The cone and feed back.

We have very small cat (under 5lb) that we had spade. We waited a bit too long and she did go into heat. Is been almost 48 hrs but she can't really walk with the cone bc it is solo big. She won't move off the bed and when she does she mostly walking backwards or just sitting prone on the floor. She won't eat, drink or use the cat box if the cone is on. We removed it and to let her eat drink and go potty but after that she goes right for her belly and won't stop. In fact my wife didn't even try the litter box until I insisted after 24 hrs. We were told 10 to 14 days in the cone but I have to go back to work. Does anyone have any suggestions? I can't even imagine 14 days of this?!?

Ok googling we found the t-shirt jacket idea and with a few modification. We made it and she spend an hour cleaning herself but not getting to the suture site. We. Found the instructions on insrtuctuble.com. The only change we made is bc I didn't have safety pens. We made strips that I tied together. So far it's working great.

I'm so sorry you are having such a hard time. As a vet tech, I often hear of this complaint and I know it's extremely frustrating.

What kind of cone did they put on your kitty? If it's a hard one there is the alternative of a soft cone that is usually more suitable for kittens. You can even fold the soft ones down (think like a bib) so your kitten can see and eat without it in the way. If it's not a soft one, I'd look into getting one.

It's so important to keep the cone on for at least the minimum amount of days recommended by her doctor. Cats are especially notorious for licking their incision and opening it and/or causing a very nasty infection. Some owners craft a baby's onesie on their pet as a last resort to protect the incision, but I've seen that both fail and succeed.

Good luck with your baby!

I say forget the cone, some vets recommend them, some do not.

ALL cats want to clean the incision area to remove the funky vet smells from their precious fur, so unless she literally is seen chewing at her incision, she won't do any damage.

I had simliar issue with Honeybee when she got a biopsy in shoulder.i ended up boarding for two days because no matter how we tied strings on cone she got out.and lick lick.we found a soft ecollor but she was not a happy cat. to your kitty!!

woofadv said:

Ok googling we found the t-shirt jacket idea and with a few modification. We made it and she spend an hour cleaning herself but not getting to the suture site. We. Found the instructions on insrtuctuble.com. The only change we made is bc I didn't have safety pens. We made strips that I tied together. So far it's working great.

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• woofadv
• Mar 20, 2016

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I know this is for a dog but wondering with a few modifications it would work for Chatty bc she has an appointment in March to be spayed. Do you think something like this would work? Easy No-sew Recycled Dog T-shirt

I did something similar for my cat - I just went to look for the onesie that I doctored up but we must have packed it away in a tote. I went to the baby section and purchased a baby onesie but this one was a sleeveless, spaghetti strap style. What you have to do is the back legs for the cat would go where the babies arms would go - then the crotch portion you need to cut a hole in, I believe it was the bum area so that the snaps fasten up by the scruff of your cats neck. My cat is small, 8 lbs so I got the 9 mth old size and that worked perfectly. This way there was no issues with the butt/tail, she could use the litter box perfectly and kept the spay suture area protected. She tried to clean the onesie but she wasn't able to lick the incisions directly. Once I saw that this worked, I went back and got a couple others so that I could wash the one she was wearing and there was a clean fresh one waiting. This also works extremely well for any kittys that have allergy issues that lick excessively causing boo boo's. It was a help for me until we could work with the dermatologist and get her on some medications to stop the excessive itching/licking.

I know a lot of people also opt for an extra small kong ecollar if their kitty does not keep the onesie on. You can get on amazon I’m pretty sure.

There are a number of options, I am glad you found one that works for you and your kitty!

In my experience, cats do not tolerate a plastic hard cone well, this is often what the vet sends them home with, but cats really get very nervous if their peripheral vision is restricted. A shorter cone can be used sometimes depending upon where the incision is.

When my Jakey had abdominal surgery a couple of years ago I instead opted for an inflatable collar - he tolerated it a lot better (and I did try to make a body suit for him using an old t-shirt first but he wasn't having it at all), but the inflatable was quite heavy for him and he found it difficult to get comfortable to sleep (to the extent that I spent 2 weeks sleeping on the sofa with him, so he could prop his chin on my arm!) I also had to help him get in and out of the litter tray the first couple of times until he got used how the weight of the collar affected his balance.

Radar's recent surgery, the incisions were in the throat and although he wore a soft cone when he was in hospital, it wasn't practical for him to wear at home (because the stitches were in his neck, and the chance that a cone would mess with the incision when he was no longer confined was too great), so when he first came home he had a body suit that went up his neck a bit.

Anyway, there IS more than one option - yes it is absolutely crucial to prevent your beloved cat from pulling an incision open, but there are various methods - just make sure you use whatever is most appropriate.

cat princesses said:

I did something similar for my cat - I just went to look for the onesie that I doctored up but we must have packed it away in a tote. I went to the baby section and purchased a baby onesie but this one was a sleeveless, spaghetti strap style. What you have to do is the back legs for the cat would go where the babies arms would go - then the crotch portion you need to cut a hole in, I believe it was the bum area so that the snaps fasten up by the scruff of your cats neck. My cat is small, 8 lbs so I got the 9 mth old size and that worked perfectly. This way there was no issues with the butt/tail, she could use the litter box perfectly and kept the spay suture area protected. She tried to clean the onesie but she wasn't able to lick the incisions directly. Once I saw that this worked, I went back and got a couple others so that I could wash the one she was wearing and there was a clean fresh one waiting. This also works extremely well for any kittys that have allergy issues that lick excessively causing boo boo's. It was a help for me until we could work with the dermatologist and get her on some medications to stop the excessive itching/licking.

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Thank You so much for a much easier great tip!!!!!!!! I will try that before doing anything else

CHATTY KATTY HOME said:

Thank YouYou' so much for a much easier great tip!!!!!!!! I will try that before doing anything else

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You're very welcome! This works like a charm, the key is getting the style that I showed in the picture, that was absolutely ideal. I'd also suggest not cutting the hole for the head too big - obviously you don't want it too tight but it's easier to make it larger than over cutting it too big the first time, then you can't fix that. I tried short sleeve onesies and long sleeve styles but my girl was a little escape artist and somehow got out of those easily. I never had an issue of her getting out of this style. Good luck!