For background, I am a volunteer at a local and small cat shelter in a Middle Eastern country. Our resources are very basic unfortunately, and the whole veterinary medicine field in the country is years behind Europe or the USA. We work with several vets to treat the sick cats, and many of us have undergone what could be considered a first aid class, but for cats, so we know how to give injections and administer IV fluids for instance.
So yesterday, we got a stray cat that had an intestinal blockage surgery. The vet told me that a bone was completely blocking his small intestines, and before the operation he was suffering from repeated vomiting and complete lack of appetite. According to the vet, his condition is not yet stable. He is a bit dehydrated, and so he needs to be put on re-hydration plan. Also, his intestines were affected by the blockage - the part after the blockage were swollen and, if I understood correctly, there was some necrosis in the tissues. All in all, his prognosis is guarded at best, and he needs deep care.
However, the part that baffled was the recovery plan put by the vet. Basically, the vet told me that for the first 3-4 days he should never eat or drink anything, and will be put solely on intravenous fluids. From day 4 onward he could start to drink water again, but no food at all. In the second week, soups could be introduced. Only after 2 weeks could he start to eat some food, and only extremely wet food. Finally, after about 20 days he can resume eating normally. Moreover, he warned me that if he broke any step of this plan, such as drinking some water today, or eating even a nibble of food before 2 weeks, he could die in no time.
So my question: Is the recovery plan reasonable? Is the vet overly cautions? How could a cat survive on nothing but water for a couple of weeks? Is eating or drinking after a couple of days this dangerous? Is not the plan going destroy his liver? Also, I made several searches on the internet and found nothing that remotely resembles this plan. On the contrary, the English resources I read merely said that a cat can eat and drink after 3 days, but gradually, and the food should be easily digestible. Any help is really appreciated.
Report