Partial tail removal question..
Hi to all.. Wondering if anyone has any advice? My cat had a partial tail removal almost 4 weeks ago due to an accident (he is 13 years old and is an indoor cat). we have been very good at keeping his cone on at all times, and are following the vet's directions to a T.. We had taken his cone off almost a week after the vet told us it was ok to, so it's not like we didn't listen to their instructions, we went longer. It looked like it was healing really well, so we took off his cone. The vet told us to take it off on a Monday/Tuesday(2 weeks following surgery), and we left it off until the following Sunday (3 weeks after surgery) to give him some extra time. Well, he just ripped out his last stitch on Monday of this week (it is Friday now) and he took the scab off the end too.. The vet confused me because he said the stitches were dissolvable, but after 3 weeks, they were still there and looked like they had no intention of going anywhere. So, after he ripped them out he bled a little at the end of it. I rinsed it with some sterilized warm water and it didn't bleed anymore than a tiny bit from ripping that out and then I reverted back to putting the cone on so he could not do anymore damage. Now, it looks really well healed, not 100%, but way better than it did before. But now he seems to want to lick it insessantly! I just wish he would understand that if he left it alone, then it would fully heal and he would not have to wear this horrible cone anymore.. How do I get him to stop licking it? Or am I being too paranoid since it has been 4 weeks since this surgery? Is it harmful for him to be licking it? Should I just take off the cone so he can go on with his life? Should this have been totally healed by now or is it taking too long? Thank you to anyone who has advice.. My animals have never had emergency surgery before, so I am not sure that I am not just being paranoid.. LOL I love my babies, what can I say?? ;-) It has been a long recovery for my poor boy and I just want him to get better, not worse.. Thank you all!
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