Cat & vet collar

[SEL]

My poor tiny little fluffy cat (all of 2.75kg) got herself in a fight 2 weeks ago and despite 3 trips to the vets ended up in surgery today to sort out an abscess that blew up on her face. There is a very large hole because it ended up being a general anaesthetic and she's feeling very sorry for herself.

Obviously she's come home in a collar and is now crashing into everything and then going into reverse to escape it.

Dogs seem to accept collars pretty quickly - how long did it take for your cats to get used to one?

 

[fiwen30]

Oh poor wee soul. If it was any other part of her body, I’d suggest a surgery suit/baby onesie, but with it being the face you really do have to persevere with the cone.

Hopefully she’ll settle in a day or so, once she realises she can’t get it off(!).

 

[Archangel]

No experience of cone collars on cats but just wanted to say poor pusskin. Get well soon.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

There has been big differences between how long it has taken my various cats to get used to wearing cones through the years.
I don't remember exactly how long it took with the first few cats my family owned, but some time in the 90's, Aldis hid under a bed with her cone on after spaying for almost 3 days. We had to drag her out to eat, and drink some times per day, and as I remember it, we didn't actually see her use the litter box at all during those 3 days, maybe she did it when we slept. Maybe it was a coincidence, but my mum took off the cone, placed some fingers carefully, but directly over the spaying wound, and allowed Aldis to wash herself everywhere else, and after that, Aldis started to act more like her usual self.

After that, I began to put cones on the new cats/kittens I got after a few weeks/months of owning them, purely to make them used to it in case the day came when they had to wear one. I put it on starting with around 30 minutes, then I increases the time, until eventually letting them wear it for a few hours.
As I remember it, Berta who died 2020, walked more or less only backwards the whole time at least the two first times I put a cone on her. Don't know if it matters, but Berta wasn't the most clever of cats, however eventually even she realised that backing wouldn't get the cone off.

Cilla did the usual tried going backwards, started walking forward, bumped into something, started backing again... But overall, I think she relatively quickly got used to wearing a cone.

By coincidence, Fröjdis have worn a cone for the third time in her life today. She did some quick steps back when I put it on, then started walking forward in a bit lower to the ground than usual type of walk. After about 10 minutes she suddenly decided to try spinning backwards in a circle for awhile, but when that also didn't work, she continued in the new lower than usual walk, and tried doing her usual stuff. This time she even managed to jump up in the sofa with the cone on, and then she even fell asleep still wearing it. I took it off when she eventually woke up.

Anyhow, the thing I find most worrying is usually that they can have trouble drinking water out of their usual bowl with the cone on. Some manages it better than others, e.g. lifts the cone over the edge of the water bowl, dunks the bottom of the cone down into the water until they can reach the water, and start drinking.
Others, like Berta, just seems to mostly get the cone stuck against the water bowl in a way which prevents them from reaching the water. If that happens, you can always try water bowls of different heights, and/or widths, to see if something works better for your cat. Wet food might also be an option that could help a bit, otherwise you'll just have to take the cone off, and put them next to the water bowl x times per day.

I hope that your cat is one of those who soon gets used to the cone, and that the recovery goes smooth, and uneventful.

 

[Nasicus]

Is it a plastic cone or a cloud collar? I've found they accept the inflatable kong cloud collars better, and they seem to be far more comfortable. Decently durable too, mine recently lasted 10 days of wear by the spiky, scratchy devil cat before he somehow popped it. I've no doubt it would last just fine on a non-butthole cat

 

[SEL]

Is it a plastic cone or a cloud collar? I've found they accept the inflatable kong cloud collars better, and they seem to be far more comfortable. Decently durable too, mine recently lasted 10 days of wear by the spiky, scratchy devil cat before he somehow popped it. I've no doubt it would last just fine on a non-butthole cat

Its plastic and I've just had it off to give it a clean (wound is seeping) and its not very nice around her neck to be fair to her. I might have a look on amazon for an inflatable one and see what delivery time is.

Got a good look at the wound and its huge!

There has been big differences between how long it has taken my various cats to get used to wearing cones through the years.

I hope that your cat is one of those who soon gets used to the cone, and that the recovery goes smooth, and uneventful.

She's still refusing to move in it and running backwards from the thing so I'm not sure we're in for an easy 10 days! Thank you for your experiences though. I hadn't thought about water so I might try a few different containers. She's very cross that she can't wash herself so if I can get some form of temporary cover over the wound I might take the collar off under close supervision for a little while. She's not a fan of being groomed either.

No experience of cone collars on cats but just wanted to say poor pusskin. Get well soon.

Thank you. She's feeling very sorry for herself!

Oh poor wee soul. If it was any other part of her body, I’d suggest a surgery suit/baby onesie, but with it being the face you really do have to persevere with the cone.

Hopefully she’ll settle in a day or so, once she realises she can’t get it off(!).

I had a chuckle at the thought of a onesie - not sure she'd forgive me for that either! Its a huge hole just under her cheek so does need protecting but I have a very cross, sore cat and obviously its all my fault.

 

[Cortez]

Ah, poor kitty. Cats do seem to be very dramatic when it comes to collars, but needs must. I put our chap in a crate for the duration of his wound healing episode, so he wouldn't reverse around the whole house in his Cone of Shame. He just sat in there and sulked for a week, but everything healed up fine and he got over himself immediately when eventually released to the wild (sitting room).

 

[SEL]

Week in and she took the collar off closely followed by the large scab so the bonnet is back on firmly attached. She's not happy!

We did buy a velcro soft one but that was removed a bit too quickly. I'm really, really hoping when I check under her chin tomorrow it's looking a lot better and I can release her from her prison.

 

[rara007]

She doesn’t look impressed!

 

[ycbm]

Week in and she took the collar off closely followed by the large scab so the bonnet is back on firmly attached. She's not happy!

We did buy a velcro soft one but that was removed a bit too quickly. I'm really, really hoping when I check under her chin tomorrow it's looking a lot better and I can release her from her prison.

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What a pretty little thing she is, Sel. How is she doing?

 

[Pinkvboots]

That is one angry cat face bless her I hope she is better now.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Missed this poor girl ?. Glad she’s on the mend. My old tortie was very dramatic when she had to wear one and threw herself to the floor and lay motionless as if she were dying. She was always was a bit of a princess and acted accordingly ?

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Our kitten really struggled to eat/drink when he was castrated. I took it off in the end.

I hope she heals up soon.

 

[SEL]

What a pretty little thing she is, Sel. How is she doing?

That pretty face lulled the vets into a false sense of security - she has claws and isn't afraid to use them!

Annoyingly I came home to an abandoned collar and blood splatters. She'd got it off, scratched vigorously and made a mess. Obviously distraught she came to find me sounding very pitiful.

So I have a feeling we'll be vet visit number 5 next week ? it's a huge hole poor girl.