# Argh my cats pulling her stitches



## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Hi All, 

So as some of you know Molly had a C-section on Friday. She's been an absolute angel with her stitches and not bothered with them at all. Then tonight I just caught her picking at them and she's pulled two out!!  Now as far as I can see there is no open wound the skin has sealed together, so no need to call out of hours vet. But it's only been 3days since her op, what happens if she manages to pull more out, and it does become a problem? - is there a way I can stop her from doing this? 
She can't wear a cone because she's nursing her little one. 

She has a follow up appointment at the vets tomorrow so I can raise this issue with them then, but i'm just concerned for tonight if she continues...

I've added a photo for reference, (also as you can see little one is really chunking up well )


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

No idea how many stitches this would entail, but our Bijou had three from a spay about this time last year. She was perfect, but after two or three days, Bubu decided to take them out for her. We were at home and never spotted a thing, but over a period of a couple of hours, they were all gone. I rang the out of hours vet who wanted her in, sedated and sewn up again, but I was worried about the added risk. The wound was fine. I also refused the collar because ours is a very old house - a friend once described it as a hobbit home. Too many nooks and crannies where she could get stuck and scare herself, causing real problems. I took a few days off work to watch her and everything was fine. Our normal vet saw her for the normal check up and agreed we did the right thing.

There are bound to be stitches further down, but be warned, I have heard of cats not stopping at the top layer and just unpicking themselves. It's really a case of keeping a close eye on them and making the right decision at the time 

Amended to say I've just noticed the photo. I can't view them easily at home, so tend not to notice. I'm not sure about the added tension with a mid-line rather than on the flank, but it looks as though she will be OK until her appointment tomorrow. I think if she were mine I would get up in the middle of the night, just to be sure...


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Little Zooey said:


> No idea how many stitches this would entail, but our Bijou had three from a spay about this time last year. She was perfect, but after two or three days, Bubu decided to take them out for her. We were at home and never spotted a thing, but over a period of a couple of hours, they were all gone. I rang the out of hours vet who wanted her in, sedated and sewn up again, but I was worried about the added risk. The wound was fine. I also refused the collar because ours is a very old house - a friend once described it as a hobbit home. Too many nooks and crannies where she could get stuck and scare herself, causing real problems. I took a few days off work to watch her and everything was fine. Our normal vet saw her for the normal check up and agreed we did the right thing.
> 
> There are bound to be stitches further down, but be warned, I have heard of cats not stopping at the top layer and just unpicking themselves. It's really a case of keeping a close eye on them and making the right decision at the time
> 
> Amended to say I've just noticed the photo. I can't view them easily at home, so tend not to notice. I'm not sure about the added tension with a mid-line rather than on the flank, but it looks as though she will be OK until her appointment tomorrow. I think if she were mine I would get up in the middle of the night, just to be sure...


Thank you for your reply - I didn't realise there were stitches further down as well as the surface ones (if thats what you meant by further down) so thats a bit more reassuring thank you.

Yeah like you I really wouldn't want her going under again, if she didn't need it, not just for those risks, but for the time and stress away from her little one.

i'm up in the night checking on molly and baby so i'll just make sure I get up more often tonight. Thank you again x


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Can you put a baby vest on Molly but cut out the holes where the teats are?


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

catcoonz said:


> Can you put a baby vest on Molly but cut out the holes where the teats are?


Thats a great idea, thank you! If the problem persists tonight i'll run out and get one from the 24hour supermarket. - only thing is would it affect how she nurses the baby in terms of keeping it warm if her fur is covered?


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Forgot to say, tomorrow the vet can easily clean and glue the wound without sedating, some vets will staple but I don't like that way.

There are, as already mentioned, inner stitches so as long as Molly doesn't pull them all out she looks ok.

My girl pulled her stitches out, decided to leave them and she did heal fine but was left with a ridge instead of a smooth wound once healed.

Kitten looks gorgeous xx


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

It shouldn't prevent kitten from staying warm as Molly will still generate her heat.

Hopefully others will answer this question for you, but I didn't have any problems.


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Thank you both so much for all your help. The rest of the stitches remained intact last night. 

However just got back from the vets and he insisted on a cone, said that her stitches mustn't come out for another week so she must not pull on them. I expressed concern over being able to nurse and he just said kitten will still be able to feed, just take it off now and again to lick. But right now she's walking around the room stressing trying to take the thing off - she has to manoeuvre herself very cleverly if she wants to squeeze get in the kitten box. - which she tried, and decided it was too much effort. i'm so worried this is going to take her backwards, she's already spending less time with kitten when shes not nursing as it is. 

I'm going to get a baby vest like you mentioned catacoonz, see how that works. 

I just feel so anxious and seem to be getting a new worry each day ahhhhh, *and breathe*...

on the positive side, the vet was very impressed with baby's progress, said it looks very healthy. He reckons a boy too, but can't confirm yet x


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Sorry I am going to go completely against the vets advise here, Molly is clearly stressed and how she is supposed to toilet the kitten with a buster collar, to be honest I think this is a disaster waiting to happen.

If this was my own cat and her kitten I would remove the collar, try the vest and see how you go, the last thing you need is for Molly to walk from this kitten.


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

I must say I agree with CC here. I felt awful not taking Bijou in when the out of hours vet insisted, but we didn't have an emergency at the time and I stayed at home to keep an eye on things. Your case is very much the same - you don't want further sedation and you certainly don't want a stressed Mum. I've seen many Romanian cats wearing T shirts following a spay. I think it's the best thing to try


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

catcoonz said:


> Sorry I am going to go completely against the vets advise here, Molly is clearly stressed and how she is supposed to toilet the kitten with a buster collar, to be honest I think this is a disaster waiting to happen.
> 
> If this was my own cat and her kitten I would remove the collar, try the vest and see how you go, the last thing you need is for Molly to walk from this kitten.


I completely agree, I took the collar off about 15mins after my last post, - Molly just couldn't hack it - neither could I. I'm just going to have to keep an even closer eye.

She's spending less time the kitten in between nursing as it is, the last thing I wanted was to restrict her even more!!

Do you have any tips on keeping Molly entertained in the nursery? - she seems 'bored'. When she's with baby she is really really good with it, but when she leaves she just wanders the room meowing, tipping over her food, kicking the litter, and sometimes doesn't go back for a very long time, that me or my OH entice her over to the box - like I said when she's there she's great! I've brought her big scratching post in, but she hasn't bothered with that.

I mentioned the 'boredom' to the vets but he just said that can happen when the 'novelty' wears off, just make sure kitten is warm. But no advice to aid this problem.


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

I haven't used it in a long time, but has anyone suggested Feliway?


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

I have found queens with singletons do get bored very quickly.

What I do is I have the nesting box in my bedroom, queen feeds kitten when hungry but then she does want to have a walk around from the box, I normally sit on my bed playing with mum and giving her cuddles, then when I say go see baby, she rushes to the box, checks all is fine then comes back on my bed.

The main thing is to keep the room warm, kittens this young cant keep warm on their own so a small teddy to cuddle for the kitten is the best thing ive found.

As long as Molly does go back to her kitten when he/she is hungry that's the main thing, kitten looks good from the photo's.


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Little Zooey said:


> I haven't used it in a long time, but has anyone suggested Feliway?


No I didn't think of that, I actually have something similar called 'pet remedy' so i'll plus that in and see how it goes, thank you.



catcoonz said:


> I have found queens with singletons do get bored very quickly.
> 
> What I do is I have the nesting box in my bedroom, queen feeds kitten when hungry but then she does want to have a walk around from the box, I normally sit on my bed playing with mum and giving her cuddles, then when I say go see baby, she rushes to the box, checks all is fine then comes back on my bed.
> 
> ...


Ah yes, thank you - the box is in our room too, so I try to keep her company as much as I can. And i've kept the heating on in the room since kitten was born, with a microwave pad under the vet bed, so I think temp is OK, yet I still worry as soon as Molly leaves.

I know this might sound silly but will kitten cry if it gets too cold? - it always seems pretty content and sleeping when Molly leaves and doesn't really squeak, unless being 'toileted' or hungry, but I didn't know if this was the same for temperature too?

I'm going to go and treat Molly to a new toy to then play with Molly on bed with like you suggested, and also get the kitten a little toy to cuddle to, I've only got bigger ones and that didn't work - so see how a smaller one works. I'm just hope I can keep Molly stimulated and not bored, She's missing her sister since they've had to separated for the time being. She's a nosey one and she cant even look out of the window as the window in the bedroom are big french windows which let in a horrible draft, so i've had to keep curtains drawn and seal the curtains to the bottom.

Thank you both so much for your help. It seems everyday brings a new question for me, I make myself sound so unprepared, but it's the rocky start has just made me very anxious and doubt myself!


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

CC will be WAY better answering than me. I did raise a litter of orphan kittens many years ago, but that was in the summer and they could cuddle up together for warmth. I guess your little one would need a source of warmth, but be able to move away if he wishes. I don't know if the microwaveable heaters would be any good. You would have to wrap it securely so there is no danger of burns. We used one with an elderly adrenal (bald) ferret and it was ideal. Cover has velcro, but don't trust the join. Wrap it in something else as well and tuck the open end underneath


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

LZ, you are doing a brilliant job of answering, I don't know all the answers xx

I do use microwave pads and I wrap in a pillowcase.

Maybe Molly just needs to know her sister is still there, the kitten will make a noise for everything it needs, cant harm to let Molly have a 5 minute play in another room with her sister as long as you make sure she goes back to the kitten.

My queen has 3 babies which are 8 days old now, these are in my bedroom but mum does like to come downstairs and see the other cats, she does always go back upstairs at the slightest noise.

Here is my baby.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

catcoonz said:


> I have found queens with singletons do get bored very quickly.


Same here, and my girls called again a few days after birth  I combined 3 singles to one girl which was the only thing that worked, not an option here obviously.

She could be coming into call, unless she was spayed during the c-section which would have been ideal save her going under again in a few weeks.

Is there a reason her sister can't be in the same room? I have a girl who likes having another girl in with her to help raise the litter.


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

catcoonz said:


> LZ, you are doing a brilliant job of answering, I don't know all the answers xx


Totally agree CC, LZ you BOTH have been fantastic thank you 

Oh my your little one is such a cutie!! :001_wub:



spotty cats said:


> Same here, and my girls called again a few days after birth  I combined 3 singles to one girl which was the only thing that worked, not an option here obviously.
> 
> She could be coming into call, unless she was spayed during the c-section which would have been ideal save her going under again in a few weeks.
> 
> Is there a reason her sister can't be in the same room? I have a girl who likes having another girl in with her to help raise the litter.


We decided to get her spayed during the Op - so thats good! The receptionist at the Vet was giving me 'low down' after Mollys op, and told me not to introduce other animals (which would just be Luna) for 4 weeks, so thats why we haven't =/ saying that she also said to keep molly in a dog crate for that time too, which i certainly wasn't going to do!

UPDATE THIS MORNING!! ARGH so wake up to find Molly has got all but one of her stitches out!!  , I mean it looks ok, it looks sealed just obviously not neatly - so i'm a bit of a loss, If i call the vet i know he will want her in (at least to check on her) but the stress she and baby went through yesterday going wasn't good as it is, and i had my OH who was able to take her with me so could wait in the car till our turn (lots of dogs in the room). and like you guys have said I DONT want her putting under and more stitches, and i'll probably get an earful about the cone but she just couldn't nurse at all! i tried the baby vest and that didn't work either. I'm tempted to leave her and see how she goes today as i'm off all day today, but then i'll never forgive myself if something happens.

this will mean she definitely can't be with her sister though as they will play


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## Code (Sep 18, 2014)

It looks ok, would your vet or get nurse do a home visit?


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

Is it possible for you and your OH to share time at home for the rest of the week? That's what we did until Bijou had reached a full week or ten days after her spay. By then she should be pretty safe. I must say that the three kittens we had spayed a couple of months ago were all glued because of Bubu "helping". It worked well for two of them, but little Chai got the wound open after a week and I also got an earful from the nurse about the cone. Imagine keeping a cone on a kitty for a whole week! You are doing the right thing - stress free and sedation free is best right now


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Little Zooey said:


> Is it possible for you and your OH to share time at home for the rest of the week? That's what we did until Bijou had reached a full week or ten days after her spay. By then she should be pretty safe. I must say that the three kittens we had spayed a couple of months ago were all glued because of Bubu "helping". It worked well for two of them, but little Chai got the wound open after a week and I also got an earful from the nurse about the cone. Imagine keeping a cone on a kitty for a whole week! You are doing the right thing - stress free and sedation free is best right now


Thats what we've been doing most of this week anyway - we're lucky that he works in the day till 5 and I work from 6 in the evening (good for cat company, not so much for company with each other aha). But if needed to go to the vets it needs two of us to reduce Molly's stress. I wish the vet would glue Molly's i'd feel a lot happier. it's been 5days since her OP, and since little one entered the world.
Thanks for the reassurance LZ x


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

I will be honest and say if this was my girl I wouldn't leave the wound.

I have done in the past and it did eventually knit together but took a long time to do so plus I didn't have a kitten feeding.

I would insist on glue to hold this wound in place.

Why didn't the vest work? the vest needs to come down their back to the base of the tail, you need to be so careful of infection in this wound, the vet doesn't need to sedate to glue, they just need to clean the wound and apply the glue.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Poor girl, I'd be getting her seen. Not sure they will glue a wound that large? Do ask though.


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## skylarose (Jan 13, 2015)

Hi All, 
Sorry I forgot to update you last night. I rang the vets and told them she had managed to get her stitches out, they said as long as the wound isn't wet and open it is dry and sealed (which it is) then to leave her caring for kitten and keep and eye on it. - so thats my mind at ease a little. 
My next appointment isn't until tuesday, but now they are out i'm going to ask if I can book an earlier one either fri or sat, just so they can check the progress.

Thank you all again x


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