Abscess Surgery & E-collar

My Macy had a big, deep abscess lanced today - they had to gas her, intubate her (not sure why they had to do this rather than just the gas mask), clean the wound, install a gauze drain, and stitch it up. She has to wear an e-collar so she doesn't pull out the drain or stitches. She can't eat or drink with the collar - I was thinking I could go to work tomorrow, but I'm worried about leaving her alone. Any suggestions or experience?

 

Try dian and wheezer. She has had a homemade soft ecollar on Twinkie often, and I believe he eats and drinks with it on. dian has pictures, but I can't find them.

 

Hi Heather

Intubation is better -- oxygen and anesthesia were delivered to her lungs rather than blown in her face and hoping she'd inhale deeply.

There are soft e-collars -- you can call around pet stores to see if they have one. In the meantime, as long as the bowl is smaller than the width of the collar, she can get her face down to it. You can try to raise it slightly, but she will push down and get the food or water if she really wants it. I'd sit with her in the morning and evening with the collar off while you offer food, and then keep it on during the day. If she has decent meals with you morning and night she should be fine. I'd be more worried about her pulling off the collar during the day while you're not there -- cats are very agile, as you know. Where is the abscess? You'll probably want to confine her to one room anyway since the drain (I assume) is open and she will just drip on the floor. Also she doesn't need any of the other cats to 'help' her by worrying the drain or cleaning the site. For whatever reason, cats do this much less often than dogs do but it's still possible.

 

Thanks Venita & Jess.

Jess, the wounds are just under her rib cage, on her belly.

I did stay home with her yesterday and she's doing much, much better. I went out and found an inflatable e-collar. However, she got herself tangled up and then threw a terrible fit when I tried to put it back on. So, I left her w/o a collar last night and she was very good....didn't pull out anything.