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?
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?