Cat Chat Feline Forum

Calm down, she will be just fine.

Did she have keyhole surgery, or a 2-3 inch scar on the flank or on her belly? With keyhole surgery there is obviously much less to worry about. With a full size cut, a cat's skin is very loose so pulling stitches from stretching it is very unlikely - not impossible but very unlikely. My aunt was a vet and she always used to say there is often no need to stitch a cat but owners don't like it if we don't.

The bigger worry is if she is licking the would or pulling at the stitches themselves with her teeth. That is something that does have to be stopped, so if she was trying to do that then the sock sweater is brilliant. Don't worry it might annoy her a little bit but it's for her own good and won't be damaging the stitches themselves. She might still be able to get out of it overnight mind you, cats are expert wrigglers!

If you speak to the vet they may be able to give you a very mild sedative for her. You might also be able to get a secure crate to stop her jumping and running around, most pet shops will have something usually sold as a dog travel crate or night crate. Cats can still climb the bars so watch the design but you should be able to get one immediately if you feel it's needed.

But all this anxiety from you is not helping her at all. Little love has just been through surgery which animals mostly take in their stride unlike us, she wants to go play now she's home, and you are panicking every time she does something she feels she can do perfectly well, then grab her and try to put some other awful thing on her (her point of view!) so that will make her much worse. When I say they take surgery in their stride - I have a 10 year old dog, we got him home from having a slice taken out of the bone in his leg and a metal plate put in, he slept for 12 hours straight then jumped up on the sofa the second I turned my back. He is supposed to be on 3 months rest, it's week 3 and he's going stir crazy trying to run any half chance he gets. On what is technically a broken leg.

As Mollycat says, animals don't know they are meant to feel lousy, plus your cat will have still been spaced out from the anaesthetic and the pain killers given during surgery. A little discomfort after a major op is not a bad thing to slow them down a little, but I admit to having spent the hours after mine come back from the vet either worrying that they are sleeping too much and are slow to recover, or worrying that flinging themselves around the room will do further damage! Buy or borrow a dog crate if you can, or cat proof a room as far as you can, accept that she is likely to ba a bit uncomfortable for a few days, provide lots of company, cuddles when she wants them, and special food f it makes both of you feel better, and phone your vet if you have any concerns. And breath. If you get panicky so will she; if you stay calm and matter of fact it will help her to relax.

I fostered cats for 14 years so had over a hundred cats neutered, and I can count the amount of issues post surgery on one hand, my first foster cat jumped 6 foot high straight after surgery - like you, I removed things, but she jumped on the wardrobe instead. I had a similar experience to Mollycat, Lucy had part of her hip joint removed, she was kept in one room to stop her jumping, but 5 days after surgery she figured out she could jump on the table top freezer that sits on the floor, then 4-5 weeks post surgery I turned my back for a second and she went under the bed (she has to flatten herself and drag herself to get under), I was distraught thinking that she'd damaged something, but she was perfectly fine. I know it's the equivalent of a hysterectomy in us, but feral cats get released 24-48 hours after surgery and cope. Please don't let this put you off neutering any future cats