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Original poster

Cat recovering and we are going on holiday

48 replies

peps2917 · 24/10/2025 23:21

Hi everyone

Hoping for some tips. We are off on our baby moon this Sunday and so excited for it. However, our fur baby has just had a nasty abscess drained at the vet today - he had to be sedated, get the abscess drained and he was given intravenous antibiotics. He was kept at the vet all day so it was quite a traumatic day for him. He’s now wearing the cone of shame poor thing as the abscess wound was left open (common for vets do this to let it heal). He is not an easy cat and he is aggressive with everyone but me and my husband and our families. He is a sweetheart with us but won’t let ANYONE apart from his close family (us) touch him (he has to be sedated at the vet to be examined).

We have a cat sitter coming to do 2 visits a day every day and my husband’s sister is going to work from here on Weds so he will be monitored and they’re going to give him his meds and keep him inside. We are back on Friday so he will be home alone overnight for 5 nights. My worry is that he HATES the cone and I’m worried he will get stuck or something somewhere while we are gone. He does tend to lick the wound a lot and I know he won’t let the cat sitter touch him so if she even attempts to put on the cone or take it off he will scratch her. By the time we go on Sunday he will have had the cone for 2 days.

Advice needed on: do we keep the cone on? Will he manage to remove it anyway and/or hurt himself in the process? We have stairs at home but apart from that there’s not many places where he could get hurt. He is going to take gabapentin (a calming med) and an anti inflammatory while we are gone so he might be more relaxed than usual, but as I say he’s very sassy and determined - he’s already jumping onto our counters with the cone on (!!!) so we have had to lock him out of the kitchen.

hope to get some tips / advice! Don’t want to be worrying the whole time while away on our baby moon! I’m already a very worried cat mum. Thanks :)

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 24/10/2025 23:35

I'm afraid that if either of my cats were in this situation I couldn't go on holiday. I'd simply worry too much.

My younger cat had an accident an hour before I was due to set off on a trip. I cancelled it. Seven hours later he'd managed to get the cone of shame off and had to go back to the vet, so that experience is influencing my thinking.

I hope your cat makes a good recovery.

utamea · 24/10/2025 23:37

Can you postpone the trip?

LittleBlueCat · 25/10/2025 07:28

You can't go away and leave a cone on, it would be highly dangerous.

The cat needs someone in the house with it, a sitter who can't touch him coming in twice a day is going to be no use.

I wouldn't go away under these circumstances, but my cats would never be left alone overnight anyway, too many things can go wrong.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 25/10/2025 07:38

I'm very sorry OP, but I don't think leaving a coned cat alone for extended periods is an option, and based on experience, cats do tend to 'over clean' wounds so I wouldn't take the cone off too early.

You could ask the vet to keep him in to monitor him - but it would cost you an arm and a leg (assuming they agreed). I'm afraid I'd cancel the holiday tbh.

susiedaisy1912 · 25/10/2025 07:55

No don’t leave your cat alone with a cone on and recovering from an infection that’s not fair.

ChipDaleRescueRangers · 25/10/2025 08:06

another one saying you need to cancel your holiday, you cant leave a cat alone with a cone on and on antibiotics.

labradorservant · 25/10/2025 08:08

Either stay or can you find a full time sitter or a kennels.

Daphnedot · 25/10/2025 08:12

I would never leave my cat if they are poorly. Mine is having a minor op next week and I booked 3 days leave after so im around. I could not enjoy myself.

EmpressaurusKitty · 25/10/2025 08:18

What if there’s a problem, he needs to go back to the vet & nobody can get him in a carrier?

I’m not sure what a baby moon is but I wouldn’t be leaving my cat alone in that situation for any longer than a half hour run to the supermarket. If that.

Edited after looking up baby moons. I’d have thought you’d want to do everything possible now to make sure this is all cleared up before you have a human baby to deal with into the bargain, even if it means missing out on your holiday.

Ylvamoon · 25/10/2025 08:20

In the first instance, don't go.

Second instance, ask your vet for advice.

We had a similar issue with one our dogs who had a nasty, complicated bite wound from a fight 3 days before a holiday. They were due to go kennels but that wasn't an option with ongoing wound/ vet care.
Our vet got us in touch with a specialist house sitting service that had some veterinary nurse students on their books. We got to meet this person, they went to the vet with us to get the full picture before deciding if they wanted to do this.

JazzyBBBG · 25/10/2025 08:21

Can he stay at the vets? That would be the logical
Solution I've done this before. He shouldn't have full run of the house though way too dangerous.

Original poster
peps2917 · 25/10/2025 08:23

Yes… we have looked into cancelling. I’ve contacted the hotel and it’s a very expensive fancy one that you can’t cancel with less than 72 hrs (you lose your money). After paying almost 1k at the vet and when we are 2.5 months away from having a baby this isn’t the best time to lose another 1k plus flights! It is a very unfortunate situation. We can’t postpone as I’m a teacher so I only have that week then in December I can’t travel as I will be about to pop!

We might look into one of us going on Sunday and the other one the day after and then at least he will have been monitored fully for 3 whole days. The vet did say it was fine to go when we asked ( I would like to think they would say otherwise) - we are thinking maybe confining him to a room while the sitter is not here to watch him - could help for safety reasons. We have a cat cam so can keep an eye on that and put him in the room where that is kept. He is jumping around already because the abscess was drained so he’s probably feeling much better than before but we need to obviously be careful.

I think we will need to assess and see how things go in the next day. The sitter says she feels comfortable removing the cone but maybe not putting it on again so we will get her to keep monitoring the wound and if she thinks it’s better then she can maybe remove it.

Hopefully the gabapentin will make him really drousy and he will let her do that.

OP posts:
jigglypuff7722 · 25/10/2025 08:28

I think the best thing would be for someone (a family member) to stay in your house if you can't cancel.
As a pet sitter myself I wouldn't take on this job, it's too much responsibility to only pop in twice a day and I'm not a vet nurse. Could you get a stay in house sitter? Or as others have suggested potentially vets boarding worse case

labradorservant · 25/10/2025 08:30

Insurance might cover this? Or did you have pet insurance to cover some costs. Welcome to the world of parenting! Sometimes the best laid plans don’t pan out, shrug your shoulders and carry on.

Sunshineandrainbow · 25/10/2025 08:32

What's a baby moon?

Would a cat medical body suit cover the area. They hate those cones.

Mumdiva99 · 25/10/2025 08:38

I'd have to postpone or cancel. Or one person go with a friend and the other stay home.
The weekend we got our cats that was what happened. We had a get away planned, then the cats came on the Friday - can't remember why they had to leave there home but they did. Husband and daughter stayed home to settle cats and I took the boys away. - now I would be the one staying home to make sure they are OK, as couldn't either of them poorly.

LittleBlueCat · 25/10/2025 08:56

I have to say I'm surprised that any vet would think it okay to leave a cat alone for 5 nights, let alone one that was post surgery. Perhaps they presumed the pet sitter was staying at the house, not just popping in twice daily.

Twelvetimes · 25/10/2025 09:03

I agree with every other reply on the thread, I would not leave a cat in this situation, particularly a cat with a temperament like you describe which makes them extremely hard to handle.

He could easily get the cone off in my experience, every single one of my cats has done so. He will be unmonitored for 90% of the time and could do a lot of damage to the wound by over-washing.

How is the sitter giving him his meds if he won’t allow her to handle him? If she is giving them hidden in food how will she be sure he’s had them?

If he goes downhill, how will she get him to a vet? Presumably it would be impossible for her to get him in a cat basket.

There are far too many things which can go wrong, I wouldn't leave him.

OffTheTable · 25/10/2025 09:34

Someone needs to be with the cat. I’m very surprised that a vet would say to leave a cat unsupervised for that long after an operation and with a cone on. Thats one very strange and irresponsible vet.

You need to find someone to stay with your cat and it needs to be someone that can handle him, monitor him, get his collar back on if necessary, get him in a carrier and to the vet if needed. If you can’t find anyone, you need to stay home. It’s a shame you will lose you money on the trip, but that money has gone either way and you need to ensure your cat is ok. Thats the priority.

Cheesytwists · 25/10/2025 09:45

Can any family stay at your house. Even if the cat doesn't like them they can check the cat and house are okay.
This could also be the time to reflect what will happen in 3 months time. It sounds like your cat is not going to like a baby arriving on the scene.

Daphnedot · 25/10/2025 10:07

Seriously I dont think you can go and leave tfe poor cat. I think you just need to take the hit and stay home and have a Kitty Moon instead.

VimFuego101 · 25/10/2025 10:15

I think he needs to be supervised full time in case the wound has any issues or the cone comes off/ he gets stuck somewhere. I wouldn’t leave a cat alone in this situation.

stayathomegardener · 25/10/2025 10:20

To be honest I would worry about a cat with such a difficult temperament around babies and toddlers so perhaps this holiday is the least of your worries.

EmpressaurusKitty · 25/10/2025 10:26

stayathomegardener · 25/10/2025 10:20

To be honest I would worry about a cat with such a difficult temperament around babies and toddlers so perhaps this holiday is the least of your worries.

I hadn’t thought of that. Poor cat, as if he doesn’t have enough problems.

Wexone · 25/10/2025 16:56

similar situation recently only with dog. he would have been looked after to the last but I couldn't leave him wouldn't enjoy the holiday nor leave that responsibility with anyone. he had to be carried out for poo breaks etc plus wear a cone. 1st thing would be buy a donut instead of cone. but we had to postpone. dog has cost 2.5k so far aswell as cost 1k to reschedule our flights and hotel. sorry I would try my very best to postpone. (plus aswell this is good practice for you as your child also get sick in the future just before holidays and may need to cancel too ) either look at postponing and sucking up extra cost or ask you vet about keeping the cat with them for the week and paying them. but me personally I couldn't enjoy my holiday if one of my dogs or cats was sick