Couple of cat questions, one post neutering and hygeine

Hi

I recently adopted my first cat in October (coming from a person that used to have guinea pigs, this is a leap) and I just got him neutered (his name is jules, that is what they shelter gave him so it stuck).

Anyways, he had his operation on Friday and had seuchers in and the vet told me he would have to wear a cone for 5-7 days. I'm beginning to feel bad for him since he can't really scratch of bathe himself right and has a bit of trouble eating as the cone is always getting in the way. Can I take the cone off him any earlier or should I keep it on for the full extent? I ask that because I have talked to some other people who had their cats neutered/spayed and they didn't have to wear a cone and one was even back outside the next day.

The other question I have is how often should I be giving him a bath?

Thanks in advance

Derrick

Hey there, I would say the cone can come off for periods of time as long as he is supervised...the point of it is so he can't lick the stitches - which will cause it to open and possibly become infected...so try it out but just watch him so he doesn't open it up.

As far as bathing him, I never bath my cat...not sure what others do. Mine doesn't go outside, and he does a good job as bathing himself.

We'd love to see pictures of your cat. :thumbs up :cloud9:

When my cat was neutered he didn't wear a cone at all and the vet never suggested one. I would say that as long as you keep an eye on him to make sure he's not licking, he should be able to go without the cone.

As for bathing, I'm with Fordgirl, I never bathe my cats, they're always cleaning themselves and each other. But if there are allergy issues you may want to bathe him once in a while to control the cat dander (which is created from their saliva, when they lick themselves the saliva dries on their fur and eventually ends up on your carpets, floors and furniture). Just make sure you use the proper shampoo (no human shampoo).

My cats also did not have to wear a cone after being neutered but then they also did not have stitches at all. If he has stitches the cone is important so that he doesn't rip them out. As for the bathing, I wouldn't give him a bath, when Fagan had to wear a cone for biting his fur, I just used the pet wipes you can get at pet stores and wiped him down every day. (It was much less traumatizing than a full bath.) As for the food and water the bowls need to be elevated a bit and on their own not attached to each other... that way the sides of the cone will go down around it and he can then got to the bowl. It's tricky but they do get the hang of it... cats are very smart and can learn to adapt pretty quickly when food is involved!

Hope he heals quickly and congrats on your new kitty! (p.s... we loooove pictures! ;) )

I too have never heard of a male having to wear a collar after being neutured. It's only a couple of small stitches.:shrug: I just had 2 of mine done a while ago and have 5 more going in March. The vet said just to not allow too much rough play for 3 days and to watch the jumping and after that they are good to go. Now a female I could maybe see as her incision would be larger. :shrug:
As far as bathing....unless they have rolled in something that makes them smell I leave the bathing up to them as well.

I've never had a cat wear a cone after spaying or neutering either and have never had any problems. As long as he isn't licking his stitches he should be fine. And, like 14+kitties said.... no rough play or jumping. I also never bathe my cats.

And, yes....we would love to see pics of Jules. :cat:

None of my cats, male or female have ever had to wear a cone after neutering or spaying. Just have to keep the activity level low for the first few days. I think any or all of them would have only freaked out with a cone on anyway.

Cindy

I've never bathed any of my cats either. I would have to wear full body armor if I tried to I think. :laughing:

Cindy

None of my cats or foster kittens have had to wear a cone after altering. I did have to put a cone on my cat after he got a huge cat bite on his chest. I ended up cutting some plastic so the cone was just small enough he couldn't lick his bite, as it was too long for him to eat/drink or see.

As for bathing, unless they get into something realy dirty, you don't have to bathe cats, they will keep themselves clean.