Assisted enteral feeding and nutritional support for a carnivore suffering from trauma

Stress generates anorexia and exacerbated and extended catabolism triggered off by a hypersecretion of catecholamines and adrenal steroids. Consequently carnivores suffering from trauma are often subject to denutrition because of the stress from the initial shock and hospitalisation and also from the energy and protein expenditure required for either cicatrization or the fight against infection. It is at this point that the correct nutritional requirements become vital in ensuring the healing and the rapid recovery of the animal, whose needs are greater and necessitate a more carefully adjusted balance. There is a wide variety of assisted feeding methods which the practitioner can use (stimulation of the appetite, manual or surgical catheterization, etc.) and generally speaking they are both reliable and effective in veterinary medicine.