Assist Feeding - e-Tubes: Meet Buddie!
by Kathy Fatheree

Buddie is a 12 1/2 years old sweetheart who is living with liver cancer. On top of that, she came down with a sepsis infection. While treating the sepsis infection, she developed fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis). Poor thing! But according to Belinda "she fought so hard to beat all the things thrown at her I decided she wanted to be here a while yet, and we would give her all the ammunition available to fight with!!" and an e-tube was placed.

According to the Long Beach Animal Hospital web site "In terms of ease of placement, cost, and effectiveness, one of the best options for long term feeding is an esophagotomy tube. It does not require specialized equipment or exploratory surgery, and can usually be placed with sedation only." The esophagotomy tube is surgically implanted in the side of the neck, goes down the esophagus but stops just before reaching the stomach. "Serious complications are rare, and usually consist of regurgitation of food if too much is given too rapidly, especially in the first few days of feeding."

On the Net:
Read More of Buddie's Story and See More Pictures!

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Feline Nutrition - The Frito Bandito
by Kathy Fatheree

Bubba used to sleep on his back, next to my feet as I sat on the couch and watched TV. I'll never forget that evening when I was ever so fixated on the television, when I accidentally dropped a Frito on his belly. He awoke, sniffed and did the fastest roll-over I've ever seen and he munched away on that delicious Frito! Yum... "more Mom!" he said. Just like Mom, he was forever hooked on Fritos.

Yes, I know Fritos just can't be good for kitties, but I do have to admit that I did let him indulge in the treat on a few special occasions since I rarely fed him any kind of treat.

Cat treats in the past have always, in my opinion, been junk (like our human snacks?) and I never bought them. Frankly, I've never really paid much attention to them until lately when Fran wrote about a new snack that she found at the health food store. She said that her 4 cats love the snack it's made by a company that I trust... PetGuard. The name of the snack is "Purrlicious." While it does have a lot of grain in it, the first ingredient is Organic Chicken, and it also has Apple Fiber, Green Peas and a host of vitamins and amino acids. For a snack it looks pretty good.

So if you want to give your purr kids an snack, read the labels to find the most nutritious snack out there. Fran buys her Purrlicious snacks at the health food store... do you have one in your area? Check and see!

On the Net:
PetGuard Cat Products

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ProActive Cat Care - Diagnosing Fluffy
by Garry White

It's been said that I have more directions than a compass, and it's probably true. First, I tell you to be nice and develop a good relationship with a vet, because we need them. Then I tell you to keep your eye on the vet and to "be in charge" of Fluffy's wellness program... don't just take a vet's advice or diagnosis blindly. Now I'm going to advise something entirely different, while standing firmly on the two previous declarations.

We'll call this new territory the middle ground, and we need to understand that it's somewhat of a precarious spot to be in. We can do a lot of good here, and we can do a lot of damage. But if we want Fluffy to enjoy a long, healthy, happy life, it's a role we cannot avoid.

This week, we'll go over some of the pros and cons of our new role, and there are many. Most importantly, we need to go forth with an open mind, because we'll be looking at a bigger picture from now on. Think of yourself as a lawyer, administrator, and nurse all rolled into one, and the term that comes immediately to mind is "Conductor". The Lawyer speaks in Fluffy's behalf, the Nurse is qualified to follow medical directions, and the Administrator is authorized to tell the fiddle-player to take a hike, if need be. And they all work for you, the Conductor. Sounds like a pretty demanding job, doesn't it?

Click here to read on, and you'll see it's not as difficult as it seems.

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Feline Obesity - Bonkers for Food
by Kathy Fatheree

I've written before about transitioning a kitty to meal feeding as a way to control portion size, versus free feeding. If you have switched to meal feeding, is your cat is driving you absolutely bonkers begging for food! If so, try an automatic feeder!

Automatic feeders come in various sizes and have 2 or more food compartments. These feeders have a timer and can accommodate either dry food or canned food. If you are feeding canned food, buy a feeder that has an ice pack to keep the food cold. If your cat is accustomed to eating 3 or more meals a day, be sure to buy a feeder with 3 or more slots... you don't want to change too many habits at one time!

Cats have excellent internal clocks so determine a feeding schedule and stick with it. By using an automatic feeder, your cat will soon be watching the feeder instead of bugging you!

On the Net:

Automatic Pet Feeder, 5 Meals
This automatic feeder keeps your pet on her regular feeding schedule when you can't be there to feed her yourself. Automatic feeder feeds up to 5 meals over the course of up to 4 days. Use with dry or canned food; twin ice packs help to keep food fresh. Runs on one "AA" battery.

Automatic Pet Feeder, 2 Meals

Set the timer, and the lid pops open to feed pets on schedule! Two dishes with 48 hour timer and ice pack. Holds 1 lb. canned or 2 cups dry food. 9"W x 7"D x 3"H. Battery required.

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See You Next Week!

Copyright © 2003, 2004 by Kathy Fatheree. All rights reserved.
May be distributed in its entirety if full attribution is given and copyright notice is included.

Disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted, writers of this newsletter are not medical experts. Information covered in this newsletter does not in any way take the place of advice from your veterinarian. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Kathy Fatheree or anyone associated with this AssistFeed.com Newsletter cannot be held responsible for anything that may happen as a result of you using the information in this newsletter.

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