumber.

We ground up his nuggets and mixed them with water to make a paste, which I have been attempting to feed him in a syringe. However he is incredibly stubborn and fast, and refusing to take it, which is so frustrating. I'm trying not to hold him too firmly so I don't hurt where he's had stitches, and he is very very wriggly so gets away almost every time. I've spent about 2 hours in 2 separate sessions today trying to syringe feed, and he's only had about 0.5ml at the most. He is currently taking a nap in his cage, and I'm going to try again in 30-45 minutes, depending on when he wakes up.

Info:
Tiny is 2 1/2 years old.
We've had Tiny for about 2 years.
Last Wednesday he weighed 1.040kg.
This Wednesday (yesterday) he weighed 0.930kg.
Today (Thursday) he weighed 0.901kg.

We are very worried about Tiny and would appreciate any advice or stories from anyone who's been in a similar situation. We would also appreciate any recommendations of food he might like that we haven't thought of (running out of ideas!) Thank you!
 
Thank you for responding!

Yes, he had surgery at 2pm yesterday. He is on 0.3ml of cat Metacam once a day. He has had his dose for today, and doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Thank you for linking the syringe feeding post! - I'll have a read
 
Ideally piggies have pain meds twice a day as they have a faster metabolism than cats and dogs. They metabolise meds within around 12 hours.
 
Sending lots of healing wheeks! After Buttons spay I wrapped her up in a little fleece blanket like a little piggy burrito. That way I could hold her much firmer without hurting her stitches and she couldn’t get away from me. Maybe this is something that works for you as well? We‘re keeping everything crossed over here. xx
 
stef.trg said:
Sending lots of healing wheeks! After Buttons spay I wrapped her up in a little fleece blanket like a little piggy burrito. That way I could hold her much firmer without hurting her stitches and she couldn’t get away from me. Maybe this is something that works for you as well? We‘re keeping everything crossed over here. xx
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Thank you! I've been kind of cornering him in his cardboard house but I will definitely try this as that sounds a lot easier and more comfortable - thank you!
 
Piggies&buns said:
You need to speak to the vet first.
How is he doing today?
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Yes I will call them first thing tomorrow. Thank you for asking, he seems about the same - he's moving around and drinking, just not really eating. We've been syringe feeding him every 2-3 hours and he hasn't lost any weight since yesterday which is good. He's still sleeping a lot but did have a good walk around outside his cage earlier.
 
tinycosmo said:
Yes I will call them first thing tomorrow. Thank you for asking, he seems about the same - he's moving around and drinking, just not really eating. We've been syringe feeding him every 2-3 hours and he hasn't lost any weight since yesterday which is good. He's still sleeping a lot but did have a good walk around outside his cage earlier.
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I wouldn't ask to split the dose as that is a low dose when it's cat metacam to begin with. I would ask to be allowed to give more twice a day if it was my piggie.
 
Hopefully that will make him more comfortable and you will see an improvement.
 
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