Mixing Lifeline with Critical Care

[peachydays]

Ralph is going to go see a dental specialist on October 7th. Now that I know that he has malo, I want to start giving him CC so he puts some more weight on.

Last November I had to handfeed him, and he really was not pleased about the taste of the CC. Since he LOVES Lifeline, I was wondering if I could mix a lot of lifeline with the CC in order to mask the taste of the CC. I'm not sure how much I would need to mix, but I want to make sure it would be ok to do this before I tried it.

If it's not good to do that, then I'll just have to deal with the fact that feeding him is going to be a struggle!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Yes, that is fine, I always put some Lifeline in my CC. I just add about a teaspoon per cup or so of CC. I don't think you can give them too much Lifeline, it is great stuff! Good luck!

 

[menagerie]

I put 1/8th a tsp of LifeLine with 1 tbsp of CC. LifeLine provides good probiotics, but doesn't begin to address the fiber requirements. What flavor CC have you used? Do you add anything else to it?

 

[peachydays]

Meanie, he'll get enough fiber from the CC though, right?

I have both flavors, but I can't remember what flavor I tried last time. I THINK it was the original and I added canned pumpkin to it.

One thing that might make feeding him easier is that he lets me hold him now. Last November it was still a struggle to hold him. It took me and my mom both to get any CC in him at all.

 

[AZChins]

You could put timothy hay in a coffee grinder and grind it very fine so you can mix that with the life line...that would add the extra fiber without adding the strong taste of the critical care. That's what I always do so that I don't have to keep critical care around anymore.

 

[menagerie]

He will get enough fiber from the CC. I have a chin with malo and he is totally syringe fed.

Tucker's twice daily mix is 1/8 tsp of LifeLine, 1 tbsp of CC, a pinch of chamomile and peppermint tea, 1/2 tsp of Critter Be Better and a bit of canned pumpkin. You might want to try one type of CC or the other or mixing them together. It all makes the taste different. You can also add a touch of blackstrap molasses.

There are a couple of keys to feeding. If you can mix it a bit thicker and he will eat it out of a bowl or off the end of a Popsicle stick I find that much better. Finding the right consistency of the mix being syringed is key, some like it a bit thicker, some like it runnier. If it's too thick or too thin, Tucker eats less. Another key element is finding a comfortable position for both you and the chin. Lily liked sitting on my chest, Tucker does best reclined on his back at a 30 degree angle. Some chins here will suck it right out of a syringe put in their cage. A lot of it is trial and error.

 

[AmandaDi]

Good idea Susan! I always keep the leftover crumbles at the bottom of my chin food tubs and I mix that stuff up with my critical care and lifeline when I need it. I also have used it when handfeeding kits as they got older. Never thought to grind up some hay too!

 

[peachydays]

I tried the apple banana CC last night and he hated it. I didn't have anything mixed in though.

Today on my lunch break I'm going to go buy a coffee grinder so I can grind some of his hay and put that in there. I'm also going to pick up some canned pumpkin and blackstrap molasses. Tonight's recipe will be with original CC.

If he really doesn't take to any combination of CC and hay/lifeline/pumpkin/molasses after many more tries, could I just grind his pellets and syringe feed those? I do know that CC must be better, or people wouldn't buy it. Out of curiosity, what are the beneficial properties of CC?

Thanks everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[Stackie]

I'm very sorry to hear he has malo, Shayna.

 

[mishellyshel]

only my opinion and i am sure someone has a better answer, but personally i view Critical Care as a short term feeding solution, for my chin that does have malo, i do a combination of CC & pellets for variety, nutrition and cost. CC is expensive and with all the Dr. bills and the monthly med costs, i just cant feed him 180cc's of CC every day.
I am sure people will disagree with the course of treatment I have chosen for my pet but because of my dedication to him and his meds, he has a very happy life for now. he is very active and sweet and funny.........he just doesnt eat on his own.

I use the ground up pellets & a small amount of canned pumpkin (bout 1 TB for 2-3 days of food). i also use 1 small teaspoon of baby food (banana, pear, apple or just pear), mixed in. i do not use the molasses.
I also use the Critical Care, mixed with just filtered water. mostly when i am running low on the pellets (until i grind more) i just combine the 2 mixtures, so he gets a little CC each week. (1 bag of CC lasted me bout 4 - 5 months)
my chin absolutely hated being handfed in the beginning. i finally got the right mix of food, a good feeding position and i am sure out of sheer hunger, now he pretty much just sits there 3 x a day. he begs to come out of his cage. i open it and he jumps on my shoulder in 1 second flat.
Oh i do grind in some rosehips (the crushed ones) in my pellet mix. I just ordered organic rosehip powder so it will be easier to mix. have not tried the hay, that is a good idea, will do tonight. i also ordered some organic herbs that may be beneficial for his mouth disease.........i will add them in very small amounts to his mixture.
OH and he gets lifeline everyday 2, which you can just add to his food to make it easier.
good luck.

 

[tunes]

Shayna - I think all chins start out hating critical care. I had a girl here it took me a solid month of feedings before I wasn't covered and she wasn't covered in the end. Eventually though, she adjusted to the whole thing and ate it for me fine. Be persistent. He won't hold it against you forever.

I would not add a miscellaneous selection of baby food to the critical care. There's simply no need for it. The CC is complete nutrition on it's own and you don't need to add anything. If you want to flavor it up a bit, try the molasses or the plain pumpkin. There isn't a bunch of junk sugar in it and you won't have to worry about his digestive tract being upset on top of everything else.

 

[menagerie]

Shayna - I think all chins start out hating critical care. I had a girl here it took me a solid month of feedings before I wasn't covered and she wasn't covered in the end. Eventually though, she adjusted to the whole thing and ate it for me fine. Be persistent. He won't hold it against you forever.

I agree with Peggy here. It does take a while and like I mentioned earlier, it has a lot to do with a bunch of variables that you need to get right, feeding position, consistency of CC, the perfect mix. My first few chins that needed to be supplemented were the hardest, simply because I didn't know what I was doing and I was intimidated by the whole process and afraid of hurting or upsetting them. Now I know better and I'm not afraid to restrain as necessary.

I also share any left overs from Tucker's feedings with the other chins in the room. Seventy-five percent of the chins love CC and eagerly wait for left overs. Nadine even sits and watches Tucker being fed and licks her lips the entire time. Then she does a little dance in hopes of getting my attention. All but one of the chins that I've supplemental fed in the past to get them over something now love CC. The chins that don't need it but don't like it either I keep offering it to them at random times because sometimes they get brave and give it a try. I figure it's easier to get them to eat it if they really need it at some point, if they don't think I'm trying to kill them with some strange flavored food. Cash decided he liked CC after I spread some left overs out on a piece of wax paper to dry and handed it to him as a treat. I think he was intimidated by the syringe, but once he got the taste he decided that he loves CC.

I would not add a miscellaneous selection of baby food to the critical care. There's simply no need for it. The CC is complete nutrition on it's own and you don't need to add anything. If you want to flavor it up a bit, try the molasses or the plain pumpkin. There isn't a bunch of junk sugar in it and you won't have to worry about his digestive tract being upset on top of everything else.

I also agree with this statement. It seems vets are quick to recommend baby food as a supplement as it works for a number of other species. We all know what works for other species does not necessarily translate to chins. I stick with the pureed pumpkin because it has no additional ingredients and is higher in fiber and lower in sugar than other options. Same with the blackstrap molasses, it is an ingredient that is low in sugar and is an ingredient in most pelleted feeds.

 

[peachydays]

I got the coffee grinder today so hopefully he'll like the CC better if his pellets are mixed in.

Another question: How much CC should I make at one time? Should I make a lot and store it in a container and refrigerate it (up to 24 hours), and then syringe at each feeding? Or only make enough for each feeding?

This is going to sound morbid, but I'm so afraid that by the time I perfect this, it won't even matter because it'll be Ralphie's time to go. I CAN'T STAND THIS, I HATE IT. I know I need to be strong though and hold it together for him. The CC says it needs to be mixed with water not human tears.

 

[Bethany]

If you are going to add hay to the mix I would only mix up enough for 1 feeding at a time.

If he is still eating right now, I would try a different approach to fattening him up. Maybe just start giving him 1/4 a teaspoon of LL 2 times a day. Supplementing him w/ the CC is okay, but you want him to still be eating his pellets, so I wouldn't give him full feedings just yet.

 

[menagerie]

I mix one feed at a time. I find they don't like it when it's cold out of the refrigerator. What I do for convenience is portion out the dry ingredients (since I do mix a few things together) into small containers ahead of time, so I can just grab one and add the appropriate amount of pumpkin, molasses or water.

 

[peachydays]

First I'd like to apologize for the melodramatic tone of the last paragraph in my last post. This is really hard to deal with, however I realize I'm not the first nor will I be the last to have a chin with malo (if only).

I just got home and ground some pellets in the coffee grinder. He ate the powder dry, right out of a bowl. If I mix in CC and lifeline, do I need to syringe it, if he'll eat it dry?

 

[menagerie]

I just got home and ground some pellets in the coffee grinder. He ate the powder dry, right out of a bowl. If I mix in CC and lifeline, do I need to syringe it, if he'll eat it dry?

If he will eat enough dry that is better than syringe feeding. You could also try mixing it into a thick paste and see if he will eat that out of a bowl, of a spoon or off a Popsicle stick.

 

[peachydays]

If he will eat enough dry that is better than syringe feeding. You could also try mixing it into a thick paste and see if he will eat that out of a bowl, of a spoon or off a Popsicle stick.

Great! Thanks meanie!

 

[peachydays]

Just a quick morning update:

I weighed Ralph's food bowl yesterday evening after I filled it with the ground pellets and Lifeline, and it weighed 379g. This morning it weighed 371g, which means he consumed about 8g last night.

Today I'm going to see if I can get some pains meds for him.

Also, if anyone is interested, I uploaded Ralph's xrays here: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9244 It doesn't look very good, but I am going to try and hold out hope for him.

 

[Newt]

I am so very sorry to here that you and Ralph are going through this. Best wishes from me and my girls xxxxxx