Is my kitten’s spay incision healing okay? I’m so worried

[nimi]

Hi there!

I hope I can get some advice here. I’ve already tried Reddit with no luck. I’ve added a couple of photos of the incision, and another in her onesie because she’s cute.

My kitty is female, 26 weeks/6 months old, domestic medium hair, weighs 2kg (4.4lb), and it’s day 14 after her desexing. We’re located in Australia.

Day 10: The incision isn’t hot, though I’m not sure how hot it should be since her whole belly is very warm. It doesn’t smell, and there doesn’t seem to be any redness. I’m just concerned about the crusty yellowish stuff around it. I’ve been checking it everyday and there hasn’t been any wetness or leakage, so I’m not sure if this is just dried up stuff from the first day or scabbing? Or something to be worried about?
I’ve been putting onesies on her the whole time, as she kept getting out of the e-collar. The first night she managed to get the e-collar off and I woke up to her licking the wound, so I’ve been so worried that first night would of hindered the healing process. I’ve kept her mostly contained to a tent if she’s getting too active (I feel so bad) because she just wants to run and jump everywhere. She’s eating and using the litter normally, there’s nothing out of the ordinary there.

Day 14: Because it was 14 days today, I thought it was okay to take the onesie off her and let her have a little run around and some freedom. Now I’m freaking out about her incision cause it looks like it’s opened up. I thought I did everything right and now I’m so worried something has happened. Her behaviour hasn’t changed, it’s just the incision that’s freaking me out because isn’t it supposed to be a scar now? Not a wound?

I’ve put the onesie back on her, and put her back into her tent for now so she can’t keep running around.

Thanks for so much any help

 

[Antonio65]

Hi there, it looks fine to me. That little opening you see in th elower part of the photo is part of the healing process, in my opinion, because I had seen a similar thing in my cats too.
Though I would believe that two weeks later, the incision should be less visible, kind of blended with the rest of the skin on her belly.
I think that these onesies, that are good on one hand, can slow the healing down a bit because the incision can "breathe" less.

 

[nimi]

Hi there, it looks fine to me. That little opening you see in th elower part of the photo is part of the healing process, in my opinion, because I had seen a similar thing in my cats too.
Though I would believe that two weeks later, the incision should be less visible, kind of blended with the rest of the skin on her belly.
I think that these onesies, that are good on one hand, can slow the healing down a bit because the incision can "breathe" less.

Thanks for your reply!! You’ve really helped calmed my anxiety haha. And yes, I had a feeling the onesie would probably hinder it a bit with not enough air-flow. I tried the e-collar that she had on at the vets, and I also got her a soft one on the day. She was able to get out of both within about 30 seconds the onesie is the only thing she couldn’t wriggle out of. Do you think it’ll be okay to take it off? I’m just not sure if her licking it will make it any worse at this point.

 

[CindyH66]

Hi there ! I agree with Antonio65 .. it looks ok to me as well. 2 weeks postop is pretty far out. we took peanut home from the shelter the day after she was fixed. no special instructions except not to let her jump on anything . she was not wearing anything special . I think letting the air at it might help too. I know kitties body temp is normally a bit higher than us, feeling warm doesn't necessarily mean fever. I would also watch over all behavior with kitties. Eating ok ? using litter box ok ? hiding , acting strange ? if they seem pretty wise " a OK' in all other ways, chances are she is doing fine. If she is not wanting to eat , or starts going potty in odd places, than I would wonder if something is up.. she looks good !

 

[Antonio65]

Thanks for your reply!! You’ve really helped calmed my anxiety haha. And yes, I had a feeling the onesie would probably hinder it a bit with not enough air-flow. I tried the e-collar that she had on at the vets, and I also got her a soft one on the day. She was able to get out of both within about 30 seconds the onesie is the only thing she couldn’t wriggle out of. Do you think it’ll be okay to take it off? I’m just not sure if her licking it will make it any worse at this point.

I don't know your situation, but you could remove the onesie while you are home with her and can keep an eye on her or what she's doing. As soon as she tries to reach for her incision, you could distract her with a toy, with some cuddles, etc.
When you're away, or can't keep an eye on her, you should put the nesie on again.
This way, the incision is exposed to the air for longer.

Given the stage of the healing, I don't think that licking it too much could be a problem now.

 

[vince]

Doesn't look bad to me, although she seems to be healing slowly. The suggestions others have made seem good. That incision definitely needs some air to dry out.