Cats can be quite grumpy creatures at times. From their wildcat predecessors, all the way to the modern house cat, they do not like to feel incapacitated or underpowered, which is exactly what they are after surgery. Additionally, cats may experience pain, and the need to move due to the pain, which is why you may need to temporarily restrict their movement – not quite something these furry pets look upon with joy. This is why you need to pay special care to your cat after surgery, until they’re better and well on their own.
- Pay special attention to the incision site – Cats tend to lick their wounds (hence the expression), so you’ll need to pay special attention to these areas after surgery. Licking is a natural healing process for cats, but with surgery, stitches will need to be applied – something which every cat will deem unnatural and may try to get rid of, which can lead to further complications. This is exactly why E-collar is a must after cat surgeries. However, your cat will need your full attention here, seeing as how this collar tends to make even the simplest of actions complicated.
- A quiet place – Pets are groggy after anesthesia and will require rest afterwards and cats are no exception. Keeping them away from children and other pets is a must – your little ones have no idea how to act around a wounded animal; a healthy cat will always fend for itself, notifying a child not to bother it, but a recovering, incapacitated cat may not be able to defend itself and complications may arise. Furthermore, other animals may look upon your cat as a weak individual, which can cause fights in which your groggy cat will doubtlessly lose. This is why quite seclusion is the name of the game, when it comes to postoperative cat recovery.
- Stay with your pet – Seclusion doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear from keeping an eye on your cat. You need to stay with it, at least at the very beginning. If you do not have any other responsible adult roaming around your house, don’t even thing about going out to by some cat food – order pet food online instead.
- Keep an eye on signs of pain – Cats are lonesome creatures – they will always try and hide the pain and the worst thing is – they’re so damn good at it! With reference to one of the previous points, cats’ pain hiding has to do with their wild origin – an animal that appears sick or disabled is a valuable pray for predators. You need to dig a bit deeper into cat psychology here – be wary of behavior changes, such as hiding, pacing, aggression and overemphasized calmness. Pain management is key here, seeing as how pain causes stress in the bodies of cats, and thus slows down the healing process.
Knowing what to pay attention to is vital for your pet recovery and cats are probably the most difficult to manage of all pets. This is why you should refer to this article and pay close attention to the items listed above!