Are cone collars definitely necessary?

[Ditsy79]

Hi,
Just wanted some advice really. My cat ended up having a (very expensive) trip to the vet yesterday due to an infected bite following a fight with her nemesis who lives across the street. Anyway, the vet advised she needs to wear a cone collar while the wound is healing, but she is really distressed by it. She must have been trying to get out of it all day today while we were at work, and has somehow managed to scrape loads of fur off her nose. I'm debating if we should remove the collar or not? What do people think? She had a similar op a couple of years ago, and no collar was advised.
Ps - pics of sad kitty in cone

My cat had a steroid jab which I think reduced itching and it was ok. We did have a disgusting time where it has scabbed over and nearly healed and he had licked it so spent the time walking round with a giant inside out scab hanging off him.....

I used a cat vest when cat had an op. Like a baby vest with a tail hole. I’d use a baby vest and cut a tail hole/bum hole so they can wee and poo.

Like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/CGLRybO-Professional-Recovery-Abdominal-Alternative/dp/B0BJJCWT9Y/ref=zg_bs_g_13154091031_sccl_2/259-6854626-8764639?psc=1

Our kitten wore a surgical suit after her neutering and looked like a superhero because it was red. It was much better than the cone. Did your vet not offer these?

Aww poor thing. I'd take it off her and see how she goes. If she's previously coped with this kind of op without a cone she'll probably be fine.

There are little vests you can get now that work for some cats, but ours just toppled over whenever we put her in it 😂

Those suits made our 3 forget how to use their legs. We ended up using a soft donut ring collar. For a couple of days, it was tolerated thrn they worked out how to get them off.

Depending on where the bite is, could you get a soft fabric version of the collar but have her wear it upside down, so the collar covers her shoulders? Still stops her bothering most wounds but doesn't restrict her vision or eating.

Thanks for all the advice. There's no way we'd be able to get her in a vest, she'd scratch us to bits (she is generally a lovely cat, but it's very much on her terms!). I think we'll try to persevere for another day at least, give it a bit more time to heal over. There aren't any stitches that I can see, I think they just burst the abscess. Before she went to the vets, she hadn't messed.with the abscess at all - we just took her as it had nearly got to the size of an egg 😮Poor little thing. And to top it all, the vet told her she was fat....

None of mine have tolerated them. So I had to take them off for their own safety. None have touched their wounds.

Tried a buster collar and a vest with Penelope, but she was too small for all of them.

Those suits made our 3 forget how to use their legs.

Yes, this is exactly what happened with my cat!

OP, I'd just take it off her and see how she goes.

A lot of vets don't give cones for neutering any more. Don't know why-maybe the stress is worse than the any damage they can do to themselves.

@PencilsInSpace same with Penelope! She slithered around rather than walking!

Ours just toppled over and lay there looking bemused. TBF she found it less distressing than The Cone 😂

Cone is so distressing for cats and dogs. They hear a constant noise in their ears, they can’t smell properly, cats whiskers don’t work or else they are being overstimulated. We took ours off and took our chances - it was fine. Our new vet doesn’t use cones at all.

Two years ago our poor cat had a nasty abscess that needed surgery to clean. He had to wear a cone. OMG he was doing backflips to try to get it off which obvs didn’t help the stitches he had. He did get used to it but he looked so sad because he couldn’t go out, had to use a litter tray (the indignity) and had to wear the Cone of Shame. Didn’t know about the post op suits or I would’ve bought him one x

Our cat had one after l an operation and he was so distressed by it so we took it off and watched him like a hawk but ordered this and it was so much better. I don't think he even knew it was on because it wasn't in his line of sight.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C585QHND/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just an update. We ended up taking the cone off this morning as the poor cat had been sick overnight and it was all over the cone 😱Anyway, she seems to be much happier without it on. She is doing a lot of grooming, but seems to be avoiding the actual wound. Fingers crossed she doesn't mess with it! Thanks for all the advice, it was much appreciated x

Fingers crossed OP. Ours were much happier nekkid and didn't bother their stitches at all.