Kitty Looks So Down in E-Collar

Hi Everyone! I'm Gessie and my little cat Cosmo was spayed about four days ago. I'm having trouble keeping her from jumping up on things. Also, she looks so forlorn in that silly e-collar. Is it really necessary? And any help you'd have about keeping her from jumping, I'd appreciate it!

Cosmo sends hugs

Hi Gessie - If it's been 4 days, I wouldn't worry about her jumping up on things now.
Many cats are already trying to jump up on furniture the day after the spay! Cats heal much more quickly than humans.

I never had an E-collar for any of my girls after their spays. Unless Cosmo is biting at her sutures, it's unnecessary.

Just FYI, I recently saw an alternative to the E-collar in a catalog. It's called a "Bite Not" collar and allows cats to eat, drink and get around the house more comfortably than with an E-collar. They also have full vision. It's sort of like a turtleneck that goes from just behind the ear to the top of the shoulder. It's available from www.carealotpets.com.

I'd remove Cosmo's collar and see how she does. Keep an eye on her, and if she's not fussing with the sutures, don't put it back on. 4 days is a long time to wear that thing!

Best wishes to you and Cosmo!

We never send E-Collars with cat spays.

Wow ... thanks for the information! But how do I know if she's biting at the sutures? I've seen her licking in the area, when I free her from that collar. But not incessantly or anything. I think the poor girl goes nuts not being able to clean herself while wearing that thing! She'll end up licking the inside of that collar instead, it's the saddest thing I've ever seen.

Thanks again for your help!

Cats are notorius for wanting to be clean, so at first she going to want to get that area cleaned up to her satisfaction, just watch her for awhile and make sure she moves onto something else.

Thanks, this is very helpful for me ... just two more things then. I'm gone for much of the morning, do you think I should leave the collar on when I'm not here. What about at night when I'm sleeping? And then, two, if she were to start biting the sutures, would she start bleeding? Is that how I'd know that something was wrong?

Why was she given the collar? Was she biting at the sutures from the beginning?

I would take the collar off when I had some time to observe her. Licking and grooming the area, as Petnurse pointed out, is natural for her to do, and won't hurt her.

The vet should have advised you to keep an eye on the incision to make sure there is no infection or problem with the sutures. Redness, swelling, bleeding are all reasons to call the vet immediately.

Cosmo wouldn't necessarily bleed if she pulled out a suture or two, but of course, you still don't want her doing that. Just wondering, are these dissolvable sutures, or does she need to go back in to the vet to have them removed?

Take a good look at the incision. You'll be able to count the sutures. Every so often check Cosmo to make sure all sutures are still there. If she starts to pull them out, you'll have to put the collar back on, but try to give her some breaks without the collar when you'll be able to watch her. Chances are she'll be fine without it, though.

No, she wasn't biting, the Humane Society just told me to keep the collar on her for ten days! I'm probably being over paranoid too - just want to make sure this all goes right. And they used dissolvable sutures.

Holy Cow! 10 days!?!? I'm with Petnurse - I have never had a vet give me an E-collar for a cat who's just been spayed.

Unless Cosmo was relentlessly biting at her sutures, and you said she wasn't, there's no reason for her to have an E-collar! As I mentioned in an earlier post, just keep an eye on the incision for signs of infection.

Sophie had to have an e-collar because 2 days after her spay she not only managed to get the collar off but she pulled a stitch out.

I used to take it off her a couple of times a day so she would groom herself properly, but as soon as she made her way to her incision she'd start tugging at another stitch so it went back on.

Hi everyone! Well it's a day later and I've taken the collar off. She seems to be very happy about this, but what do I know really - it could just be me that's happy because she seems like her normal self without it. I want to thank you all so much for your input, I was pretty worried last night! I'll keep an eye on the incision and I'm going to take her to her own vet for a checkup in about a week. I'm surprised that the H.S. didn't ask to see her again, just to make sure everything's well. I guess they have too many kittens to deal with to do this. Hope all your furry friends are happy and healthy!