Licking Wounds

With kittens this young, surgery usually isn't a huge ordeal.  Sometimes they're really lethargic for awhile, which is great for cuddle time.  Sometimes they come back hyped up after a day of forced kenneling, which can cause some problems keeping them calm to prevent complications in healing.  But most of the time they recover well without any specialized equipment.

You probably predicted that the Gabors didn't follow the normal pattern. OH NO.  Lickers, every one of them started to obsessively lick their surgery site. 

At first I thought Magda was just sitting funny in her wobbly post-surgery phase.  They were weaving around like drunks, flopping over toys and stumbling into walls.  I blocked off the stairs and tried to keep them on the soft bed until they toppled onto the floor, so I just monitored their wandering until I finally realized they were irritating their bellies.   That's OK!! I'm PREPARED!

I've had the bread collar for years but never had the chance to use the others I bought "just in case" when they went on sale.  I was thrilled to feel justified in this impulse purchase that made my husband question me in bewilderment.... why did I need them?  WHAT IF we had multiple kittens/pets that needed an ecollar at the same time? It took years, but it finally happened! 

But my glory was short lived.  First, Persistent Eva was determined to lick her scar.  She kept escaping her collar and then just learned to bend around it.

But the real issue was related to their size and surgery protocol.  For kittens under 4lbs, we have to give them 1T of wet food the morning of their surgery.  The babies have been on kibble only.  Since they are super sweet and don't need to be socialized with food, they don't get as many treats as some of the more feral litters do, so the rich wet kitten food loosened up their stool just enough to be mushy. 
BIG PLUSH COLLARS + WET POOP = GROSS

Still, I had more back up collars and access to a steam sanitizing setting on both my washer and dryer, so I thought I was prepared for this challenge, especially when I anticipated that their poops would firm up on their regular diet within 24 hours.  

What I did NOT prepare for was to pass out early that night only to be startled awake by a purring Magda wiping her poop covered collar on my face and mouth.  

This led to a long night of trying to figure out other solutions to protect them but limit the pooptastrophes... the best I could come up with on short notice was this sock diaper. It worked for Magda but Eva learned to just push the top down and lick anyway.  My good girl ZsaZsa had already given up licking her scar.

So the next day we ran to the store to buy preemie onsies. They work for short bits of time, though they usually don't last through the entire night.  I ordered several kitten surgery suits that don't need to be modified with scissors to accommodate for kitten potty time and tails. Luckily, I think this crew is nearly healed and no longer licking so they shouldn't need surgery protection by the time the suits come in, but now i'll have them for future emergencies.