My 5-month-old kitten has just been spayed (she has an incision on each flank). She has a big dressing wrapped around her tummy, but she absolutely hates it. She had her operation at 9am, and by 7pm she'd already pulled out a bit of gauze that was sticking out and was frantically licking the bandage and trying to pull at the fibres.
Since she managed to pull one of the threads loose, the vet gave me a cone. That calmed her down for the first day, but today (she was operated on Tuesday morning, and it's now Thursday, so two days post-op), she's found a way to lick and pull at the bandage even with the cone on.
The vet told me she needs to keep the dressing on for 10 days. What do you think? I feel like it's counter-productive and she'd be much more relaxed if she didn't have the bandage on.
Have any of you had "difficult" cats when it comes to bandages? It's exhausting having to watch her 24/7 and seeing her so miserable.
Thanks a lot!
Translated from French
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Having the stitches taken out was included in the spaying, but I definitely feel like the whole thing could have gone a lot better!
In the end, she had 10 days with a dressing and a cone, then another 4 days with just the cone. I reckon we could have at least done without the dressing!
So the vet took the bandage and the stitches off today... but obviously, even with the cone on, she managed to lick herself and pull one of the stitches out! Now it’s all red, she’s pulled her fur out and made her skin sore, so the vet has put a bigger cone on her for another 4 days! This spaying business is an absolute nightmare!
Hi there! Phew, I’m so glad I didn't have to deal with that... my girl had an abdominal spay, just one stitch, no bandage, no cone... that was a month ago and you wouldn't even know it happened now! So, how is it looking under the bandage for your kitty? Are they dissolvable stitches or do they need to be taken out? The main thing is really just making sure she doesn't pull the stitches out by licking them... does she try to lick the area if you leave it uncovered for a bit?
I'll have to go and get the stitches removed in 10 days. You can only see them from one side and they look nice and neat; it’s not red or swollen, it looks very clean.
I can’t take the bandage off myself because it’s that self-adhesive wrap and I’m worried she’ll struggle and it’ll rip her fur out. She doesn’t exactly make it easy to handle her! So I haven’t left the stitches open to the air. She’s licking a lot at the moment and pulling at her fur, but I think it’s just because of the bandage. I’m not sure she’d actually go for the stitches themselves.
I think I’ll try and hold out until Monday and then ask the vet to take the bandage off for her then. Poor little thing, I feel so sorry for her.
My last girl had the exact same flank spay, but with just a single incision for both ovaries – the vet used a hook to reach the second one. Her scar was just like Courgette’s cat's, no bigger than that, and she didn't have a bandage either. She was tearing around like a mad thing that very same evening.
No, the stitches are on the inside; what you can see are the two ends of the thread knotted together to be removed after 10 days. Regards.
It was exactly the same for my girls with a visible knot!!
And the healing was honestly brilliant—it’s practically invisible!!
Hi there,
Regarding the slightly feral female cats I’ve had spayed: the first one had a dressing over her stitches, but she ripped it off in two hours flat—and pulled a stitch out with it. Because of that, the vet left the incisions uncovered for the others and there were no issues, especially with double incisions like yours.
For the last one, who wasn't feral: she also ripped her bandage off, so we left that open to the air too, but I had to keep a very close eye on her because she was a right handful.
Check with your vet, but sometimes a baby onesie is a good alternative; it’s less restrictive and usually bothers the cat less in the end.
No, the stitches are on the inside. What you can see are the two ends of the thread that have been knotted so they can be removed in 10 days' time.
Kind regards
