Okay. First of all, don't panic. She will run backwards and scrape along, because she's (a) trying to back away from it and (b) has lost the use of her whiskers, which is intensely disorientating and makes her feel like she's somewhere too small for her; she doesn't know where she is and has to adjust. It is horrible to watch. *hugs* The vet told us at first that this would wear off given a bit of time, perhaps overnight. This is the case for most cats. She should be able to eat with it on, she just needs to figure out the knack of it. I'm not sure whether flat plates or bowls with low, curved sides are better for this; experiment to see what Lana gets on better with.
*If she doesn't get over it after a day or so*, you're in the same situation we were with Kizzy - she simply stopped eating and we took her back on the second day for a check-up. The vet thought it was a psychological problem, and advised removing the collar when she was fed, and at any time she could be closely supervised to keep her from biting at the wound.
Do take her to the vet if you're in this situation, to make sure that she doesn't have a post-injury/post-op infection or something.
I spent a lot of time watching her to make sure she didn't pick. What worked well for us was removing the collar, then having Kizzy on my lap - I could cup my hand over the suture (no touching), and she could wash everywhere but there. Not being able to wash also distresses them, or if it doesn't, it certainly distressed *me*. Bloomers... *shudder*
Putting the collar back on is really a two-person job at first - one to hold, one to quickly loop the collar around and do it up. They're designed to be easy to attach, believe it or not. Be careful to do it up tightly enough that she can't just pull it off - standard two fingers inside the collar for safety, though.
I found it wasn't as hard as I'd expected, though, to do it one-handed - if you can just get the collar around her neck, it should disorientate her enough for you to do it up. Try to be behind her so that, when she backs away, she goes into you and not away from you.
If you have to leave her, try and arrange somewhere dark she can hide (a cat carrier with a blanket over it or something; she ought to appreciate it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-05-31 10:32 am (UTC)*If she doesn't get over it after a day or so*, you're in the same situation we were with Kizzy - she simply stopped eating and we took her back on the second day for a check-up. The vet thought it was a psychological problem, and advised removing the collar when she was fed, and at any time she could be closely supervised to keep her from biting at the wound.
Do take her to the vet if you're in this situation, to make sure that she doesn't have a post-injury/post-op infection or something.
I spent a lot of time watching her to make sure she didn't pick. What worked well for us was removing the collar, then having Kizzy on my lap - I could cup my hand over the suture (no touching), and she could wash everywhere but there. Not being able to wash also distresses them, or if it doesn't, it certainly distressed *me*. Bloomers... *shudder*
Putting the collar back on is really a two-person job at first - one to hold, one to quickly loop the collar around and do it up. They're designed to be easy to attach, believe it or not. Be careful to do it up tightly enough that she can't just pull it off - standard two fingers inside the collar for safety, though.
I found it wasn't as hard as I'd expected, though, to do it one-handed - if you can just get the collar around her neck, it should disorientate her enough for you to do it up. Try to be behind her so that, when she backs away, she goes into you and not away from you.
If you have to leave her, try and arrange somewhere dark she can hide (a cat carrier with a blanket over it or something; she ought to appreciate it.
Good luck. *hugs*