Post-op: Baby clothes instead of e-collar experiences?

Has anyone here used baby clothes instead of e-collars for post-ops?
Bugsy is going to have surgery on his belly/chest next week, and I was wondering if that would work instead of an e-collar?

He has Herpes, and the last thing I want is to stress him even more than he will already be stressed out from the surgery.

What type of clothes should I buy? Shirts? Onesies?
Any type of specific cloth? Should it be tight? Lose?

Any tips are appreciated.... Thanks!

I have done a t shirt and a onesie with a dog ... Snug not tight but not loose enough to get a paw in

I did a baby's tshirt and soft collar when Scully had surgery

a friend of mine used baby sleepers on a small puppy that had been badly injured. it worked really well, the puppy healed well and wasn't the least bit botherd by the sleepers.

After Cammy's intestine surgery, and her spay, we didn't put anything on her. Her spay incision she was just fine, didn't bother it once, she barely licked it. But after her intestine surgery she ALMOST needed to get an e collar. I wish I'd known about the clothes thing, I would have done that.

When my angel kitty Taco had his 2 tumor removal surgeries, I had to try a few things. I bought a couple of sleepers, cutting the legs off them and had to cut the arm holes a bit because they were too restrictive for him to walk comfortably.......then I found that where they went around his abdomen, too loose, not snug fitting enough, would end up coming off. I ended up buying a few different infant "tank tops", really small ones with stretch to them. Because they were sleeveless, they gave more room for his front legs to move when walking and he got used to them just fine. Because they were quite small in size, they'd hug his abdomen area nicely so as not to come off. The e-collar just never worked with him, he'd get so angry that at times he'd refuse to move. Here's a picture with the tank top. Once I found a size that worked, I bought a few so I could wash as needed, which also helped to shink them a little once they stretched a bit from wearing for a couple of days:

I should mention that Scully managed to get both the tshirt and ecollar off twice

I bought baby sleepers for Bijou after his leg surgery and they worked beautifully. I did find, however, that it was best to put the snaps on his back because he got very good at undoing them when they were on his tummy side.

That's awesome! I think that's going to work out well!
One more question... Stupid question... Sizes - how do I size it????

Scully was still fairly big at that point, so I measured him and brought a tape measure to the store

How about cast cotton and vetwrap or co-flex? Vetwrap or co-flex only sticks to itself, and get the stuff made for livestock, not humans as it is 1/3 the price

Originally Posted by laureen227

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i wrapped the leg w/duct tape, because otherwise she'd chew at it. i got the short sleeve footed sleepers [t-shirt knit], turned the backs up & put the legs thru the short sleeves, threaded some elastic into the casing that created & used the feet for her front paws. after some use, i cut off the left leg & stitched it to the short sleeve, since she just needed the right one. i had 2, so i could wash them.

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Do you mean you put actual duct tape on your cat's leg? (looks sorta like it in the picture?)

As for size, I remember the first time I had to buy some, I was just lost for it's not like you can ask a sales clerk to help you figure out the size for a cat LOL. as these items are generally so cheap, I would buy a few different sizes, to see which fit best. Depends on the size of the cat. I preferred clothing that had a lot of stretch to it, so that I could buy a smaller size and it would stretch but still be snug around the belly to stay in place.

Originally Posted by the_food_lady

Do you mean you put actual duct tape on your cat's leg? (looks sorta like it in the picture?)

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no, it's on top of the sleeper leg.

Originally Posted by sk_pacer

How about cast cotton and vetwrap or co-flex? Vetwrap or co-flex only sticks to itself, and get the stuff made for livestock, not humans as it is 1/3 the price

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i used the 'stick only to itself' stuff over the actual leg, then put the sleeper on top, then wrapped that w/duct tape.