My dog needs a feeding tube. What are the risks, permanence, and care?

Dogs can live just fine with a permanent tracheostomy. You just have to be diligent keeping it clean. I have put these in horses permanently with no issues as well He should be able to lead a normal life - just no swimming and be careful not to get water into the trach when bathing him. ( https://wagwalking.com/treatment/permanent-tracheostomy )

You can ask your vet about putting in an esophageal tube. This is a little operation where the vet cuts a tiny hole into the skin and esophagus and inserts a feeding tube the will be sewn to the skin. This will make feeding her so much easier and it can stay in for many weeks until she starts eating by herself. So you would just have to syringe her food into the tube and flush it clean afterwards with some water. This is far less stressful than trying to force feed her or giving her tablets she does not want. At the end of the day it will be much cheaper than having her hospitalized until she eats by herself and also far less stressful. If your vet cannot place a tube, then any larger specialty hospital can do it in no time. Many cats have had a tube after going through serious illness and eventually started eating again and live a happy life afterwards.

Hi. If she isn't getting better, and it's been that long, I would recommend an ER and a second opinion. And yes, a feeding tube may be very helpful for her, but you have to find the primary cause of why she needs it in order to fix it. Good luck. I'd head to the ER.

Poor girl! If she has already had her biopsy results returned and they were clear then I would worry about cancer somewhere. Although unlikely since she is so young it is definitely possible. You could also have your vet send off a GI panel to check her pancreatic enzymes, cobalamin, and folate levels. If the biopsy results have not come back yet, I would wait for those before trying anything new. It could show several different things including inflammatory bowel disease, change in the musculature, and much more that will help your vet treat her. Biopsies are the best diagnosis for dogs that won't eat and all other tests are normal. I hope this helps and she starts to eat and feel better really soon!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Babies! At almost 5 weeks old these kittens can be completely weaned from a bottle. I always recommend bottle fed kittens start being weaned at 3 weeks old due to constipation or diarrhea side effects of the kitten formula. At this time, with them being so sick, I doubt they will start eating kitten food but you can try. Make sure their noses are clear from discharge so they can breath. Tube feeding is some what risky and you should be shown by a vet or an experienced tech before attempting. Once you are shown it is something you can do on your own but for kittens this old they may fight you on it. The risk is putting the tube down their tracheas instead of the esophagus and putting the food in their lungs causing death or aspiration. I overall recommend these kittens be re-evaluated by a Vet. Maybe they can teach you how to give subcutaneous fluids or teach you how to tube feed. They can consider starting an appetite stimulant. I hope this helps and I wish you and the kittens the best!

It really depends on how severe the defects are. The larger the cleft palate the more risk to the puppy for failure to thrive from lack of nutrition and aspiration pneumonia. These puppies can require a lot of care to try to give them time to mature to see if the defects will close a little. Ultimately surgery is typically required to address the defects. These surgeries are best performed by a boarded surgeon for maximal success. I have attached a link below with more information. I would recommend that your puppy be seen by your family vet to assess the extent of the defects. If tube feeding is indicated he/she can show you how to do this. This puppy should also be weighed daily, be monitored for dehydration, and be monitored for signs of pneumonia. These puppies and parents of high risk breeds ideally should not be bred as genetics are the main cause of this issue. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/cleft-palate

At this point it sounds like she needs a higher amount of calories. There are some food you can try but with her history of the pancreatic cancer component it could cause inflammation of the pancreas. I will discuss with your veterinarian something like hills a/D, recovery diet, are you at Max-Cal diet. Sometimes something like Ensure works as well. Sometimes we also use kitten or puppy food as it has a high calorie counts as well. But again your veterinarian maybe concerned about him on a fat with your dog having pancreatic issues.