Vincent…….eats!!

Vincent’s long nap lasted many hours and he finally got up around 1pm. I took him up for subcut.

Absolutely no resistance at all. 250ml done.

Then, he hid under our bed and that took some effort to get him out. I brought him downstairs to the kitchen to offer him some food. His breakfast was at 6.00am, so he ought to be hungry by now.

Offered raw food – no. Canned food (his favourite Cindy’s Tender Chicken) – no. I decided not to let him go without food, so I prepared the liquid food. Before that I had also bought a tube of Nutriplus Gel. We still have the Complivit but I thought I’d try something new for Vincent. Maybe he might like the change of taste. Maybe…

So I gave him the Nutriplus Gel. It looked like he hated it too. Sigh….

Feeding time (the liquid food)….

It was another agonising force-feeding session. He fought me off. I had to restrain him (he still has a great deal of fighting spirit and strength in him, believe me) in order to pump the liquid food in. I was already doing it 1ml by 1ml, but that proved to be too much, so I reduced it to 0.3ml by 0.3ml. Still, he resisted.

Vincent, I tried explaining…you cannot go without food because your protein leakage is massive. If you’d just stop fighting and just swallow the liquid food, it would make it easier on both of us. I’m sorry I have to do this because I cannot let you starve. You need the food for energy and warmth.  I kept apologising and once in a while, he’d just relent and swallow, but most of the time, he was resisting.

It was agonising. I decided I’ll probably take him tomorrow to get the nasal tube inserted back. It is really not an easy decision.

After we FINALLY finished 45ml of liquid food (that’s because he spat some out and he flung his head so some were wasted), I took everything out to wash. As I was washing, I felt really sad. What am I supposed to do next – get the nasal tube inserted or not? What’s best for Vincent?

Then, something in me said, “Just offer him some food.” Go on, just try it.

It’s a totally ridiculous idea, you know. I’ve just force-fed him 45ml of liquid food, right? And he hated the session. Why on earth would he want to eat again?

Go on, just try it. Just do it.

So, I chose Monge’s Tuna and Salmon. It’s one of his many favourites at one time. No harm just trying, right?

So I scooped up a few spoonfuls and offered it to him.

And this happened….

I thought I was dreaming!!  Just then a friend texted me to ask how Vincent was, so I sent this video to her.

It IS a miracle! Vincent is finally eating!!!  On his own.

He wanted more so he looked up at me (that’s his signal of asking for more food). So I gave him a bit more and he ate some more!!

All in, he ate about half a can of Monge and later, I added some Cindy Tender Chicken, but he didn’t quite want that.

Was it a case of getting the flavour right??  I don’t know.

But on hindsight now, I think it could be just a reaction to the force-feeding session. Maybe he hates being force-fed so much that he decided, “Hmmmph….I’ll just eat!!!”.

Of course I hope it’s not just a reaction to the force-feeding session. I hope Vincent will continue to eat on his own. We won’t know, so let’s not think too far then.

Maybe it’s the Nutriplus Gel?

Happiness is eating a bowl of food all by yourself!

I sponged Vincent after that. It has taken many rounds of wet sponging to remove all the gunk and layers of mucus from under his chin (due to a whole week of drooling).

The drooling has definitely decreased now. If Vincent could eat this much just now, it means he can eat, right? I certainly hope so.

Taking another nap after makan.

Moments to cherish!

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2019/03/05/vincent-eats-4/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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