Hi everyone,
My cat, Izzy, was spayed today and afterward, issued an e-collar. The vet told me to leave it on for about a week, only removing it if I notice she's refusing to eat or drink and even then, leaving it off for only enough time for her to do those things before putting it back on.
I brought her home today, and once she was out of her carrier, she freaked out. She ran around the apartment, bumping into things, wailing, "backing up" as if trying to pull her head from a can. She then ran under my bed, which is so low that I had to help her get out once she'd squeezed the collar under, and when she was out again, she went to the litter box and proceeded to try it out but not use it because it's only medium-sized and she couldn't dig because of her collar. Whenever she'd walk around, her collar would literally drag the floor because she seemed unable to lift her head completely under the weight. She also didn't sleep because it seemed she wasn't able to get comfortable. But that wasn't the biggest problem-- She's having a lot of vaginal discharge (she was in heat when she was spayed), and since she was unable to lick herself, her entire behind was a mess and when she'd sit on me or on the couch… You get the drift.
So after about six hours of having it on, I caved and took it off. I've never seen a more appreciative cat. She cleaned herself for 15 minutes straight, licked over her incision (her stitches are internal) two separate times during the whole process (and it must have hurt, because she only stayed there for a second), and now she's sleeping peacefully in her condo.
My question is…should I put it back on? I work from home, so I'm constantly around her and could intervene should I see her picking at the incision. My only concern is when I'm asleep and she's up, wandering around. Any advice? Were your cats issued e-collars and if not, did you have any problems with them messing with their incisions? I'm also open to suggestions about alternatives. I saw something about a tube sock somewhere online, but I didn't understand what was meant by it.
Thanks!
My cat, Izzy, was spayed today and afterward, issued an e-collar. The vet told me to leave it on for about a week, only removing it if I notice she's refusing to eat or drink and even then, leaving it off for only enough time for her to do those things before putting it back on.
I brought her home today, and once she was out of her carrier, she freaked out. She ran around the apartment, bumping into things, wailing, "backing up" as if trying to pull her head from a can. She then ran under my bed, which is so low that I had to help her get out once she'd squeezed the collar under, and when she was out again, she went to the litter box and proceeded to try it out but not use it because it's only medium-sized and she couldn't dig because of her collar. Whenever she'd walk around, her collar would literally drag the floor because she seemed unable to lift her head completely under the weight. She also didn't sleep because it seemed she wasn't able to get comfortable. But that wasn't the biggest problem-- She's having a lot of vaginal discharge (she was in heat when she was spayed), and since she was unable to lick herself, her entire behind was a mess and when she'd sit on me or on the couch… You get the drift.
So after about six hours of having it on, I caved and took it off. I've never seen a more appreciative cat. She cleaned herself for 15 minutes straight, licked over her incision (her stitches are internal) two separate times during the whole process (and it must have hurt, because she only stayed there for a second), and now she's sleeping peacefully in her condo.
My question is…should I put it back on? I work from home, so I'm constantly around her and could intervene should I see her picking at the incision. My only concern is when I'm asleep and she's up, wandering around. Any advice? Were your cats issued e-collars and if not, did you have any problems with them messing with their incisions? I'm also open to suggestions about alternatives. I saw something about a tube sock somewhere online, but I didn't understand what was meant by it.
Thanks!
