# cat pulling at stitches



## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

my cat was spayed earlier and now shes started tugging at her stitches... i dont have one of those collars for her and its midnight here... iv no idea what to do, i honestly thought she was going to pull one out... help... she was being such a good cat until now :? x


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Do you have a tube-top type of clothing you can put on her to pull over the stitches? Or a little shirt?


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

marie73 said:


> Do you have a tube-top type of clothing you can put on her to pull over the stitches? Or a little shirt?


good idea, im on phone to 24 hour vets, she pulled one hard and is bleeding i think =/ x


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

just checked, her stitch is still in, not as messy as i expected... wrapped her so she cant reach them.... im going to have to stay up all night watching her now :| xxx


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

atback


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

d*am*n. My kitty wore a collar for the first week. You mustn't let her tug at them. I read an unpleasant story of how that went for another cat at this forum.


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

not working, she pulled the top off and is pulling them again really hard xx


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Perhaps you could maKe a collar from a cardboard box and strong tape, like duct tape. I hope so.


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## icatguy (May 15, 2010)

Buy those little newborn baby thingies called "onesies", the ones with the snaps. If you do just a little bit of altering with a scissors to accomodate the tail, you can put one on and snap the snaps. I know I've got a picture around here somewhere; have to see if I can post it....


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

i really need my fiancee to get his bum out of bed and come and make a collar for her, as i need to keep my eyes on her 24/7 she just wont quit... stitches are all intact, i'll take her to the vets tomorrow and make them check them over just incase, and clean her up again... it's midnight here so i cant really go and buy anything .... i couldnt get through to that number for the emergency vets, do you think it's worth calling a different number that i know of? or wont they be able to do anything? x


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## icatguy (May 15, 2010)

here's those pics of onesies


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

oh bless thats adorable... all iv got is some nappies in the house from a freebie baby magazine lol.. shes asleep at the moment so i need to find something quick before she wakes up..

her stitches are still intact, no swelling or bleeding that i can see, and she'll have internal stitches too anyway.

trying to figure out what i can make her wear hmm. i don't have any baby gro's in the house x


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## Kattt (Dec 20, 2008)

The onesies idea - too cute.

I'm sorry your kitty is having such a rough time with her stitches. My cat had surgery to remove bladder stones a few weeks ago, so he had a huge incision on his belly, and he was messing with his stitches the first night home as well. I was scared to death he would rip them open. I just tried to keep his mind off of it, and get him settled enough to sleep. After the first night, he settled down and left them alone and healed up nicely. So I hope your kitty will do the same. Just try to stay close to her througout the night, and distract her anytime you see her start messing with them, and hopefully by tomorrow... she'll forget they're there like my cat did.

Glad to hear she hasn't caused any damage. Good luck.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Tube sock! How big is your kitty? If she is small-ish, cutting the foot off a tube-sock will allow you to pull the tube part over her middle. You will need to cut two holes for her hind legs to keep the sock down low over her belly. W/out the back-leg holes it will just 'roll' up her midriff if she sits or crouches, exposing the stitches to her.
Calling another vet, they probably won't do anything unless it is a true and serious emergency ... but ... if you are able to reach an E-vet they may have an e-collar you could go purchase and pick up before the pet stores and regular business hours open up.


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Well i've been keeping an eye on her all night so far it's 2:30am (oh the things we do for our cats lol) i'm sick anyway tonight so can't sleep as it is. She's sleeping now. I wish i could lol. 
The E-vet here wouldn't pick up anyway, not much good... so i'll pop to the pet shop tomorrow for a collar.


My kitty is too big for a tube sock  she's a year old, but it's a good idea  x


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Just popped in to check ... and _'oh shoot!'_ about her being too big for a sock-fix. I hope by tomorrow she decides to stop messing with it and I hope you feel better, too.
h =^..^=


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> Just popped in to check ... and _'oh shoot!'_ about her being too big for a sock-fix. I hope by tomorrow she decides to stop messing with it and I hope you feel better, too.
> h =^..^=


My fiancee woke up at 5am for work and had the best idea, we had some of my leg warmers that had just come out of the washing machine and dried.... so we put one of those on her  it's working a treat... the stitches are healing now.. nothings popped open.. her two stitches are still intact.. im no longer ill and i've had some sleep  picking up an e-collar in an hour though i doubt she will wear it well, i'll probably end up keeping the leg warmer on her as it's working well xxx


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Ha! Your fiancee is a GENIUS! 
...it is hours later, but I wanted to suggest looking for a 'fabric' e-collar, also called a soft e-collar. I've also seen some made out of a foam. The soft ones are more comfortable for the pet to wear and they also seem to tolerate it much better than the rigid ones.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

of course my internet went out from thunderstorms...anyways, you can fashion temporary e-collars out of a paper plate w/ string or heavy duty tape next time you are in a bind. Glad to hear the leg warmer thing helped though


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> Ha! Your fiancee is a GENIUS!
> ...it is hours later, but I wanted to suggest looking for a 'fabric' e-collar, also called a soft e-collar. I've also seen some made out of a foam. The soft ones are more comfortable for the pet to wear and they also seem to tolerate it much better than the rigid ones.


LOL there's no way she's keeping an e-collar on she hates them, or anything around her neck... so we've been told to stick with the leg warmer, its working well and she actually rather likes it  stitches are healing really well, no infection what so ever and it's already all closed up really nice and neat.

Finally Smokey is old enough for frontline too so had to sort that out today as well as Biscuits flea treatment..

Two very happy cats at the moment though cuddled up on the sofa asleep  i'm so relieved x


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Thought i'd let you all know, it's day 3 of stitches and she is back to being all bouncey and friendly  she's doing really well and her stitches have healed over already without any infection. She's eating well too, really well  so i've treated her to some new cat treats.

She's changed a lot since being spayed she's a lot more calm now and even more friendly than she was before. Stitches will be taken out on the 5th  x


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Im wondering how your kitty is doing. There is a country vet in our area which wraps the tummy after a spay! Its old school but works. The onsies is a great idea. Ive heard of putting pieces of clothing on dogs and cats if all else fails. Hope she is doing OK and youve gotten into your vet to have it checked.

Keep an eye on the area. If you see touches of blood initially then its OK but if you see more than that while healing Id contact your vet again. Keep an eye out for puss and swelling in the area too. 

Did your vet send you home with pain meds for her. It does help them the first few days. You may want to discuss and antibiotic as preventative since your little kitty is a challenge in leaving the area alone.


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

She's doing great now  stitches are healing really well.. and she's in no pain. She didn't need extra pain meds, here in the UK some vets don't send them home with meds as they dose them up on strong pain meds as they leave the vets.

No swelling or infection at all and no blood. She cannot get to her stitches now as the area is covered from her.

She's a very happy cat now, had both the cats sleeping next to me on the bed all night purring  x


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay for all-night-purring and snuggles!


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

So glad you're getthing through this well! I remember I was also worried about the same thing when I had Miu spayed. However, I was lucky. She didn't mess with them and if she so much as looked at them, I'd say 'No!' and she'd go off to do something else. But ya, a body sock is better than an e-collar anytime!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

True, true! I recant!


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> Yay for all-night-purring and snuggles!


:love2
lol until little smokey decided to lick my lips and wake me up with her fishy breath lol x


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Alpaca said:


> So glad you're getthing through this well! I remember I was also worried about the same thing when I had Miu spayed. However, I was lucky. She didn't mess with them and if she so much as looked at them, I'd say 'No!' and she'd go off to do something else. But ya, a body sock is better than an e-collar anytime!


Well i've never had cats of my own until now, i've had loads in the past when i was living with parents, so they always took care of the medical stuff... so it's all abit scary when they come back from the vets with stitches it's a bit hard to know what to do when they start doing something bad lol.

She's fine now, i checked her stitches today and they are nice and dry, no puss or swelling ... she loves her body sock lol, she has a pink and a red one  x


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

ilovemycatz said:


> :love2
> lol until little smokey decided to lick my lips and wake me up with her fishy breath lol x


 How sweet! You got kitty-kisses! ...but I definitely hear ya on the letting me sleep, bit! *laughs*


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## ilovemycatz (Jul 20, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> How sweet! You got kitty-kisses! ...but I definitely hear ya on the letting me sleep, bit! *laughs*


lol i woke up the second time with them either side of me with their paws over me like they were giving me cuddles haha  x


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