Owner experiences with home use of a gastrostomy tube in their dog or cat

Abstract

Objective: To describe owner experiences with gastrostomy tubes used at home.

Design: Telephone survey.

Animals: 20 cats and 5 dogs.

Procedure: Owner's opinions obtained by phone interview.

Results: Although 32% (8/25) of owners were initially reluctant to feed their cat or dog through the gastrostomy tube, 92% (22/24) of owners became comfortable with the procedure. Eighty-four percent (21/25) of owners were able to feed their dog or cat unassisted; 16% (4/25) required another person to help. Median time required for feeding was 19.8 minutes. Ninety-six percent (24/25) of owners believed their dog or cat was comfortable with the procedure. Eighty-four percent (21/25) of owners experienced complications or difficulties. Most problems involved bandage maintenance, administration of food through the syringe and tube, or acquisition of syringes and special foods. Ninety-six percent (22/23) of owners would be willing to use a gastrostomy tube again.

Clinical implications: Most owners had positive experiences with the feeding experience and would be willing to use gastrostomy tube feeding again. Difficulties encountered by owners were not serious and could be avoided by specific client instruction.