First time experience with the dreaded cone-of-shame here (for both me, and my cat).
My cat, Biscuit, developed two small rashy spots last week, which he then groomed into small sores. The vet and I are still in the process of figuring out the cause of the rash (negative for ringworm under the light, but the lab results won't confirm that for another 3 weeks; could be allergy-related since he's had issues with food allergies in the past; could also be stress-related since I was out of town for part of the week). In the meantime, I've added a lysine supplement back into his diet, and a feliway diffuser to the apartment. He also received an antibiotic shot as a precaution, and I've got a tube of quadritop oinment to put on the sores. Of course, none of this does any good without keeping him from leaving the sores alone (especially now that the area around them is shaved down) - hence the dreaded e-collar.
I ended up having to cut smaller notches in the cone (he's a tiny guy, and could fit an arm through the neck of the cone, even at the smallest size), AND having to thread a walking harness through the loops instead of the gauze (so that he couldn't free himself). Unfortunately, between the harness and the cone, this means that he's not very inclined to do much more than crouch and look sullen. I've been taking it off to let him eat and drink, but taking it off requires close supervision, because as soon as he's done eating, he goes right to the sore on his arm. I tried plunking him into the litterbox without the cone, but he didn't seem to like the idea of supervision for that (turnabout is NOT fair play, apparently). I've taken the lid off his litterbox and pulled it away from the tight corner it's usually in, but he's refusing to use it with the cone on. Currently, he's laying next to it and looking grouchy when I check on him. It probably doesn't help that he's used to a private little bubble, not an open box and an audience.
At this point, I have two questions:
1) How long before I need to worry that he hasn't used the litterbox? It has been less than 24 hours at this point, but not by too much. I'd rather have vengeful floor-peeing than have him develop some sort of bladder irritation, but I'd much rather have neither.
2) If I can't get him to use the box with the cone on, any suggestions as to how I can handle potty breaks? I'm hoping to have the cone off of him as quickly as possible (especially since the cause of the rash could be stress), but if he gets a chance to groom every time he needs to go, this could end up getting drawn out.
3) Any tips for sizing the harness to make sure that's not contributing to his stress? I loosened it a bit this morning and he still hasn't struggled free of it, but I swear this cat has no bones in his body.
Really, any tips are appreciated at this point! I tried playing with him a bit to see if he'd forget about the cone, but if looks could kill...
My cat, Biscuit, developed two small rashy spots last week, which he then groomed into small sores. The vet and I are still in the process of figuring out the cause of the rash (negative for ringworm under the light, but the lab results won't confirm that for another 3 weeks; could be allergy-related since he's had issues with food allergies in the past; could also be stress-related since I was out of town for part of the week). In the meantime, I've added a lysine supplement back into his diet, and a feliway diffuser to the apartment. He also received an antibiotic shot as a precaution, and I've got a tube of quadritop oinment to put on the sores. Of course, none of this does any good without keeping him from leaving the sores alone (especially now that the area around them is shaved down) - hence the dreaded e-collar.
I ended up having to cut smaller notches in the cone (he's a tiny guy, and could fit an arm through the neck of the cone, even at the smallest size), AND having to thread a walking harness through the loops instead of the gauze (so that he couldn't free himself). Unfortunately, between the harness and the cone, this means that he's not very inclined to do much more than crouch and look sullen. I've been taking it off to let him eat and drink, but taking it off requires close supervision, because as soon as he's done eating, he goes right to the sore on his arm. I tried plunking him into the litterbox without the cone, but he didn't seem to like the idea of supervision for that (turnabout is NOT fair play, apparently). I've taken the lid off his litterbox and pulled it away from the tight corner it's usually in, but he's refusing to use it with the cone on. Currently, he's laying next to it and looking grouchy when I check on him. It probably doesn't help that he's used to a private little bubble, not an open box and an audience.
At this point, I have two questions:
1) How long before I need to worry that he hasn't used the litterbox? It has been less than 24 hours at this point, but not by too much. I'd rather have vengeful floor-peeing than have him develop some sort of bladder irritation, but I'd much rather have neither.
2) If I can't get him to use the box with the cone on, any suggestions as to how I can handle potty breaks? I'm hoping to have the cone off of him as quickly as possible (especially since the cause of the rash could be stress), but if he gets a chance to groom every time he needs to go, this could end up getting drawn out.
3) Any tips for sizing the harness to make sure that's not contributing to his stress? I loosened it a bit this morning and he still hasn't struggled free of it, but I swear this cat has no bones in his body.
Really, any tips are appreciated at this point! I tried playing with him a bit to see if he'd forget about the cone, but if looks could kill...
