Critical care nutrition and supportive feeding methods

With all sick companion animals, the nutritional goal is for the patient to eat the designated diet in its own environment and in sufficient quantities. Critically sick animals can be in a hospital setting, where the added stress of being in a different environment can affect food consumption and metabolism. Many animals may require, or benefit from, a veterinary therapeutic diet but the initial goal is to ensure that the patient is receiving its daily calorific requirement from a nutritionally balanced diet.

Analgesia should not be forgotten as pain can reduce food intake in some animals. Hydration and electrolyte status must be maintained and corrected before any nutritional support can be initiated. The aim of critical care nutrition is dependent on the disease process and/or the individual's specific requirements. Each case must be considered according to its own specific requirements once a full clinical examination and history (including nutritional history) has been achieved (Freeman et al, 2011).