E-Collar Freak Out

My cat got pyometra. I took her to the vet Tuesday for an antibiotic shot and she went to the clinic to be spayed this afternoon. They sent me home with an e-collar and when I put it on her she freaked out, running and jumping on things. She managed to somehow get the collar down over her entire body and right off her back end. I finally got her to lay down and her incision looks ok, but I'm worried she may try to lick at her incision, but I do not want a repeat of what just happened because I don't want her to pull her incision open. 

Is there anything else I can do aside from the collar to keep her from her incision? 

Try a medical pet t shirt: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/287022/medical-pet-shirts

Or a baby onesie to keep the incision covered and your cat from licking it.

Did the vet give you the plastic collar? A soft e collar may be more tolerable for some cats.

Thank you!! I just found one on amazon for $34 and I have prime, so I just have to watch her every move until Sunday afternoon . 

I bought a blow up collar for my cat when she was spayed. Worked great. Especially for a small kitty.It's like a little innertube/donut. Amazon has them.

I'd be too nervous to put another collar on her. I was shocked that she didn't tear open her incision, she was all over the place. I think the shirt might work out. She likes to be under blankets and will even sleep in my sweatshirt, so I don't think the shirt will bother her near as much as the collar did. 

She also has hardly slept at all since coming home. She got maybe 15 min a couple of times and laid on me for about an hour this morning. I figured she would sleep more than she usually does, but she's sleeping less. 

My Oscar doesn't tolerate collars of any kind, or anything around his neck for that matter. We put a pseudo-e-collar on him (made from a paper plate) after he got neutered and my goodness, I never saw a cat move as fast as he did. He darted around and within seconds it was off. And then another time, my sister came over and he stuck his head in the handle of a bag. He made the rounds of the entire living and dining rooms about three or four times in maybe 20 seconds. It was like watching a tornado!

I agree with getting a onesie. Even when my Pea-Pea got spayed, they told me to put her in a onesie if she started licking too much, since cats generally don't tolerate e-collars very well. I think the only time I ever had a cat in an e-collar was my Tiger many years ago, after surgery to remove a tumor from his ear. He kept wanting to scratch at it.

That' what she did, ran around at super-speed over, under, through, and behind things until she got it off. This is what I ended up getting per the recommendation above. It should be here this afternoon and I really hope she tolerates it well. I'd even be happy for now if she moves around less in it at first while she adjusts to it. She's acting as if she didn't even have surgery and she's trying to run and play like she normally does. As long as she doesn't start running around like a bolt of lightening again I'll consider it a success. 

I wish I had known about those when my cats were spayed! Look so much better!

honeybee my cat doesn't tolerate ecollars either. She couldn't figure out how to raise her head to get into the litter box. we tried a soft collar but she still squirmed out of it. I think the onsie shirt is a better idea. They don't like not being able to see all around them.

While you're watching your cat, if she doesn't seem like she's overlicking the area you probably don't have to put anything on her at all. I didn't have an e-collar for either of my cats after surgery, the vets just sent them home as-is. And they didn't lick their incision open. I did get a onsie from a thrift store in case I needed to cover them, and that's a cheap option in an emergency.

She was spayed Friday and she's definitely licking at her incision, there was a little spot of blood on the blanket she slept on last night. Her incision looks ok though. I'm trying to watch her every move, and even had someone stay here to watch her when I ran errands yesterday. Still waiting on delivery of the shirt, but I'll feel better after knowing she can't lick at it anymore. 

Poor thing. So great that you acted quickly. How old is she?

do you have a goodwill or salvation army near you? Or a walmart? the onsie sounds like a good idea but sorry that you are having to hang around waiting for a delivery.

She will be one the very end of August. I just checked the status of the delivery ans is says delivery attempt made, which it was not. I've been watching for it religiously. I really dislike the usps. I never get my packages when I should. I called though and explained what it was and the man I spoke to said he would bring it by himself. In the time it took me to go outside to check for the delivery notification (which there was not one) I came in and she was licking again. I would think that the incision would be sore, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. I think her surgery is causing me more anxiety than it caused her. 

Try not to worry too much. I know easier said than done. My cats incision had me so paranoid I took her in to the vet twice to have them look at it. My cat did lick hers once in awhile,and would not stay calm at all. It was red and even looked like it was almost coming open,but vet said it was fine...And after about a week it looking good and she left it alone. Hang in there!

I had the worst time with my girl when she was spayed last month.  She is a groomer, loves to clean herself.  She didn't tolerate the e collar either and I had to remove it the minute we got home.  I ended up having to camp on my spare room floor with her at night and I purchased a doggy t shirt in the clearance section of the pet store.  she's a small cat and a dog medium worked well.  You do have to check the belly area of the shirts, I noticed some are shorter or longer than others.  The shirt isn't fool proof, you have to watch them still and I was constantly pulling her shirt down into position.  I have had the worst time with her lately - the stitches were removed almost a month ago and where the sitches were, it was still crusty so we kept her shirt on for afew days after.  She began licking the area once we took her shirt off and that made scabs which she continues to lick off.  Doggie shirt went back on....now we're using steroids to try to keep the itching down while she heals....nothing is ever easy....

A little update on how she's doing... I did not try the collar again, and the shirt I ordered her was too big. However, she did seem to calm down a bit and she doesn't really lick at her incision anymore. She is back to sleeping like she did before the surgery as well. I think for the first couple days maybe she was just too uncomfortable to sleep. The vet did tell me the dosage and frequency in which I could give her Benadryl if she gets too out of control. I haven't had to give her any though and I think she'll be fine without it. I think just knowing I could give it to her helped relieve some of my anxiety. I slept in my bed (the cats are no allowed in the bedroom) last night instead of on the couch and she was just fine this morning.