Cat is miserable after surgery with cone of shame on

[profcat]

Our Pumpkin had emergency bladder surgery last Monday-- she had a bladder full of stones! We brought her home on Wednesday with just a soft donut around her neck to keep her from biting her stitches/staples. It took her less than a day to rip out two staples, and the incision began opening. We took her back to the vet and the put in more staples and a couple of stitches, and gave us an actual cone. We isolated her in the spare room, and in a matter of 20 minutes she managed to get the cone off, pull out more stitches, and make her incision bleed. We had to rush her back to the vet where they put her in a harness and cone. Now she's isolated again and she is MISERABLE.

She's eaten a little bit, but not much. She hates the cone and paws at it and throws herself at the door. I spent the night in there with her last night and she let me help feed her and clean her up after she peed, but otherwise, she's just the unhappiest cat ever. We let her out of the spare room so she could calm down enough to be with us on the couch and she seemed to relax a bit. I took the cone off and tried to give her yummy food (she should be on urinary diet but won't eat it), and she only ate half of it. She keeps itching and pawing at herself.

She's got to be in this cone for a week. I feel like we're torturing her. She's usually the happiest, squishiest cat ever. Any tips for making this less horrible for her?

 

[verna davies]

Maybe there is something in this link that Pumpkin will tolerate.
10 DIY Cat Onesie Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures) | Hepper

 

[fionasmom]

Fiona herself had bladder stone removal surgery. You will be glad that you did it when this is over.

If all cones have failed, I agree that the next step is to try recovery suits that you make or purchase.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Feeby also had bladder stone removal surgery. That was 12-13 years ago, and I don't think I even used a cone on her, much less a onesie (which probably didn't even exist back then). I do know she had some pain meds for a bit of a time, so that might help Pumpkin if she is not getting any, especially under her circumstances. Maybe a calming agent too.

The other thing is that we are all more 'aware' now about cat care than I believe I was then, so I was probably less freaked out overall, which probably made Feeby less freaked out as well.

I'd ask about healing ointments too, to help with the drying out of the surgical area/sutures as she could be experiencing some issues with that as well. If not that, you could try chamomile tea. Buy chamomile tea bags - you can find them in most any grocery store and generally speaking those are Germain - you don't want English or any flavorings or additives. Brew a bag in water, cool the liquid to room temp and then dab some on her stitched area with cotton balls or a soft cloth - 2-3 times a day.

Chamomile tea, which is a soothing and healing agent, also has anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties. It is safe for your cat to ingest should she do so.

And, yeah, a onesie as well.

 

[profcat]

Maybe there is something in this link that Pumpkin will tolerate.
10 DIY Cat Onesie Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures) | Hepper

We tried the onesie idea and she somehow got a leg out and pulled it off. She's a contortionist, hell-bent on licking her stitches!

 

[lisahe]

We went through this with Edwina this summer after she had stomach surgery. She had to be in the cone for ten days, though we kept it on a few extra days because she was so interested in licking her incision. She learned to paw the cone off within a few days... The first time was during the night. I was sleeping (on a futon on the floor because no jumping allowed!) in a spare room and woke to the sound of her neatly landing the cone on the futon, right next to her. I also thought we were torturing her but the hospital said she'd used to the cone. And she did -- after four or five days. Once she could eat again, she learned how to eat pretty well off small, flat plates. She never stopped running into walls (or me, especially in the middle of the night) though. On the positive side, she learned how to lie in it, very comfortably, at the edge of the futon. I think it also really helped that I spent lots of time with her, sleeping in the room with her until she could come out for good about two weeks later, once her sister recognized her smell again. I was lucky to be able to work in there with her since I had a lot of reading to do at the time! My husband often went in to sit with her when I had to leave the room.

The trick to keeping the cone on her was to tie the tie just tightly enough that she couldn't just paw the cone right off. Of course I also didn't want to tie it too tight and only learned toward the end what worked best. I don't really have much advice to offer but I can definitely say that I understand what you're going through -- it's not easy at all. (Edwina and Pumpkin sound like they have a lot in common, starting with happy and squishy!)

Fingers crossed that it gets easier.