Superior post-surgical feline & canine appliance. (Or: Dump the cone!)

I took our 2 young cats to the veterinarian for necessary surgery (an incision in the abdomen requiring stitches). After the operation the vet supplied the usual plastic head cones which stop the animals from licking or biting their incisions. But the cones make the animals miserable since they can't see or hear properly, move around, eat, drink or use their litter box without a lot of frustration. So I had to invent some non-cone solution: THE CAT JACKET. No doubt it will work on dogs, too.

Two kittens adopted us several weeks ago. They are female and one is black (I named her "Bella" after my Dracula bella orchid), and the other is grey (my cousin, Linda named her "Buttercup" before I could stop her). This is their story. (No, not Linda's!)

Step 1 Tools & materials you'll need.

1. Old T-Shirt or other piece of material about 20" (40cm) square.
2. Scissors.
3. Marker (felt pen, etc.) if you want to mark the cloth before cutting.
4. Four safety pins.

NOTE: This is for a medium-sized cat. You will need a bigger piece of cloth and more safety pins for larger animals.

CLOTH NOTE: I have found that tee shirt material works best (not sure, but I think it's called "Jersey"). I did try another type of cloth that was more "crisp", but it failed miserably in less than a day -- it frayed and ripped, and of course the poor cat was desperately trying to lick the frayed threads. Be careful what material you use.

FASTENER NOTE: You can of course use something fancier than safety pins, but before you sew on buttons, snaps or velcro, remember that the jacket only has to last a few days - until the stitches are removed. And while it's being worn the cloth will stretch and have to be repositioned, you should look under the jacket every day to check the wound and if the jacket rips, gets soiled or has to be re-tailored you may be sorry you didn't just use quick & easy safety pins.

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: The whole purpose of the jacket is to protect the wound and stitches from being licked or chewed. It's okay if your cat licks the cloth; no harm done. BUT IF YOUR ANIMAL BITES OR CHEWS THE WOUND AREA THROUGH THE CLOTH then you must put the head cone back on. Or possibly use a heavier cloth, or a patch of chew-proof material sewn over the wound area. So far, my cats haven't made any effort to chew through the cloth - only lick it - so hopefully you'll have the same luck.

PICTURE: Buttercup gnawing on the hated cone.

Comments

[jtodd3rd]

Our cat Victoria just came back from being spayed and she took it upon herself to try and pull out her stitches. We were looking for a way to make a "cone of shame" out of a milk jug, and we found this instead. She keeps trying to back out of it, but it'll be much easier for her to go around with this as opposed to a cone on her head. Thanks for putting it up!

[jet h]

i'm agree with you about that cone, i have made those skirts for mine cats too, but they are often too tiny so i used as well a sock and used the same methode like yours.
but last time my oldest one had a major surgery on her behind leg and her knee and then... couldn't make a trousers have tried it a lot, but....
so after all i let her walk in the bench without the cone but it costed me lots of attention.LOL
she is now recoverd without the cone and she walks great again.
but love the sharing of your idea, well done.
Glad that she is well again;-D much fun with her.

[nevroth]

My 4.5 month old kitten just got fixed today and I was told to get him an e-collar if he started licking himself (which of course he did). I thought this would be a great alternative, but he would have none of it. He's usually a nice kitty, but can bite like crazy when the mood strikes him. Unfortunately for me, he wanted none of this, especially since my guestimated measurements were waaay off. I didn't give up though, and cut off the end leg of some old PJs I was going to toss out. In lieu of holes that didn't work the first time around, I cut slits. It was easier putting him in the tube than wrapping the cloth around him. Either way, Momo bit the jeebees out of my hand (thankfully he didn't cut the skin).

[blackpanthershay]

Our kittens Booster(m) and Bandit(f) had surgery yesterday so we had a few types of cones and collars ready when they came home. None of the them worked! Not even the inflatable. The collar sent her crazy,running all through the apartment and banging her head plus banging into things. Bloody waste of time those cones and collars. My husband suggested we try this and after a few tries(we didn't secure it properly) I am happy and relieved to say Bandit kept it on overnight! Thanks so much! So hard typing with a kitten sitting on your hands lol

[Scuttle]

This is a good idea, but I know that my dogs would be able to tear through a t-shirt. I would suggest heavier material, however it is important that stitches get good air ventilation so anything other than cotton would not work well. If your going to use this I would suggest keeping an eye on your pet for a while before leaving them alone with this on. Tearing out stitches is not something to be messed with and can be a life or death situation. So I would first check and double check that they cannot get to their stitches. Most dogs and cats, with responsible owners, will have to have stitches at some point when they are spayed or neutered so if this works for your pets then by all means save them from the cone! (I know my dogs hated it) lol Just be sure to put safety first.

[TschNJ]

When my cat, Marley had to have stitches, he also had that dreaded collar which he managed to get out of.  Poor thing was so miserable with it on, running into walls etc.  I took him back to the vet and when it was re-attached, I asked for a sedative to give him to calm him while he recuperated.  That worked well, he was always so easy to pill.  Your idea for the pet shirt is a very good one.  Wish I'd seen it sooner!

[jaffers]

great idea!, years ago i had a kitten that got attacked by another cat and had a bunch of stitches and i hated the cone idea too so i cut the end off a bed sock and some leg holes and she wore that! obviously that wouldnt work for an adult cat.

[bowmaster]

Really neat idea. My cat got hit by a car (he's fine now) and he broke his jaw so he needed to have it wired back together. He needed to wear a cone after the operation but it was to keep his paws away from his face. He HATED the cone. He is a major escape artist and managed to slip out of it a bunch even on the smallest setting. He isn't even that small of a cat.

[jon.buford]

 I did this in about five minutes after seeing the first couple of steps. 

My changes that I made to this were to use the bottom seam on the t-shirt that is finished as the back end edge. Since this is the one they are likely to be able to access directly, having it cleanly finished is probably better. 

I just cut slits into the material rather than actually making holes. It is for a cat, so larger beasts may need holes. 

Thanks for this great idea, Scooter is much much happier now without the collar, and it will be a lot easier to make sure she is well fed and rested now. She is happy to finally be able to groom herself after three days of the dreaded collar.

[meowzebub]

Buttercup looks massive in that muscle t!  great guns, grrrrr.

[Fallen_Siren]

i'm making one for my dog for a winter coat

[Knuten]

Just an update... Pee & poo, going to the bathroom: NO PROBLEM. Note in the pictures that the rear end is not covered up, so there is no problem with the cats going potty and no mess. The kitties (Bella & Buttercup) are older now and doing just fine. The "cat jackets", above worked perfectly for my 2 cats. Their stitches got plenty of air and healed perfectly. The old tee shirt I used for these 2 cats worked perfectly; they did not rip it and did not chew through it, and did not disturb the stitches. IF I had an animal that tried to chew through the cloth to the stitches, then I would have tried a heavier cloth, like denim. Just use common sense, experiment and observe to make sure the stitches stay safe.

[pyroelfears]

what if they poo

[porcupinemamma]

ummmmmm I was wondering that too.

[chaitanyak]

thats the coolest thing ive seen today!! i posted an instructable just yesterday, that's about how to use a sock to cover a dog's leg. in case your interested http://www.instructables.com/id/Dog-Leg-Stitches-protector-with-a-sock/

i will try out yours if my dog ever needs it some day(god forbid).

[purplekitty]

Here's how one of them turned out. It didn't turn out as nice as yours but it sure is going to help. Now They're' free and I am free from putting the collar back on every 5 minutes hehe Thanks for putting this up. :-)

[purplekitty]

My cats got spayed yesterday and I totally forgot about this even though I had it on my favorites. They already know how to take their cones of no matter what I do so I have to try something else. I am making this today. The only problem is I have no safety pins and they don't sell them anywhere around here I will see what I can come up with.

[OGKush]

A substitution of velcro on the spine seam would be neat...and tidy!

[mackannno]

Buttercup looks smashing in his/her (?) gown!

[bowmaster]

As well as being functional these things look plain awesome.

[Naomi2969]

I thank you so much for this. My dog Winnie (English Springer Spaniel/Basset Hound mix) is being spayed tomorrow. Winnie would not be happy wearing a cone and actually I believe it would slow down her recovery! While she is at the "spa", I am playing to make some of these jackets for her. Thank goodness she is black and white, so she matches everything!! Thank YOU so much for your ingenuity.

[jmatthias]

Pumpkin, our mischief maker, has just had emergency surgery (keep you cats away from string and ribbons, kids) and has a 6+ inch incision. He HATES the cone. Tomorrow, we'll give this a try. Thanks for sharing. And to pyroelfears, they "poo" out the back, so it is a non-issue. And washable.

[jmatthias]

As a follow up, Pumpkin is wearing a modification of this sweet outfit. Since his incision is closer to his middle than his privates, I lopped off the back leg loops of the pattern. It's tight enough that it doesn't slide, even without the rear legs to secure it. Since he is a boy, removing the back end allowed him to pee uninhibited. He LOVES it. Thanks.

[kukoknox]

Wonderful idea! Our boy Louie had stitches on his neck and hated hated the collar! So we got a sports sock and cut away the toe so it was open ended and placed it gently over the stitches! It worked wonders and was actually the vets idea! Hope they are doing well!!

[smarterkitty]

I am having my furry children spayed next month, so Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this instructable!

[trudi_1974]

What a fantastic idea! You should consider getting your design patented and start approaching vet clinics with your invention. This is very clever, easy, logical and practical. Well done!

[raeraethejetplane]

My animals are miserable with cones on...and we have to separate the healing animal in another room to keep the other animals from preying on their weak state. Maybe this can be a solution to both! I'm sure my animals will thank you in the future.

[shyrell]

Great idea. Soon I will be having 4 female kittens spayed. Like looking after grade school kids on a rainy day. ; - )

[Smalfrii]

how do the pee?

[Knuten]

Thanks for all the comments! Here's some more info for you: Yes, they could pee & poop just fine; see the last picture and you can see that their tail and rump are quite open -- the kitties used thir box normally and the cloth never got soiled. Also, yes the vet gave some meds for the kitties for pain when they came home.

[purplekitty]

They're so adorable! Great idea.

[=SMART=]

nice ! i had to put a cone on my dogs head once, she hated it, she wouldn't move at all until i took it off, she'd sit in the same place for hours breathing very slowly, in the end i binned it and just sat next to her to stop her licking her wound.

[tackam]

Nice. :) Used to be a vet tech, and some clients said that onesies worked for their cats, if you're too lazy to do this version. Have to cut a potty hole in 'em of course. Just be sure to try this when you'll be around to watch your critter the first day, because some of them are very persistent, and letting them get at their sutures, especially for the first couple of days, can result in very serious complications. Additionally, make sure they have been given adequate pain control! If they come home and are immediately trying like mad to chew at themselves, they may be in pain. Vets who don't send home pain meds after major surgery (ie. anything where the abdomen is cut open or bones are involved) don't deserve clients. (Note: Do NOT medicate using human meds; they can/will kill cats.)

[ahotcar]

This is a great idea. I recently had a male cat steralized the female way!!! ( he had an undescended testes!!! so It meant the full OP ) The vet assistant sold me some oil that tasted extremely bitter for $6.00 to apply to the stitched area and one lick is all it took. YUK!! your cat coat is much kinder for the cat well done, we are now aware for next time we need it, the oil worked too and the cats fine!. ahotcar

[Dim-1]

I'm about to get 2 cats spade. I wonder if it would be safe to cover the surgery wound with the cat jacket. I feel like it should be fine. I'll post some pics.

[alesha]

Too adorable! I will use this in the future thanks!

[sideways]

Great solution! The only thing I'd be careful of is the part that goes around their neck...if they got caught on something they could strangle. You know how cats like to climb and jump and investigate things. It definitely would work, though I'd have to keep a very close eye on my cats.

[flumpies]

awesome idea and so freak-IN cute i wish i had read this a year ago when our cat had surgery! i will remember it for the future...thanks

[jessyratfink]

Oh my goodness, they are so cute. I wish I would have though of this when Ms. Jade Pants was fixed... I swear I had to tell her "no" every five minutes because she kept licking the stiches. :P

[jessyratfink]

Our other lady cat just came home from being fixed, and not only is she in an awful mood, but she's also chewing her stiches like a madwoman. I'll definitely be using this now. Thanks again!