Not Eating Anyone out there able to help with advice for Fizz

I'm sorry Fizz isn't doing well.

First, Critical Care comes in different flavors, and pigs tend to have distinct preferences for what they'll eat and what they want. Mushed up pellets can be used instead, and they're sometimes flavored with whatever the pig likes best -- anything from plain pumpkin (not the pie filling), lots of cilantro, squash baby food, anything really that's not loaded down with sugar that will get the pig to eat it.

Another possibility is Critter Be Better, which is available from pet stores without a prescription. I understand that it has a whole different taste, and she might like that better. It would certainly be worth a try if you can get some.

How much is she eating when you syringe feed her? She needs a minimum of 60 cc. per day to keep her gut moving, and more would be better.

What size syringes are you using? That may affect her willingness to eat. Most people have the best success with using a large syringe to load 1 cc syringes, and then feed the pig with those. You cut the pointed end of the syringe off, and run it through a flame to melt any jagged edges. You just have to be careful not to poke the plunger far enough down for the pig to eat the rubber tip off of it.

Will she eat if you just handfeed her some favorite foods? You could try cutting them into matchstick-sized slivers and see if she'll take those. Or throw a lot of something she likes into the food processor, make a slurry with some water, and try syringing some of that. You might be able to sneak in a few syringes of Critical Care between syringes of yummy stuff.

Good luck with her, and let us know how you get along.

Dear Bpatters Thank you for your reply. My vet has apple and aniseed critical care – she hates them both! Pumpkin is a good idea! I will try it. She likes grapes but wont even eat them at the moment.
I have never heard of Critter Be Better but I will check out the pet shop. I live in Western Australia so it is possible that it isn’t available here.
The most I have given her in a day is 25cc but she has also had some other food as well. I use a 10cc syringe to fill a 1 cc syringe. I have cut the end off the small syringe so that it flows better and I put it in pea sized lumps just behind her teeth. She fights and really hates it. Sometimes it takes an hour to get 10cc into her because I have to keep stopping and calming her down. My husband has been helping me and with the two of us. I hold Fizz on her back and he uses the syringe. At first I didn't want to use this technique because I was worried about her choking but I think she actually has less chance of choking because she is much more calm. It is certainly much easier than wrapping her in a towel.

This evening I increased her pain meds and now she is looking a little better - even tried to eat some plum!
Helen

Update on Fizz
Fizz is still not going so well – critical care is now almost 100% of her diet because she has completely stopped eating by herself. Yesterday, the vet suggested euthanasia but agreed to trim her incisors again when my daughter completely broke down.

The thing is that Fizz still seems quite bright and happy and with a massive effort, I have been able to stop her losing too much more weight. I have also had more time to think about her problem and to research it more.

I am thinking that perhaps the problem has to do with her jaw muscles and perhaps a chin sling will help. My daughter has spent several hours this weekend sitting with Fizz over the last day, applying gentle upward pressure on her jaw and Fizz has been grinding her teeth – some unevenness on her lower incisors shows noticeable improvement. We have ordered the pattern for the chin sling and we will try making one asap.

I'm sorry Fizz is not better. I don't have any personal experience with tooth grinding, but maybe it's possible that the vet ground the molars too far down and she couldn't grind the food at all.

The chin sling may be worth a try -- as I understand it, if they stop eating long enough, they lose so much muscle tone in their jaw muscles that it becomes very difficult for them to eat. The sling keeps the jaw in the proper position to grind and chew, and supports them as they eat.

Let us know how Fizz (and you) are doing.