Your cat is trying to lick a wound and you don't know how to prevent a cat from removing its bandage. It is true that cats that are injured or have undergone surgery should keep the wound clean and protected with a dressing or bandage for several days.
Indeed, if the cat removes its bandage, it will lick its wound and scratch it. Suddenly, the lesion may become infected, the stitches may not hold and the wound will not heal well.
Here are my tips for preventing your cat from removing its bandage and thus avoiding complications.
Prevent a cat from removing its bandage with a bandage
To protect a wound, incision or injury during the healing period, a dressing or bandage is used. The dressing is ideal because it perfectly covers the surface to be healed without sticking the wound.
To prevent the cat from removing this bandage, it can be covered with a strip. Indeed, if the wound is located at the level of a paste, the back, the neck, it is possible to bandage all around the dressing.
For this, there are very practical bandages because they are flexible and self-adhesive. They are waterproof, very easy to put on and remain comfortable for cats.
The problem with this solution is that some cats will probably end up ripping off the bandages and the dressing underneath. So let's see the other possible solutions.
Prevent a cat from removing its bandage with a bodysuit
Depending on where the wound to be protected is, it is not always possible to cover it with a bandage. This is the case of an injury under the belly or under the chest, for example.
Then, you can protect your cat's bandage by covering it with a tight-fitting garment.
To do this, you can recycle a bodysuit or baby pajamas that you can adapt to your cat by cutting where its tail should pass.
Where to go for a vest specially designed to protect a cat's wounds during the healing period. The cat keeps his dressing without being able to remove it because he is covered with a post-operative bodysuit. There are several forms adapted depending on where the wound is (belly, front legs, hind legs). The standard model is as follows:
Preventing a cat from licking a wound
The Elizabethan Collar
This is the collar recommended by veterinarians after surgery. It is a rigid cone that attaches to the cat's neck to surround its head. It is effective because the collar prevents the cat from biting, licking or scratching the wound or the dressing.
However, the collar is not at all comfortable for the cat and it is likely that he will not support it. Some cats will stress, others become aggressive, like crazy when they install a rigid collar. That's why I recommend a soft collar instead (see below).
The adjustable fabric collar
Unlike the hard plastic Elizabethan collar, the fabric collar is much more comfortable while protecting the cat's wounds and dressings. Made of soft and lightweight cotton, the collar allows your cat to move and move freely without the risks of hard plastic that can hurt.
There is also the inflatable collar version that cats tolerate quite well. They are more comfortable and ergonomic than the classic Elizabethan collar.
