Hello everyone. This is my first post here and I hope to not violate any rules.

Has anyone had any issues with feeding tubes? My 10 year old torbie suddenly got very sick. I took her to the vet on 3/31 because she vomited. They said that perhaps she was just stressed out because of a new addition, a 2 month kitten.

Kitten is vaccinated and negative for disease. My other 2 cats are healthy as well with no vomiting or diarrhea.

On 4/3 I went back because she was hacking and crunching on one side of her mouth. The vet then said sores/ulcers appeared inside of her mouth and throat. She was given several antibiotics and pain relievers and an appetite stimulant since she began avoiding food.

On 4/16 we decided a feeding tube would be absolutely necessary to keep her on medication and food to avoid the sores.

So, on 4/16, I dropped her off at 8:30 am for an overnight hospital stay and feeding tube surgery. I brought her home 4/17 and they’d told me she urinated on herself after the removal of the catheter and that she wasn’t moving much, but they said it was because she didn’t like it there.

At 5pm on 4/17 when I brought her home, I was so distressed. She was laying there on her side, breathing hard, her eyes wide open and she was practically catatonic and of course peed all over herself.

After a dose of medication for pain, she calmed down ever so slightly but has since remained urinating all over herself.

In a panic, on 4/19 I rushed her to the ER vet because she was so lethargic and catatonic, she’d urinated I don’t know how many times over herself, and she was just coughing and barely meowing. There, they ran diagnostics, bloodwork, x-rays and SNAP tests. Everything in her tests were either negative or in the healthy to normal range. They said the feeding tube wasn’t inserted deep enough, and it was infected. They asked me why her feeding tube wasn’t wrapped/covered and I said I asked that question there at her primary vet and was told she was too hefty and the wrap kept bunching up around her neck. They tried to insert the tube further in, and it wouldn’t go in, unsure if it was because of the sutures or if it was because of the pus and infection/inflammation.

The ER vet told me that if it were HER opinion, she’d pull the tube and switch to syringe feeding. But because it was Sunday and my vet would be open tomorrow, my primary vet should remove it.

4/20 I brought her to her normal vet and they said no, they won’t remove it because she needs to eat. They insisted she do another hospital stay, and keep giving me excuses as to what’s the matter. “Spondylosis” “Arthritis” but they don’t seem to listen to me that SHE WAS FINE before she even got sick. She was running, playing, jumping and everything.

Before the feeding tube was inserted, she may have been lethargic but she was still able to get herself UP and get to the litter box.

4/21 At the vet they call me and say they want to do a pancreatitis test, I said it was done at the ER but they said they didn’t get that result. So I said fine, run it. They call me AGAIN saying she continues to urinate on herself and that pus is normal because it’s a wound. They said the feeding tube can cause personality changes, and cones also cause changes and they act paralyzed.

I said okay! So how long do you guys intend to make her keep the tube in? What if she doesn’t improve at home either and remains the exact same?

I feel like everyone’s running me around in circles and no one can give me a definitive answer as to what’s wrong with her, aside from mouth sores and refusal to eat. I’ve maxed out several credit cares doing these visits and hospital stays and I’m at my wits end!

She’s never been sick in her entire 10 years of life, and now it just hit her like a semi truck and I’m so scared she’s going to die. Not even 2 years after I lost my soul cat, who was 17 years old. I feel like I’m going insane and I’ve missed so much work and a coworker just told me “A cat is just a cat.” Like omg! I can’t I’m so tired and scared and stressed and I’m going crazy.

Has anyone ever had all this happen to them after a feeding tube? I need advice, help, someone to listen… I’m at my end…