Rumbling Tummy

[Kittenill]

I have an 8 month old kitten. Had her 8 weeks. Her provenance isn't great and when she came to us it became immediately clear that things weren't right with her. She didn't act like a kitten. She sat in the same position all day.
Then she started being sick .

Several scans, x.rays, and blood tests later she was diagnosed with a few broken ribs that had already healed and a mega oesophagus.

We had a peg tube inserted . After 7 weeks of 4 hourly feeds (which brought me to my knees) she is starting to eat without regurging . We now only feed through the peg tube 3 times per day.

Although she enjoys eating after she has eaten her stomach gurgles and rumbles really loudly and the way she sits after she looks like she is in pain.

Once her tummy settles she looks a lot brighter and is fine till the next feed.

Any ideas on what is going on.
We did change her food to one that was predominantly milk protein a couple of times after which she went off her food completely and looked very ill. We think she might have an allergy to milk

Cats are not supposed to have milk products as they are naturally lactose intolerant. They need a high meat diet as they are carnivores and avoid food with grains also

The food is the liquid food for tube feeding it all seems to be milk based. Although the powder stuff which I kept for emergencies seemed to have a bad effect on her.

The made up bottles have less of an effect. But she is eating actual kitten food now but the rumbling and noises coming from her stomach is so loud and she doesn't seem to be happy after she has eaten but once it is digested she is fine

Chat to the vet? It sounds like she is having issues digesting it might be temporary

I have talked to him but all he wants to do is put her to sleep.

Although not a particularly playful kitten she has made friends with a couple of my other cats and they seem to adore her and she likes going for wanders round the garden or jumping on the back of the sofa and lying on the blanket covered double radiators. She comes in the kitchen in the morning and joins in the cats chorus of mewing for her breakfast .
She seems quite happy in herself apart from the gurgling and rumbling

Get a second opinion he seems needle happy has he given a reason to pts or?

I’ve used infacol for rabbits and chinchillas, perhaps worth a try?

Is she insured? An allergy test could be very useful.

Oh no poor little thing. Do you know how her bones were broken?

I'd get a different vet

She has other issues which although not completely cured I think have definitely improved. She had really laboured breathing. It has definitely improved hugely but the vet thinks it is cruel to keep her going.
Re the broken ribs no one is sure. Her previous owner thinks there was an incident with a metal spiral staircase which she could have fallen from.
We are her 3rd family

No she isn't insured. I had only had her for a few days before I took her to the vets. Given how much she has cost any extra scan or blood test is just water under the bridge.

Seriously, the poor little thing sounds like she's suffering horribly.

You've made a solid effort, but I'm with the vet on this.

She's suffered enough.

I am taking her in tomorrow for a weigh in as I have been trying to wean her off the tube feeding .

She seems to keep going back to her bowl and wants more food. She isn't eating a lot but the interest is there and although she gets her head in she probably only eats 1-2 teaspoons per feed.

Only issue is when I go to feed her our other cats come running and want food to
I darent open the cupboard door with out having a full on charge of cats running from all over the house.
They are all getting really fat.

IJustHadToNameChange if I thought she was suffering I would call time but she is jumping up on surfaces, sitting and "chatting" with her cat friends. We had a catnip party earlier and she seemed to really like getting "drugged up" with all her cat friends.

I am hoping that the rumbly tummy settles down and although she still occassionly takes a deeper breath her breathing has improved.

OP. No advice but major kudos to you for your amazing care of this cat. You're obviously knowledgeable about felines so trust your instincts re if and when ready to PTS.

I take my hat of to you OP, one of my cats was tube fed for only a few days and it was a logistical nightmare. So I don't know how you've managed for so long.
My cousin has a dog with the same condition. He wears a special collar to stop
Him vomiting and has a special 'high chair'
I don't know how you'd contain a cat in one though.

It is just getting over this final hurdle. She is such a sweet cat the way she tries to run with the big boys not knowing quite why she is running

How's she doing?

She is very alert although very thin. Lost weight since last week.

She has started to play though. I watched as she chased a piece of Lego round the room. I was so happy.

I was discussing her with someone else and they recommended Purina CN which is a food for weight gain and it also doesn't contain any milk products. You can also mix it with water and use it for tube feeding.
I am going to get some for her and see how she gets on.

Is it worth seeing a different vet? They may look at her with fresh eyes.