Four Paws Healthy Promise Easy Feeder Pet Feeding Syringe

Good for Force-feeding
You can’t see this in the picture but there are two feeders, one with a long conical point. This one can be cut shorter for desired opening. Kitchen scissors work fine. The second is a two-step graduation with a small opening. If you want a larger opening you can cut off the lowest portion or, if a larger opening than that is needed, you can cut into the upper section. This seems to be harder plastic than the other feeder and I needed tin snips (wire clippers) to cut it cleanly. The blue insert is all hard plastic, no rubber tip on it. I found that this was good because those with a rubber tip inside become sticky after a few uses. This is the best syringe I’ve found for feeding diluted food to my cat.Addition: I have used these for a 9 lb. cat with pancreatitis. They have lasted for about 18 months now and show no sign of deterioration. The plunger has never become sticky.

You can cut the tip, somewhat controlling how fast the food comes out but
For a small 3 pound) small dog or animal these can make a bit of a mess, no matter how careful you are. I discovered that by buying a 1 mL syringe, which is very tiny or a 5 ml syringe – no needle!!. It’s easier to feed less food on their whiskers. You have much better control over the food then with these larger syringes and you can get a box of 100 smaller syringes for the same price as two of these large ones. I learned from experience.

Helpful for Assist Feeding Ill Cats
I was referred to these easy feeding syringes by a friend. My cat had to be assist fed for about 1 week and these were a life saver, literally! I did have to cut the tip off one of the feeders but after that everything went smoothly. When my cat is stressed out by being assist fed and I’m stressed out by feeling bad for her I’m thankful for how easy these are to use.Note- always put the tip of the syringe in the side of your cat’s mouth so your cat doesn’t aspirate the food into his/her lungs. Push small amounts at a time.I love that the ‘food’ syringe lists both ml (same as cc) and teaspoon amounts!***Update, August 2013-I have had to (unfortunately) use the food syringe of this set 3-4x/day every day for the last 8 days. I never throw it in the dishwasher or wash with regular soaps. The most I do is put it in nearly boiling water, sometimes with a drop of white vinegar (kills bacteria from cat’s mouths) and let sit until the water cools. The numbers and markings are beginning to lightly rub off but so far, so good. I’m posting a picture of the comparison between the syringe I’ve been using and the brand new one I got today.Sometimes the blue plunger sticks slightly which I thought was the food in the syringe but after testing my brand new syringe I realize it’s actually the wearing of the syringe/plunger. I’ve read that you can use a tiny bit of oil (olive, coconut, etc) to lubricate the plunger.Also, if feeding exact increments of food is important know that there will be some food (if feeding pureed/mixed cat food) left on the ‘bottom’ of the blue plunger; I’d say it’s about 0.5ml- 1ml of food. Also, there will be about 1ml of food left in the syringe tip that you can’t possibly feed. So, in total you MAY lose roughly 2ml of food/meds when using these syringes.For now I’m leaving my review with 5 stars but depending on how worn the syringe becomes in the next few weeks I may have to downgrade to 4 stars.

Great tool

From using these syringes to give “essential” medication to my cat I discovered several points of concern. The plungers in the syringes have a concave end (syringe side in) so when giving small doses of liquid not all the liquid is delivered. The plungers did not more freely/smoothly despite attempts to were them in. This increased the difficulties in administering the medication and the discomfort/ distress to the cat. They have now gone into the recycling bin.

Says on package that it is dishwasher safe…. but it is not. Had to order another set as either the plunger expanded in dishwasher or the outside part shrunk… but takes brute strength to push the ingredients into my critter! But not the one that didnt go in dishwasher as its only used for water. Great product but DO NOT PUT IN DISHWASHER!!