Post Surgery Care
Last updated
Last updated
Onesie's for use after desexing females can be made from socks, see link below
When your kitten/cat arrives home, you can offer them a small meal but don’t worry if they aren't interested. He/she may be feeling a little nauseous and wobbly on their feet after the anaesthetic.
Male cats recover from desexing surgery very quickly and are back to normal within a day or two. Some pets with wounds will attempt to constantly lick the area which can cause damage. To prevent your pet from irritating their wound or chewing through their sutures, you might need them to have an ‘Elizabethan collar’.
Females have had a more invasive procedure and need to be kept quiet for 10 days to allow their incision to heal. This isn’t easy at all, as they feel just fine and want to run around and play. If they are too active, their surgical site can swell and become painful. Skin sutures can be removed by your vet after 10 days. Some vets will do intradermal sutures which are all hidden on the inside of the skin, but some prefer to keep sutures on the outside. External stitches need to stay in place for the 10 days, and it is very important you don't let your pet remove them prematurely.
To stop your pet from biting out the sutures, it's important to keep an Elizabethan Collar (or 'cone of shame' as they are sometimes called) on them at all times. Your vet may provide one for you upon discharge, or you can purchase one for a small fee.
You can also consider an Onesie - this may need a reinforced gusset (as a kittie can chew through light material and access the wound site) or a gauze over the wound. It stops them from licking the incision while also allowing them to still groom everywhere else and use the litter box. Plus, it looks cute.
Using the collar or onesie will depend on your preference and the behaviour of your cat - it may be a good precaution to start the first few days with both, and then take the collar off depending on the kittie's behaviour and interest and access to the wound.
It can help to crate them, or you can delegate one cat-proofed room for a few days. This effectively isolates them from others who might play or harass them during their recovery. It also means you can limit the height of furniture (and of their jumps) by selecting rooms with low-lying furniture.
Elizabethan Collar (Cone of Shame)
Onesie
It may help to crate the kitten
You can also delegate a special room where your kitten is isolated and can't climb
