Stitches - What happens if a cat pulls out their stitches after spaying?

What happens if a cat pulls out their stitches after spaying?

My kitten was spayed yesterday and this morning had pulled out 2 of the 3 stitches. Her wound was open and gaping at the top and the bottom... I was wondering what would have happened if the third stitch had come out as well?? I took her back to the Vet this morning so she could get stitched up, and I'm picking her up later today. Any tips on how to stop her from pulling them out again?

Public Comments

Your vet should advise you what is the best action to take with your kitten. She may need to wear a head cone while she heals to stop her from doing it again.
hiya A lot of people experience the same problems. Consider using an Elizabethan collar (aka E-Collar) or an Elizabethan collar-type devise to prevent your kitty from reaching the stitches. These collars are those cone shaped things that you often see dogs wearing. They make small ones for cats. Here are some places that sell these. good luck x Petsmart Cats Soft-E-Collar
Put a lampshade collar on her so she cant get to the stiches.
I had both my females spayed - one cat ignored her stitches but the other chomped and chewed at them all the time (she has this 'thing' about grooming). We had to trim the loose thread really short and gently wipe the incision area gently every day with salted water - this did the trick although she did try and have a little nibble every so often when she thought we weren't looking! As others have suggested, you can fit one of those neck cone things but I'd do that as an absolute last resort - just try and distract your kitten each time she 'homes in' on those stitches.
This happend to my cat too. The vet wrapped her so she couldn't get at the stitches. I hope your kitty gets to feeling better soon.
Arh mine is going in next week, I hope I can cope with it, just reading this is making me squirm, hope she is okay!
Yeah,she may need to wear an e-collar,or you can keep her belly bandaged.
vet may put a collar on her
ask them for an elizabethan collar...you can put this on when you cant watch her ...you will have to remove it for her to eat...she will be uncomfortable with it but she wont be able to tear out her stiches...my cat did this same thing and the vet charged me almost as much as he did to do the spay just to fix it...good luck you just will have to keep the collar on long enough until the stiches have done their job 3-4 days
whenever my cats have been spayed they always come home with a head cone on unless you can watch her 24-7 this would be the only way to stop her
You're best purchasing (or seeing if your vet will lend/let you hire) what I affectionately call a lampshade. It fits like a collar around the cat's neck and comes up either side of it's head like, well, a lampshade oddly enough. It stops the cat getting to the stitches. She will probably get used to them being in after a few days anyway. You have to remove the collar and put it back on again before/after eating etc which is no mean feat in itself. Ask your vet for more advice.
My cat has done that in the past.. After she'd been neutered, about 2-3 hours after coming out from the vets she'd managed to pull out 3 stitches. While my other cat had no problems. We went back to the vets and they put a cone on her and sent her home. 2 days later, we came downstairs in the morning and she'd torn apart her cone in desperation and torn out her stitches again.. After that, we took her back to the vets and they kept her in for a few days under a slight sedation until the new stitches dissolved enough for her not to pull them out again. If you see her trying to get at her stitches, just try and attract her attention somewhere else, buy her a new toy or treat her to a packet of soft food? If that doesn't work, just take her to the vets again and explain that she's been pulling them out again and they'll get her sorted. Hope this helps xx