Honeybear is struggling over some major issues. He bloats up (much like his sister did) like a poison toad when he feeds. His belly becomes misshapen and it seems painful to the touch. The fs and the vet tell me this is just gas and it will pass (it hasn’t).

I am told by both camps that I should be tube feeding him every two hours:

The first week- 2.6 ml
Second week- 4.5 ml
Third week-6.6 ml
Fourth week- 8.3 ml

It didn’t seem to be working. Tube feeding although easy for me, was unsatisfying to him. He still bloated up, he was restless and moaning all the time. He hadn’t pooped in days and I was getting worried.

When I get to a challenge like this- I turn to paper and pen and write my thoughts down and the pros and cons and different options. So that’s what I did. I reviewed the kitty journal for him and then just sat down and prayed really hard for this kitty who seemed to want to follow his sister and leave his world. Then I just started writing down my thoughts.

My final decision weighed heavily on my heart. I knew that when you have one so young you had to provide proper warmth (provided) and proper nutrition. It seemed to me that he was aspirating- not because the fluids was getting into his lungs, but because the stomach was so full of whatever, it didn’t have room for the “next” feeding due in a few hours. So, I decided to feed him every four hours knowing that in doing so I was going against what the experts were telling me to do, and it ultimately could mean that he would follow his sister. But, he was just about ready to follow her anyway so I figured there was little left to loose in doing this. With some misgivings, I made him comfortable in the carrier and went to bed.

He wasn’t fed four times last night, he was fed twice. On the second feeding, I opened his carrier door to find he had pooped everywhere! His bloat was down substantially. I cleaned up the cage and set in new bedding then went about feeding him with the bottle- not the feeding tube. He pooped all over my shirt! YAY! He ate like a champ and his bloating although it did show up- it wasn’t so severe that he looked like if I stuck a pin in him, he would fly around the room backward seven times. His belly was a tiny bit distended, but gone was the irregular hourglass figure he presented in the past.

I believe that his digestive system is still forming and the every two hours was crashing his system and not giving him time to catch up. He has since pooped up a royal storm and instead of moaning in his crate, he is quiet and sleeping.

I understand that I went away from the textbook knowledge of caring for him, but I also know that these kittens are individuals and all have different needs. Even as young as he is and the risk I took with him not to follow through with the instructions given- I didn’t put his life at risk. Apparently, Honeybear has never read that text book and meows to the beat of a different drum. And so life goes on for both of us…thank God.