female kitten won't keep head cone on!

vodkachick68

Hi

I have two 5 month old kittens called Alfie and Lola. I had them both neutered today which all went well. Trouble is Lola won't keep her head cone on. The vet says she has to wear it for 10 days to stop her from picking at her stitches. She just keeps removing it and absolutley hates having it on to the stage that it is causing her distress. I went back to the vet who lent me an inflatable ring to wear,but again she just keeps pulling it off. I'm at my wits end and i'm tempted just to leave her with it off.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated thanks

chez22

I would be inclined just to leave it off, especially if she is getting so upset. I have had lots of cats neutered and have never had to use elizabethan collars, generally the cats will clean the wound and then leave it alone. Just keep an eye on her at first and if she isn't bothering about the stitches she should be fine. It's a shame your vet didn't offer internal dissolvable stitches.

McKneff

When you say cone, do you mean an elizabethan collar.
If yes, then it is not on tight enough. It must be on so that you can just get your finger in between the cat and the collar.
If its on correctly the cat would not under any circumstances be able to get it off.

I really would persevere and try to get it back on. She'll be a lot more distressed if she scratches it, which she no doubt will and it gets
infected.
Its amzing how fast they do get used to them.
Go back to the vet if you cant get it on properly.

picklepick

My vet didnt give our girl cat a collar either, she touched her stitches once, realised it hurt and then left well alone.

Depending on how big your girl cat is, cutting the toe off a large sock and putting it around her waist would work but its not ideal as the wound needs air to heal.

bulchy

You could always slot her colllar throught the loops on the cone to fix it a little tighter.
Our little girl hated her cone, managed to remove it and chewed at her stitches until she had horrible gooey stuff coming out of the wound, honestly I have never seen anything like it, If i remember correctly it cost us £250 to have her sedated, wound repaired and antibiotics, and she ended up wearing the cone for 3 weeks:eek: The vets secured the cone with a stretchy bandage and no way could she remove it. One of the receptionists who rescued cats said that she had seen this a few times before, always girls, obsessed with getting at the stitches and removing them, and chewing at the wound, it was horrible.
Sue

Kimberley

Leave the collar off her when your at home and see what she does with the scar and if she leaves it alone then you know it's safe to keep it off. If she licks it then thats fine but if she pulls at the stitches then she needs the collar on. I know a lot of female cats that have never needed a cone on their head. It is unusual though because a lot of vets now use the internal stitches but I guess even with those a cat can open a wound.

Apricot

My cat hated the collar after being neutered so I took it off her. Within half an hour and with me sitting in the same room she managed to pull a load of stitches out and open up her wound. I had to take her back to the vet that night and have her restitched - not cheap! I remember a thread on here about a year ago where someone's cat had damaged themselves so much after being neutered that she had to be put down!

Better to be safe than sorry, as others have said tighten it up with her collar and she'll get used to it.

Mankysteve

Never need a cone on either of our female cats. Kimberly advice is the best.

tsstss7

My cat did the same when she was "done" - I ended up tying the elizabethan collar to her normal collar to keep it on. she finally got rid after about 4 days but by then the stiches had healed enough for it not to matter so much.

It was fun watching her trying to eat and drink with it on though - I ended up taking it off for her meals as she just couldn't manage it. lol.

MistysKisses

i havent read all replies so forgive me if its been suggested, but how about taking an old sock
cutting it down, make holes for her front legs and put it on her like a top. ive done this in the past

vodkachick68

Thankyou for all your replies. I eventually left the collar off her and kept an eye on what she was doing. She occasionally licks the area but so far fingers crossed she hasn't damaged the stitches. She seems really happy and is so much more affectionate. I keep checking the area incase it starts bleeding or weeping. So far so good. I know i am probably taking a risk but she was so distressed having to wear the collar.

Once again thankyou all for your help and advice :T