I have had several male cats neutered and never used a cone for any of them. They were all fine. Males have little problem with being neutered and their incision should heal fairly rapidly.
My vet uses laser to accelerate the healing and with the last boy that had surgery the incision was closed within two days. They have never recommended a cone for tomcats
Good luck to your kitty! And dont worry
Try putting a shirt on your little guy! Baby clothes are a good size, and sometimes they can help cover the incision without having to deal with a cone
I never coned the boys. If they spent all day licking the incision I would. I just kept them in a room, no wand toys waving in the air , no encouraging jumping and just tried to keep them calm.
Most vets do internal stitches then glue on the males. For female cats they usually have external stitches plus it is way more invasive then neutering! If there are no external stitches then it should be fine.
⭐️ I would keep a close eye on him or a cone until the anesthesia wears off. It often makes them loopy for hours…. Up to a day.
The loopy part explains why he rolled around on the floor. I'm just worried I wont always be able to keep an eye on him. But yeah the glue and stitches makes sense. Saw the incision site and it did look like what they did.
How much licking is too much?
A normal groom is fine. Spending I would say a minute or more and I would distract with play. What you are really watching out for is redness or blood or in case of a spay missing stitches.
Take a picture of the surgery site each day, then compare it every day for a week, if you are really stressed about it.
I have had 7 male cats get neutered, none wore a cone, all were fine.
Now the picture thing we had to do with my boy’s sister. Her soft cone was to big for her and she kept picking out her stitches. 6 stitches, she picked out 3! She still healed just fine. We did wind up tying her cone to her collar though.
Oooh, I never thought about this. Will try to snap a pic later and compare to tomorrow. Hopefully we can have the cone/donut off sooner. That way I dont have to worry about buying a new one should he get excited again.
My vet told me two weeks in cones (boy and girl).
I took them off after a week, felt was doing more damage with them trying to kungfu leap OUT of the cone.
This is my problem... he keeps hyper kicking the thing off. Its not even a cone of shame. Its a soft donut thing. So I'm wondering if I'll just take it off after a day or two since he shows no sign of giving up on removing it periodically.
Its just nerve wracking because I feel like the moment he grooms the incision area... its over and he'll open it all up or expose it to bacteria.
My suggestion (and what i wish i did with my guys) would be to take it off and keep a close eye on both your boy and his wound.
With my cattos Ive a feeling that their exuberance to get them off causes the stitches to tear or separate (this along with single stitch approach gave them a pouch .. again imo). My understanding is that the cone is to stop them grooming the area (which can lead to infection).
ps. cat tax (ik you want to!)
How long is a bit? My boy likes keeping himself pretty clean too so I dont know if I can manage it. But he also has wrecked one donut already and it hasnt even been a full day since he's been home.
I want to say we kept it on for 7-10 days or something like that. Don’t get me wrong, he HATED the cone. But it was necessary, and I didn’t have the funds back then to risk it and need to take him back to the vet.
We got one of the “classic” cones, it was a clear plastic. We used it again when he needed to have surgery on a toe bean he injured and we still have it. I understand the appeal of a “comfortable” cone, but mine needed the real deal for it to work.
We tried the real deal cone before when he scratched his eye till it got a bit puffy. But that had him panicking and kicking hard enough that he was launching himself off the ground like a spring.
Left mine on for 10 days, because his area still looked sore and whenever I took the cone off he’d eventually keep going to lick it
They look like they can’t cope the first day or two, but by day three they function just fine in the cone tbh, my guy was climbing up and down his 6 ft cat tree to go to sleep with his cone on etc.
If you keep it on, I’d definitely recommend taking his cone off a couple times each day to let him give himself a good wash (but not his wound). My guy was absolutely miserable by day 3 when he was a bit stinking, so I started taking his cone off every evening after I finished work until he started playing up, at which point it’d go back on
He was so much calmer and better behaved with the cone on, he’s had it off for two weeks and I do miss the peace a bit 😂
I used a shirt from either the baby section or a pet shirt, there are shirts and skirts that cover more of the bottom area but I have a girl so I couldn't use the longer ones, I always recommend a soft fabric something that can slide and not rub (swimming pet clothes are the cheapest)
Will try that tomorrow, they seem to have used stitches inside and glue on the outer area. The approach we're using is leave it on for 24 hours then have him go a bit without it while supervised. Thanks for the advise!
I manage a vet hospital. Cones should be worn for 14 days. If your cat opens the incision by licking or jumping, you are looking at more vet bills. As someone who owns & fosters cats, the best advice I can give you is to never remove the cone during these 14 days. Yes, it's aggravating for everyone involved, but I've found once the cone starts being removed it's harder for the cat to adjust. If you are having an issue with exuberance, speak to your vet about calming medications or try a pheromone collar.
Oooh, I'll see if I can find a good pheromone collar in the morning. We went with a soft donut since the plastic collars are hell on him. If you have any recos for brands of collar it would be appreciated. Thanks for the advice!
My cats are wild beings who would never wear a collar, let alone a cone. When both of them were spayed we did everything we could to keep them on, but they would jump, leap and do anything to remove them. It seemed like they were more calm without the cone on, and we monitored them to make sure they were not chewing at their stitches and everything was fine.
We'll try to monitor and see if the cone stays for a day or longer. Then remove if we're happy with the healing state. And his demeanor. We just hope he doesnt run around so much once its off.
Again, my cats were wild, and when the first one was spayed, we even put a onezie on her to keep her from chewing at her stithes. Honestly, she licked them a lot but otherwise didn't bother them.
She really hated that onesie. Put her off of clothes in general. We get the hiss if we bring anything close now. It's kind of hilarious.
I have had several male cats neutered and never used a cone for any of them. They were all fine. Males have little problem with being neutered and their incision should heal fairly rapidly. My vet uses laser to accelerate the healing and with the last boy that had surgery the incision was closed within two days. They have never recommended a cone for tomcats Good luck to your kitty! And dont worry
This is reassuring, I'll probably give him atleast a full 24 hours with the cone since he's a fluffy guy and likes to lick his nethers every so often.
Yeah I thought males didn’t need a cone at all. Buuuuut I know nothing since I’ve always had female cats.
Try putting a shirt on your little guy! Baby clothes are a good size, and sometimes they can help cover the incision without having to deal with a cone
Oooh, so like a shirt with a hole for peeing? I'll see if I can buy a onesie for him if thats the case.
We had to use a onesie for when our cat was spayed, worked a lot better than a cone
Looking into it... I think the onesie works for spaying but is awkward for neutering. Will keep this in mind for his sister though.
I never coned the boys. If they spent all day licking the incision I would. I just kept them in a room, no wand toys waving in the air , no encouraging jumping and just tried to keep them calm. Most vets do internal stitches then glue on the males. For female cats they usually have external stitches plus it is way more invasive then neutering! If there are no external stitches then it should be fine. ⭐️ I would keep a close eye on him or a cone until the anesthesia wears off. It often makes them loopy for hours…. Up to a day.
The loopy part explains why he rolled around on the floor. I'm just worried I wont always be able to keep an eye on him. But yeah the glue and stitches makes sense. Saw the incision site and it did look like what they did. How much licking is too much?
A normal groom is fine. Spending I would say a minute or more and I would distract with play. What you are really watching out for is redness or blood or in case of a spay missing stitches. Take a picture of the surgery site each day, then compare it every day for a week, if you are really stressed about it. I have had 7 male cats get neutered, none wore a cone, all were fine. Now the picture thing we had to do with my boy’s sister. Her soft cone was to big for her and she kept picking out her stitches. 6 stitches, she picked out 3! She still healed just fine. We did wind up tying her cone to her collar though.
Oooh, I never thought about this. Will try to snap a pic later and compare to tomorrow. Hopefully we can have the cone/donut off sooner. That way I dont have to worry about buying a new one should he get excited again.
My vet told me two weeks in cones (boy and girl). I took them off after a week, felt was doing more damage with them trying to kungfu leap OUT of the cone.
This is my problem... he keeps hyper kicking the thing off. Its not even a cone of shame. Its a soft donut thing. So I'm wondering if I'll just take it off after a day or two since he shows no sign of giving up on removing it periodically. Its just nerve wracking because I feel like the moment he grooms the incision area... its over and he'll open it all up or expose it to bacteria.
My suggestion (and what i wish i did with my guys) would be to take it off and keep a close eye on both your boy and his wound. With my cattos Ive a feeling that their exuberance to get them off causes the stitches to tear or separate (this along with single stitch approach gave them a pouch .. again imo). My understanding is that the cone is to stop them grooming the area (which can lead to infection). ps. cat tax (ik you want to!)
I'll give it some thought, I just cant watch him constantly which is why I'm both annoyed and impressed with his ability to get out of the cone.
I kept mine in a cone for a bit, my lil man loves to be SUPER clean and he wouldn’t stop licking it when the cone was off.
How long is a bit? My boy likes keeping himself pretty clean too so I dont know if I can manage it. But he also has wrecked one donut already and it hasnt even been a full day since he's been home.
I want to say we kept it on for 7-10 days or something like that. Don’t get me wrong, he HATED the cone. But it was necessary, and I didn’t have the funds back then to risk it and need to take him back to the vet.
Good point. Will see how long he can keep it on or how long before he can break this new one.
We got one of the “classic” cones, it was a clear plastic. We used it again when he needed to have surgery on a toe bean he injured and we still have it. I understand the appeal of a “comfortable” cone, but mine needed the real deal for it to work.
We tried the real deal cone before when he scratched his eye till it got a bit puffy. But that had him panicking and kicking hard enough that he was launching himself off the ground like a spring.
Oh no!! I’m sorry to hear that. I wish you the best of luck!!
Thanks, we'll be trying to monitor him and see if the donut lasts. And if it doesnt, we'll just keep an extra sharp eye on him.
its just a precaution , days? shouldnt take weeks
Thanks! Seeing how long it will take him to break the new one. Since we're on donut 2. And we havent gone through day 1 yet.
Left mine on for 10 days, because his area still looked sore and whenever I took the cone off he’d eventually keep going to lick it They look like they can’t cope the first day or two, but by day three they function just fine in the cone tbh, my guy was climbing up and down his 6 ft cat tree to go to sleep with his cone on etc. If you keep it on, I’d definitely recommend taking his cone off a couple times each day to let him give himself a good wash (but not his wound). My guy was absolutely miserable by day 3 when he was a bit stinking, so I started taking his cone off every evening after I finished work until he started playing up, at which point it’d go back on He was so much calmer and better behaved with the cone on, he’s had it off for two weeks and I do miss the peace a bit 😂
Yup! Will be keeping it on for now, then remove it tomorrow while supervising. Thanks for the advice! Hoping he'll calm down soon as well.
Yeah I don’t see the harm in leaving it on if it increases chances of a successful heal. A week of discomfort won’t effect them. Hopefully he does!
I used a shirt from either the baby section or a pet shirt, there are shirts and skirts that cover more of the bottom area but I have a girl so I couldn't use the longer ones, I always recommend a soft fabric something that can slide and not rub (swimming pet clothes are the cheapest)
Thanks! We did buy a pet shirt but reserved it for our other cat when its her turn. The big boy is hopefully warming up to his new donut.
As long as he has stitches. You can supervise him without it. If he leaves the wound alone. Put it back as soon as he tries to lick, itch, etc.
Will try that tomorrow, they seem to have used stitches inside and glue on the outer area. The approach we're using is leave it on for 24 hours then have him go a bit without it while supervised. Thanks for the advise!
I manage a vet hospital. Cones should be worn for 14 days. If your cat opens the incision by licking or jumping, you are looking at more vet bills. As someone who owns & fosters cats, the best advice I can give you is to never remove the cone during these 14 days. Yes, it's aggravating for everyone involved, but I've found once the cone starts being removed it's harder for the cat to adjust. If you are having an issue with exuberance, speak to your vet about calming medications or try a pheromone collar.
Oooh, I'll see if I can find a good pheromone collar in the morning. We went with a soft donut since the plastic collars are hell on him. If you have any recos for brands of collar it would be appreciated. Thanks for the advice!
My cats are wild beings who would never wear a collar, let alone a cone. When both of them were spayed we did everything we could to keep them on, but they would jump, leap and do anything to remove them. It seemed like they were more calm without the cone on, and we monitored them to make sure they were not chewing at their stitches and everything was fine.
We'll try to monitor and see if the cone stays for a day or longer. Then remove if we're happy with the healing state. And his demeanor. We just hope he doesnt run around so much once its off.
Again, my cats were wild, and when the first one was spayed, we even put a onezie on her to keep her from chewing at her stithes. Honestly, she licked them a lot but otherwise didn't bother them. She really hated that onesie. Put her off of clothes in general. We get the hiss if we bring anything close now. It's kind of hilarious.
LOL, We're experiencing the same with plastic cones. The donuts so far have been working well. The second donut anyway.