Cone of shame

[WholeMilkIsMinging]

Is it normal for a cat to go off his food while wearing the cone of shame?

DCat had stitches in his paw last week after getting attacked by another cat and has been wearing the cone since. He can eat and drink (I've seen him) but he's really not eating much at all . He has to keep it on till next Saturday when the stitches come out. I'm wondering how worried I should be?

I will be calling the vet today but, to be blunt, I don't trust him as he has a reputation for over egging anything to get money out of owners/their insurers (sadly the other vet near here, which has a better reputation, is not taking new patients).

Any thoughts? Thanks.

NB by next Saturday I mean the one coming..

One of the things I found with the CoS is that it makes it really quite difficult to get close to the food! My old boy took to using the cone as a scoop to flip the food up in the air and then would try to catch it in flight. It helped when I put an upside-down cup in the middle of his bowl and put the food on top so it was like a little mountain and he could get the cone over the top and still reach it. He also quite liked it when I gave him more food so he could just eat the little bit he could reach off the top, but that was quite wasteful so we switched to the cup trick. It was still messy but nowhere near as messy as the scoop-and-flick!

I think before the cup trick he was getting a push in the throat from the cone when he went for his food and didn't like that so it was putting him off.

Thank you! We have put an upside down saucer under his plate but maybe need to experiment with something a bit higher. You're right - it might be pushing into his neck.

Can you not remove the cone while he eats if you’re in the room with him to make it more comfortable.

We took the collar off each time she ate.
It was much easier for her.