OK to put bandaid on cat?

Hi...my apologies if someone else has posted this question before...it's hard to search through everything without the search function!

My cat, Dusty, had surgery last Thursday and has been suffering through all sorts of indignities aimed at keeping her from licking at the wound (I fashioned a corset type thing, have been using an e-collar, and used a onesie to fashion her a sort of bodysuit). She hates all of these. The wound is healing pretty well...now there is just a lot of scabbing, etc... I still want to wait at least a couple more days before letting her have access to the wound but I'd like to get her out of the e-collar (which seems to be her least-hated form of confinement)...if nothing else than because I seem to only get 3-4 hours of sleep a night when she's wearing it!

I know that there are extra-large bandaids that would fit well over Dusty's wound and make it so that she doesn't have access to the scabs. Is it safe, though, to use bandaids on cats? Has anyone had success with bandaids, or is it pretty useless (because the cats will just pull them off)?

Thanks SO much for the help!
--shellcat

I would keep the e-collar on and just look at it this way, it is temporary.

I would think the band-aid would be torture getting off kitty! Cause think about how much it hurts when you pull a bandaid off your arm, b/c of the hair, I'm sure it would be 10 times worse on a kitty! Hope your baby is healed soon!

She will pull it off. Try a crepe bandage if you feel you must have something over the wound.

Yes, I've tried this before. I once took her to the Vet with the bandaid on and she said that was fine. The only problem is that sometimes they don't stick well, and yes, they will pull them off. If they stick too well, then you have the problem of getting them off. I had to clip a bit of her fur along with the bandaid.

In most cases you want the air to get at it to help it stay dry and heal. The e collar is no fun, but it is your best bet I think. Perhaps some cortisone cream to stop the itching?

I would ask the vet about a soft e-collar. That way you won't be kept awake all night by Dusty crashing the plastic e-collar into the walls.

It is actually okay if she licks at the wound a little, as long as she is not making it raw. There is minimal risk of tearing out stitches since the sutures aren't one continuous line like if you were sewing. Most of the time the vet takes a stitch, ties it off and cuts the thread, and repeats. Since each stitch is an individual unit, the most that would happen is that she could pull out one stitch, but that would not be enough to cause a significant problem at this point.

Thanks for the suggestions Dusty's wounds are largely healed...they're scabbed over and she's got the e-collar on so that she doesn't lick at the scabs and open them up...so I'm not too worried about the wound being able to dry since it already is. She'll just stay in the e-collar...though. (The thought of putting on a bandaid, just so she can pull it off and the various peach fuzz that's just starting to grow back on her tummy makes me cringe!) I just feel bad for the poor girl...she has such a hard time sleeping in it (I don't think she can keep her head comfortable in it). Just a couple more days, I guess! Besides, she's been getting more treats this last week than she's gotten in ages! Every time the collar gets put back on she gets a treat, and then after her twice daily medications. I swear, she's going to gain 5 pounds just from the treats!

Another question...when is it the right time to take off the e-collar? Things are definitely still scabbed up...but I know that with humans we often have scabs even when the skin underneath is healed. It's hard to tell how healed the skin is right now (and it's a bit messy because she initially licked at the wound and caused a bit of bleeding that is now also scabbed) and so I'm playing it quite safe. It's been 10 days, though, and she's acting quite normal, the area around the wound isn't red or puffy, things aren't warm to the touch, etc. Is there any way to know when the scab/wound is healed enough to take off the e-collar...or is it just one of those things you play by ear?

Arg! There are so many questions! Who knew that taking care of a sick kitty was so confusing!

And so you can see who I'm talking about...this is Dusty. It's from a couple of days ago, when I took off the collar so she could stretch (and groom) to her heart's content...

Get well quick sweet Dusty.