1yo cat spayed - very active, licks stitches, escape from cone

[arachne]

Hello all. My 1yo cat was spayed yesterday, and we are struggling.

She keeps getting out of her e-collar and trying to lick her stitches. We have tried every trick to keep it secure on her. Tying it to a harness, baby onesie, tying it around her legs, etc. We put her in a harness, tied the cone to the harness and put a baby onesie over everything. And she still got out somehow. We have had to resort to watching her at all times. As soon as we turn away she tries to lick her stitches and run and jump.

She has behaviour issues. She was aggressive and very stubborn before surgery and remains the same after plus she is very active. Every time we've had to put the collar back on, she hisses, scratches, bites and makes these terrible rumbling groans that she only ever made at vet appointments until now.

The only thing that stops her from licking and jumping is one of us physically restraining her. She does not like it and it clearly upsets her. We want to keep her calm, stop her from licking stitches and jumping, but nothing works. I called a local 24h emergency vet (it's 3am here). They said the only solution would be to ask our vet for a higher dose of her pain meds (they have sedative properties) or to try another medication. I will call as soon as they open (in about 5 hours), but I want to know if there is anything else I can try. I've heard about using a large crate to keep her confined but that will not stop the licking and she would hate it. What else can I do? We cannot watch her 24/7 for two weeks. Can anyone reassure me that she'll be fine?

 

[arachne]

Hello, My 1yo cat just got spayed. We got her a few months ago. The vet said she behaves like a feral cat, and probably wasn't socialized properly as a kitten. She is very energetic after surgery and does everything the vet said not to do (run around, jump, lick her stitches, etc.)

She is an escape artist and has gotten her self out of every contraception (e-collar, onesie, harness-combo, etc) and keeps trying to lick her stitches. It is 5am where I am, so our vet is closed, but I called our local 24hr vet emergency number several times tonight and they're only solution is to ask our vet for a higher dose or a different medication to try to sedate her a bit.

We have her in a small bedroom, no furniture, just food, water, a mattress and a cat bed. One of us is with her in the room at all times because she immediately goes for her stitches every chance she gets.

My question is how should I deter her from licking her stitches? How do I "discipline" her when she does? I want to keep her calm, but if we touch her she gets upset, she's not a well-behaved dog (she's a feisty cat) so we can just say "No."

Any advice is appreciated

 

[mani]

MOD NOTE:
A arachne posted in two threads, so we merged them. There is some variation in the information so, in order to have the whole story told, we've kept both posts.

 

[stephanietx]

She is going to lick the stitches because she is getting the cat hospital and medicine smell off of her. As long as she doesn't pop a stitch or the incision doesn't become an angry red and start weeping she should be fine without the cone.

As for her behavior, I would invest in some Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers and possibly some calming drops from Spirit Essences by Jackson Galaxy. Work on socializing her. There's a lot of information in the behavior forum for socializing kittens. You may even find some help in the Caring for Strays and Ferals forum. Basically, you go very slow, don't force anything on them (touch or picking up), and let them come out of their shell on their own. You may never have a snuggly kitty, but that's okay. The kitty is safe and loved.