Cone of shame after Spay surgery

[littlelew]

Bub is home from her spay with the dreaded cone of shame. She is NOT happy about this at all.

Has anybody had any luck with the surgical suits? Thinking of trying one for her, but she is actively trying to get to her stitches so thinking it might not be enough to keep her out.
Maybe the soft cones instead??

Vet also advised not to let her jump or play too vigorously :wideyed: ... Ok, i'll try?!
Clearly she hasn't witnessed Bub's gold medal winning spring board off the couch routine. :joyful:

 

[Yoda mom]

Awh healing speedy recovery vibes to Bubs!
So,e members have used the soft comes with success

Often times members have mentioned working at vets offices and no cones of shame sent home after spay .
My Yoda girl I kept in my bedroom for a few days and she mostly slept and did not bother her sutures .
Yes , hard to hold bsck the kittle monkeys .

Hopeful others will vpchime in with their come of shame experienced and or suits.
For mine , the more I didn't intervime and hpjist watched amd went about their business they ignored the sutures .
Once when I messed with a cone it created more stress ams kitty actively trying to see what I was trying not to let them lick lol - so I acted mom chalant keeping a watchful eye and trying to limit jumping .

Your a great mum speedy recovery vibes Bub! Head smooches

Lol the world champion spring border will have to have a little R&R vacay

 

[littlelew]

Thanks Yoda Mum!
I have been reading fellow sphynx parent's posts regarding the cone. Maybe my vet has an old fashioned approach to spaying... she said she only sutures under the skin (dissolvable sutures, no need to have them removed) then uses glue for the top layer of the skin. I'm concerned Bub will lick the top layer open if I remove the cone, so I think alas it will need to stay on for a few more days at least.

As far as I can remember cats/ kittens do not require cones after spay/ neuter surgery in Australia. I thought these days they pretty much had it down to key hole surgery, but maybe I am mistaken.

Anyway, Bub is feeling much more herself, but still putting on a fabulous show regarding the cone. I think she's in a bit of pain though, so extra cuddles and some more pain killers before bed.

 

[Toa and Ross]

Glad to read Bub is much more herself!

My boy Toa had stitches a while ago due to biopsies and did wear a surgical suit. It worked really well for him. Although he hated the suit!
You could try to see if a suit keeps her from biting the stitches when you're at home.

Speedy recovery for Bub

 

[Zab]

The cone of shame did not work for any of my cats, the smallest one is to big or it chafes on the neck. I made my own, like a doughnut with padding, worked perfectly! Healing vibes are sent!

 

[littlelew]

@Toa and Ross - Look at Toa in his suit! Bub's suit arrives today, I hope I got the sizing right and it fits her. Still debating whether or not to put it on her as I'm sure she'll try to lick her wound, plus I'm worried she'll feel back to "normal" and attempt her spring board routines again, which the vet has strictly prohibited! She likes wearing her little vests so I'm hoping she won't mind the suit.

@Zab - Totally agree about the cone of shame not working. Bub's neck is too long and skinny, so she also have a makeshift "scarf" on to stop it falling down. She is miserable.

BUT one guilty pleasure about the C.O.S is Bub has become SO snuggly! She normally only just tolerates pats, but she has been a smooch-ball since the cone went on. I think she has just submitted to it haha!

 

[Yoda mom]

Awh Bub you cuddle bug
Positive vibes and head smooches

 

[shellybean]

I found this cone for Ori for after her spay. She didn't love it, but she got used to it rather quickly. I found it on amazon! She was able to still do all of her kitty things as well as burrow under blankets.

 

[Xandria]

Sending lots of healing vibes. Also, I use the doughnut rather than the cone when mine have surgeries. Although I really like the cone that @shellybean posted about. @Toa and Ross surgical suit is very well fitted, and I've never seen anything like that here. But that's an awesome option too.

How are things going, by the way?

 

[littlelew]

@shellybean Yes I looked at that cone as an option too! So much nicer than the awful ones provided by the vet.

@Xandria @Yoda mom
I wound up putting the suit on and removing the cone after two days. She was SO relieved! The straps around the back of her legs confused her, but it keeps her from being too active which is great. And she's still so snuggly!! She even sleeps through the night on the bed with us, where previously she's had to sleep in the ensuite because 2am = playtime!

We took it off her and let her stretch a couple of times, but she goes straight back to her old spring board routine and I caught her licking her stitches a couple of times.
One possible downside is it looks as though she's developed a rash, I think it's because she hasn't been able to clean herself properly. We've been wiping her down with a cloth which helps some what. Any way she's off to the vet for a check up on Monday so hopefully the rash doesn't get any worse before then.

 

[Yoda mom]

@littlelew Thank you for keeping us updated

Have you tried shown leaving the shirt off and seeing if she finally stops licking at the incision site ?
I would call your vet to,or row amd let them know about the rash and ask if she should be okay suit less ?
Head smooches semt and healing speedy recovery vibes

My girl sister have a come or suit amd omly paid minor attention look at her incision -
When she want to lick st it I would redirect with a toy to try to get her to not lick .

A little curiosity should be okay as long as not chromic prolonged licking .

I defintely would update your vet before the weekend for their advice

Hope to see some pics !

 

[littlelew]

Oh no. Poor thing has flared up over night. Unfortunately the vet is closed on weekends, but she asked me to send her pictures so she can take a look and advise if I should take her to another vet.

She hasn't been wearing her suit for the last 36 hours, so at least her skin has been breathing, and thankfully a little distraction keeps her from licking the incision. She seems to mostly ignore it now.
Gosh i'm beginning to get worried, hopefully the vet gets back to me soon.

 

[Xandria]

I am so sorry to hear about the rash. Definitely looks like an allergic reaction. Has anything else changed other than wearing her suit?

 

[TheZu]

When we out Missy in a suit she had a horrible reaction. Didn't look the same as that, but really was awful for her. Our vet had us put her in the cone of shame, and to help keep the area clean we would use a gauze in a saline solution and press it against the area with a suit for only an hour two-three times a day. That worked wonders to clear her skin! She hated the cone, but she got more used to it after a few days. If I was home and could supervise her, I took it off for a little bit until she started trying to lick. But the suit was awful for her...her skin is only just now in the past few weeks returned to normal.

Mind you, Missy also had a mild infection from one of her internal sutures popping in reverse, so we had to deal with whole mess on top of it. Hang in there!!!

As long as your baby is still eating and drinking normally, usually you don't need to worry about dropping everything and running to an emergency vet. These things can usually wait the weekend.

 

[Yoda mom]

@littlelew checkimg in for updates

 

[littlelew]

@TheZu Interesting that you had a similar experience! I have been feeling guilty for the last few days wondering whether putting the suit on her is what caused the reaction.
Her sutures seem to have healed really well, never felt hot to touch and she never lost her appetite or energy to play!

@Yoda mom Bub has a vet appointment in a couple of hours, but on the whole she seems great! Good news is that no more red bumps have appeared, and the existing ones are turning into scabs and healing. It's too early to say for sure that she's getting better (only been on antibiotics for two days now) but I think it is helping.

 

[Yoda mom]

@littlelew Please give head smooches to Bub amd let her know we are continuing healing vibes!
Keep us updated often!

 

[littlelew]

Vet appointment went well. Bub's spay incision is healing perfectly. The vet checked over Bub's rash and again confirmed diagnosis of staph infection. As staph appears similar to ringworm, I'll monitor the lesions to make sure they don't grow in size, as this could be an indicator that it's actually RW. Bub is scheduled for another check up in a weeks time, but if the spots worsen I'll take her back sooner.

Vet gave me a tube of Felovite (lickable multivitamin) and an ointment to help with the itchiness of the spots.
Unfortunately Bub looks worse now than in the above photos... But hopefully that's a sign that she's healing, as all the bumps need to scab over before they'll go away. Luckily I haven't noticed any new spots forming which I think is a good sign.

She honestly looks like she has chicken pox or something and it breaks my heart to see her looking this way, even though she remains in high spirits. I really hope we start to see more improvement soon.