Cat e-collar and healing questions..

Hi,

My cat Tripper had a cystotomy on 10/14, and the next day I went to my regular vet to get an e-collar for him.  He's been wearing it ever since.  He's got it off a few times, but this time, (try #5), it is finally staying.  By day 10, Friday evening, I removed his e-collar to see if he can go without one.  No dice.  A few minutes after it was off, I noticed his bladder area looking pink.  The lower incision is oozing a bit of pinkish liquid and the incision is red again.  BAD kitty.    So the e-collar went right back on. 

So the question is.. about how long did it take your cat to fully heal after surgery?  His bladder area looked fine until he licked it.  The healing time the vet gave me was between 10-14 days.  At this point, I'll probably leave it on till Tuesday.  Or is it not worrisome that it still gets a bit red after licking?  I am asking because my boy has a bad habit of peeing while standing up.  I got him a regular pan because his e-collar made it hard for him to go in and out of the sterilite container (there is a 9x9 doorway).  It's been challenging.. every time he goes, cleanup is a must.  I've had awesome Petco rubber-backed liners placed around the perimeter of the box and sterilite container lids against the wall to prevent splashing.  It works, but it's been almost 2 weeks of cleaning pee.    

I think he is constipated too.. he's been straining to defecate, expelling just little chunks at a time.  Anything I can give him to help him out?  Poor kid.  

Thanks!!

- Grace

Canned pumpkin.  Miralax.  Yes you can use that for constipation for cats.  Add a eighth of a teaspoon to canned cat food.  I like to start small.  If need be, if still constipated after a couple of days make it a fourth of a teaspoon.  I like Miralax cuz it's the easiest.

Smear some neosporin on the incision a couple times a day to help heal[emoji]128523[/emoji]
I second the miralax. I tried it out on my cat once for future possible problems with constipation (currently dry food eater only). I used only a 1/16 of a teaspoon and it worked great!

Be careful using neosporin as it has been shown to cause a higher instance of severe allergic reactions in cats. This information comes from one of my vets.

If he won't eat the pumpkin, a daily dose of Femalt can help as it is a laxative. If he'll eat canned food, giving him extra can help as well as the added moisture can help move things along.

Thanks for the suggestions!  I did give him pumpkin years ago, and he ate it with gusto.  Will give it a try again.