2022 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on Management of the Inappetent Hospitalised Cat
2022 ISFM consensus guidelines on management of the inappetent hospitalised cat
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In our edition of: Oct 2022
In our categories of: small animals
our summary:
Taylor, S. et al (2022) 2022 ISFM consensus guidelines on management of the inappetent hospitalised cat. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 24 (7), pp. 614-640.
The aim of these consensus guidelines is to provide information for practitioners on the general management of inappetence in hospitalised cats. They are based on the available literature, and the opinions and experiences of a panel of experts convened by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM). Although three of the authors have links with a variety of pharmaceutical and pet food companies, none of the authors received any financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The guidelines provide information to help practitioners identify hospitalised cats needing nutritional support and advice on how and when to intervene to avoid the negative consequences of inadequate nutrition. Topics covered include:
- nutritional and energy requirements of cats
- causes of inappetence and their general management considerations
- nutritional support of hospitalised cats including:
- optimising the clinical environment to encourage voluntary food intake
- appropriate use of appetite stimulants
- placement and management of feeding tubes
- creating a feeding plan for the hospitalised cat
The guidelines are supported by a toolkit containing videos on the placement of feeding tubes and on supporting clients caring for cats with a feeding tube, as well as downloadable information sheets for owners.
Limitations of the guidelines include the lack of detail on the methodology used for the development of the consensus or any explicit grading of the published evidence.
These consensus guidelines provide practitioners with an overview of current knowledge on management of inappetence in hospitalised cats, as well as a toolkit of information sheets and videos. Management of the inappetent cat is multimodal and should comprise reduction of stress, medication, and assisted nutrition in the form of tube feeding or parenteral nutrition.
The following may also be of interest:
Taylor, S. (2024) Managing the inappetent hospitalised cat: International Society of Feline Medicine guidelines. Companion Animal, 29 (1), pp. 2-8 https://doi.org/10.12968/coan.2023.0040
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