Cat pulling at stitches - HELP!!
Tiff Gorman
My cat has just had an operation to remove a growth, and therefore has
14 stitches across her back. Every few minutes she will lick the area
and try to pull at the thread. We shout at her or nudge her to stop,
but she won't. She is a very fussy cat and is not at all happy with
the fact that she has these offending stitches, and seems to want them
removed! How can I stop her from biting at them? I am afraid that
she will hurt herself. She does not seem to be in pain, because she
is acting completely normal. Any suggestions?? We did think of
putting a plaster/band aid on the area that she seems to pull at the
most, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to remove.
Tiff
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Judy Walker
ti...@tiffg.demon.co.uk (Tiff Gorman) wrote:
>My cat has just had an operation to remove a growth, and therefore has
>14 stitches across her back. Every few minutes she will lick the area
>and try to pull at the thread. We shout at her or nudge her to stop,
>but she won't. She is a very fussy cat and is not at all happy with
>the fact that she has these offending stitches, and seems to want them
>removed! How can I stop her from biting at them? I am afraid that
>she will hurt herself. She does not seem to be in pain, because she
>is acting completely normal. Any suggestions?? We did think of
>putting a plaster/band aid on the area that she seems to pull at the
>most, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to remove.
>Tiff
I regret to say it sounds like your cat really needs an Elizabethan
collar. A vet can provide this, or you can make one (look for a good
illustration in a cat health care book at the library). Basically,
it's a plastic funnel, small end around the cat' neck, wide end around
its ears. The cat simply can't reach any part of its body to lick or
bite. Your cat really needs this badly until your vet says it's safe
to remove the sutures. Right now they itch and irritate her, and her
incision probably hurts a little too. Her instincts will drive her to
rip out her sutures, and then her incision will open and she will be
in great danger of infection or hemorrhage. Sad to say, she will
absolutely hate the collar, and you will feel terribly sorry for her,
but it's for her own good. You will be able to remove it for short
periods of time while you are able to keep watching her (you will have
to watch her literally every second) to give her some relief. Try to
resist the temptation to call her "Funnel-head" - leave her some
dignity. Good luck and get a funnel on her quickly! - Judy Walker
John & Melinda Sheridan
Tiff Gorman wrote:
>
> My cat has just had an operation to remove a growth, and therefore has
> 14 stitches across her back. Every few minutes she will lick the area
> and try to pull at the thread. We shout at her or nudge her to stop,
> but she won't. She is a very fussy cat and is not at all happy with
> the fact that she has these offending stitches, and seems to want them
> removed! How can I stop her from biting at them? I am afraid that
> she will hurt herself. She does not seem to be in pain, because she
> is acting completely normal. Any suggestions?? We did think of
> putting a plaster/band aid on the area that she seems to pull at the
> most, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to remove.
>
> Tiff
> Tiff Gorman - Artist/Designer - ti...@tiffg.demon.co.uk
> http://www.maui.net/~babblero/tiffg.html
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> Nero Circus - (Heavy-Groove-Crunch!)
> c/o ti...@tiffg.demon.co.uk
> Review at http://www.dse.nl/inferno/issue7/nerorev.html
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
What about getting a plastic cone shaped collar from your vet. I
imagine he has them but was perhaps waiting to see how the cat reacted
before suggesting using one. -Melinda
sch...@terrabyte.net
Hi Tiff,
She needs an Elizabethan collar -- if you can't get one from
your vet or pet store, you can make one yourself. Take a large paper
plate, cut a hole in the center for your cat's neck, and make a straight
cut from the outside edge in toward the hole you cut. Now put it around
her neck and overlap the edges of the plate so that it forms a slight
cone shape upwards, and staple together. This will keep her from being
able to get her mouth near the stitches. She will hate it at first and
maybe try to back out of it, but that's the best way I know. I've had
to use them several times
I do hope that everything turns out okay for Woody -- I've read
your other messages. (BTW, Tiff was also the name of my very first cat;
he was absolutely wonderful and lived to a ripe old age.)
-- Susan
gerry oneill
hi tiff
i think we exchanged notes about the Hollywood prog...
but this is abiut your stichted up cat...
as suggested by the other person an "elizabethan collar" is best
We made our out of a cereal box.....possibly the only thing corn
flakes are goo for!
These are possibly best as they can be changed/thrown away and sre
free
also your cat can walk about with a stupid picture on its head!!
Our cat spent 3-4 days walking backwards with it on and bumped
around the room like a childs "robot" toy
gerry
ps hope the pussy gets better
KaTMandu
I also had the vet bind up the entire wound with a wrap bandage going
all around my cat and then she left it alone. Good luck. Kat
Denise H. Ratcliff
Try a "Victorian collar" They are easy to make. If you fon't know what
they are, ask a vet, they can describe it to you.
Denise
In article <4ne6sj$d...@news.snowcrest.net>, Lorenzo Love
<lll...@snowcrest.net> wrote:
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>
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>
> ti...@tiffg.demon.co.uk (Tiff Gorman) wrote:
> >My cat has just had an operation to remove a growth, and therefore has
> >14 stitches across her back. Every few minutes she will lick the area
> >and try to pull at the thread. We shout at her or nudge her to stop,
> >but she won't. She is a very fussy cat and is not at all happy with
> >the fact that she has these offending stitches, and seems to want them
> >removed! How can I stop her from biting at them? I am afraid that
> >she will hurt herself. She does not seem to be in pain, because she
> >is acting completely normal. Any suggestions?? We did think of
> >putting a plaster/band aid on the area that she seems to pull at the
> >most, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to remove.
> >
> >Tiff
>
> Get an anti-lick ointment called Variton from your vet. This stuff is
> VERY bitter tasting, so bad that your cat will foam at the mouth if she
> licks it. I've used this on both my cats when they were spayed and they
> only licked once. Sometimes they would start to lick their stitches but
> as soon they got their nose near the Variton they were reminded by the
> smell of what happened the first time.
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------30099261002078
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> Lorenzo Love
> lll...@snowcrest.net
>
> "Is not the sky a father and the earth a mother, and are not all living
> things with with feet or wings or roots their children?"
> Black Elk
> Oglala Sioux holy man
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------30099261002078--
Martha Swartz
Close, but not the right queen, it's called an Elizabethan collar. You
can buy a plastic one from the vet or make one out of cardboard, kind of
a cone shape with the tip cut off, and the smaller end has to be big
enough to fit around kitty's neck and overlap so you can tape it. They
hate it, but it does the trick.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Top end protrudes out past kitty's chin.
x x
x xTape
x x
x x
x xTape
x x
x x
xxxxxxxxxxxxx Bottom end gets wrapped around kitty's neck) not
too tight)
P.S. You have to take it off for kitty to eat and drink! That's why the
plastic ones are easier, although they cost around $6.
Hunter
Martha Swartz <masw...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Further recommendation, from my vet after Sheba managed to take off
her collar and pull out her stitches. Since some cats have an
incredible ability at making their heads go small and taking the
collar off, have the tape long enough so that you can pass it round
behind the front legs, and then back up like a harness. as well as
round the neck. This means that you can be sure the cat won't slip the
collar, but still don't have to tie it too tight.
Also, all of ours managed to eat and drink OK with the collar on, but
Sheba wouldn't use the litter tray and got a bit constipated. It's
definitely best to remove the collar for a while several times a day,
while you are supervising the cat, so that the cat can groom or
scratch at any annoying itches, apart from where the wound is.
Beth
Patricia Struller
I had the same situation a number of years ago, but I was at work
when my kitty removed the offending stitches. Fortunately, she did
not get an infection and I was able to rush her to the vet and have
her stitched back up. They did something else, which I cannot
remember- it may have been staples?
The replies that recommend the Elizabethan collar are dead on
target. Please do it before your cat does harm to herself.
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E-Mail: pstr...@gnn.com
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Trina Talma
Both of my parents' female cats pulled their stitches out when they were
spayed, but somehow managed to wait until they were pretty much healed
anyway. It saved another trip to the vet! Not that I'm suggesting you
encourage your cats to pull their stitches out, but Micki and Berta both
seemed to know when they were ready to have theirs out.