r/PirateKitties • u/concretegal518 • 8d ago

New pirate

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New member of the pirate community today.

Any tips for the smoothest recovery?

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u/GothicEmperor 8d ago edited 8d ago

Hardest things for me were the initial post-surgery recovery period where my cat was completely stoned out of her mind, and about 7 days in when she started to make it her sole goal in life to get the cone off. Be sure that she keeps it on for at least ten days. I managed twelve which was still two days short of ideal (she got her stitches removed after two weeks) but it was enough for the wound to heal properly.

The first few days I tried to help her a bit with eating properly but she figured out how to eat with the cone on quite fast. I used feeding bowls with a rim that she could put the cone over from the top; giving her a flat surface was a mistake as all the food just got scooped up and stuck in the folds of the cone. Cats are pretty crafty, don’t underestimate them!

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u/concretegal518 8d ago

He's definitely out of it because of the medications they sent him home with. He was struggling to get food or water but I moved those into a shallower bowl, he seems to be able to get it at now but he's not eating a ton. Maybe because of the meds or he's just so dang tired.

The cone seemed to be his worst enemy last night. Seems to be a little more used to it now but it must knock off his senses, he's tending to run into stuff. Poor guy.

I appreciate the comment and the advice! Thank you.

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u/GothicEmperor 8d ago edited 8d ago

Yeah took my cat over 24 hours to really recover and give eating a try, probably a day longer to get her appetite back completely. Also had to tie the cone down with a bit of string around her neck; not too tight of course but tight enough it wouldn’t fit if pulled over her her head, like a collar.

The disorientation is really something. My cat tried to climb up things and kept falling over backwards, I ended up barricading the stairs and stayed up all night to keep her from hurting herself. Should be okay in a couple of days. The bumping into stuff is partially because of the meds and the cone (no whiskers to help!) but also comes with the removal of the eye, they do need a bit longer to learn how to navigate properly with half their eyesight. My cat’s quite old and was always clumsy so I don’t expect that much from her, but two months later she’s already climbing up the stairs and into her scratching pole like she used to.

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u/concretegal518 8d ago

Hes taken a few bites of food now. I found a dish that he can get into easy with the cone which is good. He left the vet with some gauze securing the cone to him a bit more so that is good as well. Hopefully he doesn't start to try to get it off soon, hes been good so far with it other than him being a little wobbly. I have him shut in my bedroom as of now, everything but his litter box was in here anyways so I figured I'd just throw the litter box in here until he's ready to explore again. I'm glad your cat is recovering well! That's super good to hear, did anything change personality wise or is she pretty similar to how she was before?

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u/GothicEmperor 8d ago edited 8d ago

Good to hear your cat’s doing well! Yeah, restricting him a bit’s good. Give him some time to figure things out safely.

One behavioral difference is that she has mostly stopped playing (ie. messing around with toys) as far as I can see but she was already barely doing that due to her advanced age (18 and a half years old) so I wouldn’t blame that directly on the surgery. Everything else she just does like she always used to do, no change in behavior or her attitude towards me.

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u/concretegal518 8d ago

Wow, that's just amazing how well they bounce back. I'm very happy for you and your girl!