Healing process of spay incision and eating with Elizabethan collar

Hi All,

I am new to the forum so that firstly I'd like to start with a greeting to all cat lovers !

First I have to give you some pre-information about us;

- I have my cat (paka) with me since 2 months. I rescued her from an animal shelter.

- She is 6 months old.

- She has been a very active, lively and well eating cat so far. All her veterinarian checks, vaccinations and controls went very well so far.

I got her spayed last Thursday. The operation went well. The vet said that we need to keep the Elizabethan collar for 10 days. (I know some of you would say the collar is not needed but I prefer to keep it on, to be on the safe side and better not to be sorry.)

My questions;

1- She kind of got used to the collar but I can feel that she is not comfortable with eating when the collar is on. Firstly, she got herself away from the dry food, now all she wants is wet food, boiled chicken etc. She always wants me to hand feed her and I am doing like that since Thursday. Do you think this will be a permanent thing? I am afraid she won't ever turn back to dry food even after we take the collar off.

2- I am attaching two photos showing her incision. The first one was taken on Friday, just one day after the operation. The second one was taken today, four days after the operation. Can you please have a look at the photos and tell me if you think the incision is healing well? I am taking her to the vet for daily checks and the vet told me that the healing is going well. I am just in need of others' opinions to feel better =)

3- My vet tells me that I can take the collar off on Saturday or Sunday (9 - 10 days after the operation). He is a bit strict on this and tells me not to remove it before 9-10 days. When we take the healing process of the incision into account, do you think I would be able to take it off on Thursday, exactly 1 week after the operation?

Thanks all and have furry days !

Oh me, what a dilemma.  I had a girl spayed back in January, but she came home with no collar, I asked, and they said there wasn't a need for one.  She stayed the 1st four days afterwards due to other issues, but they never had a collar on her then either, because I went to visit her during her stay.  She has done fantastic with no opening of the incision at all.  And she washed the area too.

That being said.......her incision did not look like your cat's at all.  It was fully closed and drawn together well with dissolvable sutures.  Your cat's incision looks slightly gapped open in that second picture.  I would definitely leave it on due to that, if for no other reason, because it looks open enough that she could grab a stitch and possibly open it up further.  It may just be the angle of the picture, but I really didn't expect to see it gapped open like that.

It might be best if you call and ask your vet, explain about the feeding issue and the gap in the incision (if it isn't just the picture angle) and see what advice they offer.

Your girl's incision looks GREAT! No redness or swelling and it looks like it's scabbing over well, so she's doing okay. You don't want to see any pink or redness, not angry red, and not weeping.  So far, so good for your girl!

Regarding the ecollar, I'm not a fan of them post-spay unless the kitty is licking excessively, pulls a stitch out, or the incision starts weeping.  It would be okay for you to keep the cone off her for periods of time, like eating if you're comfortable doing that.  Right now, I'd feed her whatever she wants to eat. Canned food is better for her overall, but you can feed her wet food 2 times a day and leave dry food down for her the rest of the time.

I have had both my girls spayed. I kept the collar on for most of the time but took it off for them to eat. The wound looks clean and appears to be healing well.

I know it's hard to see them with that stupid collar on, but I would recommend leaving it.  My cat managed to pull her e collar off this morning and tear out her stitches.  She did this in a very brief span of time about a half

hour.  Of course, it had to be the first time I said no to responding to her cries.  So now she is back getting restitched, which is better than having the incision open up.

And for the record, any other time she was in for surgery (had an abscess on her front leg) or for whatever she needed the cone, she never licked or pulled at the incision.  So just because they didn't in the past doesn't mean they won't this time