A multi feeder for megaesophagus cats

                                               A feeder for megaesophagus.

In spring 2018, one morning while feeding my feral cats I found a new “kitten.”  After a week or so I was able to trap her.

I always look for the possible owners and foster them until they can go safely to home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t foster her because I noticed her bloody nose, a sign of a possible upper respiratory infection (URI).  I have an FIV+ cat at home and just about any virus could be deadly for him. So I took her to the shelter where the staff confirmed my URI suspicions.

After a week at the veterinary clinic sick with pneumonia, we decided to adopt the 6-pound kitty and named her Lilly Bird.  During the adoption process the shelter staff let me know she was not a kitten after all, but around two years old with a rare condition in cats called megaesophagus.

What is megaesophagus? 

Megaesophagus is the generalized enlargement of the esophagus with decreased motility.  The esophagus just doesn’t expand and contract to transport food to the stomach.  Regular feeding can cause regurgitation, leading to pneumonia by aspiration and malnourishment, due to food remaining in the esophagus and not moving to the stomach.  For that reason, megaesophagus pets need to eat standing up such that gravity directs food downward. 

I knew nothing about the megaesophagus condition in either dogs or cats.  I started reading and searching extensively trying to figure out how to feed her and avoid the pesky pneumonia. 

It turned out nothing existed on the market for cats – only for dogs, the Bailey Chair. Good luck making a cat sit upright in place for any length of time!  There was a cat device on its way to be patented but unfortunately not yet on the market (Mega Feeder 3000).  I started building, testing, and failing with materials and shapes.  Finally I developed the right feeder for Lilly. A unique shape that can even be used with more than one megaesophagus cat at a time and safe to use around “normal” cats, which is the case in my household.

Since Lilly is been eating at her feeding station, she already gained 3 pounds and has not suffered another bout of pneumonia.

Why am I asking you to Go Fund Me?

I want to bring the multi feeder to the market and help families and rescue groups who are facing the same challenge I had and encourage more people to adopt special megaesophagus cats.  We have too much love, but we might face limited economic resources.

 

My developed device is:

1.       Affordable because it can feed more than one megaesophagus cat at the same time, depending on the device shape.  Projected prices will fluctuate from $80.00 for a single cat up to $200.00 for a maximum of four cats depending of  the polyhedron (PATENT PENDING).  Prices will also depend on the requested materials.



2.       Safe to be used around non-megaesophagus cats.



3.       Designed to be adapted from kittens to full-grown cats.

 

4.      Lightweight for easy relocation.

 

5.       Easy to clean.



THE MOST IMPORTANT THING:  Thank you for reading my petition and helping me to bring hope, love, and potentially more homes to megaesophagus cats.

The donated money will help me to pay for the patent I’ve already started. You can follow #megaesophagus_Lilly on Instagram and see the quality of life she is having since she came to live with us.

Sincerely,

 

Maria Garcia-Rojas