>From:    John Watson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Lost weight, Duck Soup Feeding and Syringe Problems
>Are we doing the best we can?  She will not eat any canned cat food, and
>I am getting some baby food today, to try that, but have little hope that
>she will take to it.
 
We prefer Gerber's 2nd stage chicken baby food and A/D, but everyone has
their own favorite "duck soup" recipe.  All of mine (and those at the
shelter) love it and my Beasley has gained quite a bit of weight on it.  I
also remember hearing something about feeding heavy whipping cream to help
put on weight, but I don't have the details.
 
>We are also experiencing a problem with our syringes.  After a few uses
>they seem to become very tight at the seal and will often stick - and then
>give way, splattering Zoe and us with duck soup.
 
Join the club!  Me and my ferrets have worn more than our share of duck
soup.  It's not only the seal, but if the mixture is not 100% lump free, a
piece can stick in the nozzle end, causing a similar problem.  I syringe
feed every day and here's what I've done to alleviate the sticking problem
caused by friction.
 
First of all, I use a much larger syringe than you (25-30 cc) which is a
little easier to modify.  I took the plunger and with a fresh, new razor
blade, trimmed the two ridges that form the seal off the rubber cup part.
It doesn't have to be a super neat job, just get rid of most of the sealing
edge.  Doing this usually prevents the syringe from having the suction
necessary to suck up the food mixture, so I use another, unmodified syringe
to do that.  Then I just squirt the mixture from the unmodified one into
the modified syringe.  Then, put your finger over the end, start the
plunger in it, turn it upside down and push it in a little more to purge
the air.  It works perfectly with no sticking every single time.  There's
more than enough of a seal to push the mixture out of the syringe.
 
The unmodified syringes stick pretty badly after a hot soapy water wash and
sometimes I can't even pull up the mixture without the rubber cup pulling
off the plunger.  So, I just use my little finger to rub a little ferretone
inside the barrel first, then put in the plunger.  Slides a lot easier, but
still tends to stick now and then if you try to meter out small amounts
like when feeding.  I tried this method first, but ended up trimming when
it didn't help much.
 
You might want to consider a syringe a bit larger than 12 cc's.  It'll be a
bit easier to work with and modify.  Besides, if you're feeding 36 cc's at
a time, you can almost get the full meal into one syring instead of having
to refill three or four times.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
* A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
*
* Visit our shelter's web site:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Visit the Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/FHC
[Posted in FML issue 2458]