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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Depressed cat with lampshade on...

18 replies

mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 09:01

My 8 1/2 year old tabby had to have an op to remove a lump from his shoulder yesterday.

The scar is huge (8 stitches), and as he can just about get to them we have had to put a collar on his head.

We had hoped to be able to take it on and off, to allow him to eat comfortably, but after the performance last evening and then today, I think we will just need to leave it on.

At the moment he is very quiet and struggling with it - he wont really eat, though when I sat with him this morning and encouraged him he managed a couple of mouthfuls, and he hasn't really had anything to drink either.

He is also not impressed that his litter tray has been moved indoors from the garage, and I am expecting accidents galore. He was so distressed last night when the collar went on that he wet himself.

The vet says we have to go back in 2 weeks to have the stitches out, and the collar has to stay on for at least a week, preferably the full 2 weeks.

Any ideas how to make the next 2 weeks easier on him?

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cozietoesie · 22/08/2012 09:46

I'd welcome ideas on this from others also. I've never found a collar to be any darned use on any of my cats - they've hated them so much that they would have gone into a sharp decline if I'd left them on. What I tended to do was just sit with them quietly/put the electric blanket on/etc and try to get them to sleep through the problem.

Wouldn't necessarily have worked for some things though.

mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 09:48

I know - he is so depressed today, but that could be the GA.

I really want to just take the damn thing off, but when we waited to see how he was without it last night he started licking at the stitches.

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cozietoesie · 22/08/2012 09:49

PS - if it's any help, I've always found that the first few hours are the worst with a wound. After that they seem to get used to it and ignore it.

cozietoesie · 22/08/2012 09:50

Difficult. You need him to eat and pee/poo and keep up his spirits in order to heal well. Could you ask the vet's further advice ?

mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 09:54

I think I am going to ring them this evening and see what they say.

Have put picture of offending scar on my profile!

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cozietoesie · 22/08/2012 10:02

Good idea. There are alternatives to an e collar - and in some instances, licking can actually be OK for a wound as long as the cat doesn't 'overlick' and disturb where the skin has been brought together.

If you do take it off (not saying you should) or if he gets bendy and works it off (has happened) be sure you're close to him all the time so that you can gently move his mouth from the stitches and say a firm No.

Best of luck.

mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 10:04

Thank you

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mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 14:25

Well it seems he will eat, as long as its nice ham and I hand feed him.

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SummerRain · 22/08/2012 14:29

Licking the stitches is no harm. I've always been told by vets that the cat should be allowed to clean the wound but just keep an eye on them and intervene if they start trying to pull the stitches out.

I think in you situation I'd definitely take the collar off and let him heal up in peace.

JollyBear · 22/08/2012 14:32

Have you trimmed it down? My old cat had a mammary strip, cut almost from chest to lower tummy and on advice from the vet we trimmed it down. She kept bumping into things and was very miserable.

We took it off when we sat together in the evenings and put it back on if we had to leave her.

Hope your cat feels better soon.

Cailleach · 22/08/2012 14:48

It might be the pain he's in that's causing him to withdraw, rather than the collar itself.

When my kitten was spayed, she hid under the bed for two days and ate and drank nothing until I crawled under the bed, can of tuna in hand, and finally tempted her to eat... The collar itself didn't bother her at all..

There are soft collars you can buy, rather than using hard plastic ones (see here: www.vetuk.co.uk/veterinary-supplies-pet-medicals-c-141_438/softe-smart-collar-an-alternative-to-elizabethan-collar-p-4111

Poor lad, hope he's feeling a bit brighter soon :(

mankyscotslass · 22/08/2012 15:14

Thanks you for all the ideas - I'm going to try a combination of trimming the collar, taking it off when we are here, and ordering the soft collar that was just linked to.

Hopefully that will all help.

He is our last cat as we lost our ginger tom in December, and we are all upset seeing him so distressed. We couldn't tell DS1 the cat was having his op this week, as DS1 is off at the Scout Jamboree in Essex, and we knew he would be worried sick and not enjoy it at all if he knew. I hope the cat perks up by the time he gets home.

Thanks again everyone

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Fluffycloudland77 · 22/08/2012 17:34

I often get flamed for this but when our cat has stitches I paint his fur, only the fur, with cotton wool bud soaked in some vile smelling essential oil, eg lavender. I used tea tree on sunday though and that was effective too.

You have to be careful you only lightly swab the area but it's so offensive to them they cant go near the area.

They catch on quick too. Our cat briefly messed with his eye on Sunday then decided against it after I swabbed him.

The vet's never asked why our cat smells like he wears yardly perfume.

mankyscotslass · 23/08/2012 09:10

An update!

Collar off for a few hours yesterday evening, and he did worry at the stitches so we were practically sat on top of him.

We trimmed about an inch off the collar too.

He hate with the collar off and drank loads, but we put the collar on him again when we went to bed.

Woke up to find he had protest pissed in his bed.

Have ordered the softer collar too so hopefully that will arrive shortly.

He seems brighter though still not happy and is hiding behind the laundry basket.

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cozietoesie · 23/08/2012 09:31

Brighter is good.

Personally, I'd try him occasionally with the collar off and see how he does - if you can get it on again without the sky falling. (Re-positioning it was always my problem because the cat knew what was coming.) The wound should stop hurting soon and all you'll have to put up with is possible itching when it's healing.

Did the vet give you any pain meds for him? Those should have a slight sedative effect if so.

mankyscotslass · 23/08/2012 09:33

No, no pain meds, he has the collar off now and I am following him around stopping him from licking!

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cozietoesie · 23/08/2012 09:39

Ah well. (Mean vet.)

Remember to try saying a firm NO to him if his mouth goes near the stitches. He'll get the message pretty quickly - and will then probably go to hide somewhere to do it 'without you knowing' (Huh) so you have to keep on your toes.

Good luck. It should be over fairly fast now - they heal remarkably quickly.

PS - he looks lovely by the way.

mankyscotslass · 23/08/2012 10:25

He is gorgeous, and is turning into a cat that loves a fuss after being a bit reserved for 8 years!

Things seem to be settling down - just need him to use the tray indoors, instead of the cat basket.

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