The cones are intended to keep them from grooming their incisions; cones will do nothing to prevent scratching. Anubis's incision is extremely small; there's no reason at all for him to have a cone. It's just there as a standard precaution, but that doesn't mean it's necessary.
In the case of Princess, when you look at her incision do you see stitches? If the stitches are all internal, there's no reason for her to have a cone either. If she does have visible stitches, it's more problematic. When a cat tries to groom an incision with stitches that the cat's tongue can feel, the cat will use her teeth on them to try to take them out, just as she would with a small tangle in her fur. You do not want that to happen. But the other side is, will Princess try to groom the incision if she's not wearing the cone? No one else can answer that question. You know her best. What you may want to do is take the cone off when you can supervise her and see what happens. If she's avoiding the incision, no problem. You can just leave the cone off. And if she tries to groom the incision, then you know that you can only take it off when you're there to protect her. Either way, though, she definitely should have a chance to get it off occasionally. Your instincts are good on this. Basically, except for worrying too much, your instincts for your fur babies are always correct. This isn't true of everyone; but it is true of you.
Now, there's something else you should be prepared for. I don't know whether you've ever had general anesthesia, but it's a real bear coming out of it. When my gall bladder was removed it was several days before my eyes would focus properly. Here I was in the hospital, with books that I wanted to read, and I got a headache every time I tried to do so! Some cats who have been through something traumatic, like a vet visit, will decide to give their humans a cold shoulder afterwards -- their way of saying "I know you decided to do this horrible thing to me, and I want you to know that I haven't forgiven you for it!" I've never known this to last longer than a few days, at worst. Generally just a couple of hours. When it comes right down to it, cats are very forgiving people, so if this happens, don't worry about it. She'll get over it very quickly.
Basically, they're home now, and the surgery went well. It's time to relax. They're okay, and once they heal from the surgery they'll be back to their old selves, just without hormones messing them up.
You had expressed worry earlier that this surgery would change Anubis's personality, making him less like the sweet boy you know. In point of fact, this surgery can not do that. That's what hormones do to tom cats, and you're protecting him from exactly the change that you feared.
When my husband was hospitalized three years ago and was in danger of dying, I did everything I had to. I kept in touch with him and with his nurses by phone, I went to the hospital whenever I could, I called the insurance company and informed them of what was going on, I emailed family and friends with daily updates, and I got very little sleep. But I managed. And then he came home, out of danger, and suddenly I was a nervous wreck. I even considered suicide! When we're in an emergency situation, or what we perceive to be an emergency, the adrenaline cuts in and keeps us focused and able to do what we have to, but when the emergency is over, suddenly we have time to feel everything that we suppressed in order to do what was necessary. I think you may be experiencing some of this. What you've been going through wasn't actually an emergency, but you perceived it as one, and you've been running on adrenaline for the last week or so. Be nice to yourself. Sit down with a good book, put on some pleasant music, watch a movie, whatever you do to relax, do it. You can do it in the same room with your fur babies if it will make you feel better, but take some "me" time.
.
Margret
In the case of Princess, when you look at her incision do you see stitches? If the stitches are all internal, there's no reason for her to have a cone either. If she does have visible stitches, it's more problematic. When a cat tries to groom an incision with stitches that the cat's tongue can feel, the cat will use her teeth on them to try to take them out, just as she would with a small tangle in her fur. You do not want that to happen. But the other side is, will Princess try to groom the incision if she's not wearing the cone? No one else can answer that question. You know her best. What you may want to do is take the cone off when you can supervise her and see what happens. If she's avoiding the incision, no problem. You can just leave the cone off. And if she tries to groom the incision, then you know that you can only take it off when you're there to protect her. Either way, though, she definitely should have a chance to get it off occasionally. Your instincts are good on this. Basically, except for worrying too much, your instincts for your fur babies are always correct. This isn't true of everyone; but it is true of you.
Now, there's something else you should be prepared for. I don't know whether you've ever had general anesthesia, but it's a real bear coming out of it. When my gall bladder was removed it was several days before my eyes would focus properly. Here I was in the hospital, with books that I wanted to read, and I got a headache every time I tried to do so! Some cats who have been through something traumatic, like a vet visit, will decide to give their humans a cold shoulder afterwards -- their way of saying "I know you decided to do this horrible thing to me, and I want you to know that I haven't forgiven you for it!" I've never known this to last longer than a few days, at worst. Generally just a couple of hours. When it comes right down to it, cats are very forgiving people, so if this happens, don't worry about it. She'll get over it very quickly.
Basically, they're home now, and the surgery went well. It's time to relax. They're okay, and once they heal from the surgery they'll be back to their old selves, just without hormones messing them up.
You had expressed worry earlier that this surgery would change Anubis's personality, making him less like the sweet boy you know. In point of fact, this surgery can not do that. That's what hormones do to tom cats, and you're protecting him from exactly the change that you feared.
When my husband was hospitalized three years ago and was in danger of dying, I did everything I had to. I kept in touch with him and with his nurses by phone, I went to the hospital whenever I could, I called the insurance company and informed them of what was going on, I emailed family and friends with daily updates, and I got very little sleep. But I managed. And then he came home, out of danger, and suddenly I was a nervous wreck. I even considered suicide! When we're in an emergency situation, or what we perceive to be an emergency, the adrenaline cuts in and keeps us focused and able to do what we have to, but when the emergency is over, suddenly we have time to feel everything that we suppressed in order to do what was necessary. I think you may be experiencing some of this. What you've been going through wasn't actually an emergency, but you perceived it as one, and you've been running on adrenaline for the last week or so. Be nice to yourself. Sit down with a good book, put on some pleasant music, watch a movie, whatever you do to relax, do it. You can do it in the same room with your fur babies if it will make you feel better, but take some "me" time.
.
Margret
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