Does Feliway really work?

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amarshall0919

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On the paper the vet gave me, they mentioned nothing about food and water. Since she was spayed around noon today and I picked her up at 4 pm, when will be the appropriate time to at least put some water in her crate. I feel ridiculous asking this question. I feel like I should already have water available to her, but she’s so out of it I’m afraid she would get her head down in it and wouldn’t be able to get it out.
 

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I just went and checked on her and somehow she managed to get stuck behind the carrier and between the litter box. She was just standing there with one leg in the litter and staring right at the wall. I attempted to get the carrier out but she decided to put her face inside and then crawled inside of it and I could not get it out. She is currently inside of the carrier, and her butt is facing out towards the opening. She is just standing there because I think she believes she is stuck again. I’m leaving her alone for a little to see if she can get out of the carrier by herself and then I’ll be able to get it out.
It seems like she is still very confused. But yes I think you should be fine just leaving her for a bit to see if she is able to get out herself. Hopefully if she develops the urge to use the littler box, drink/eat she will just come out when she feels like it.
 

Remi&RiRi

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On the paper the vet gave me, they mentioned nothing about food and water. Since she was spayed around noon today and I picked her up at 4 pm, when will be the appropriate time to at least put some water in her crate. I feel ridiculous asking this question. I feel like I should already have water available to her, but she’s so out of it I’m afraid she would get her head down in it and wouldn’t be able to get it out.
Not a dumb question! Maybe try putting a small bowl/dish of water by her and monitor to see if she is thirsty and goes near it. As long as it’s a small amount to where she wouldn’t leave her head in it and be submerged.
 
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amarshall0919

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Went and checked on her again. She got out of the carrier, but when I came into the room, she attempted to climb on top of the carrier and got stuck. I know have the carrier outside of the crate.

She is very wobbly on her feet. She can barely stand. I put some water in there, but she didn’t even notice the water and almost stepped right in it. Then she almost fell trying to figure out how to get over the water bowl. I had to get the water bowl out.

An improvement though is that now she can meow. She meowed at me twice while I was in there.
 
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amarshall0919

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Smoothie seems to be walking better, but is still very disoriented. I tried to give her food and water again and she was not interested at all. Instead she tried to walk behind it, and almost knocked it over. She also has these two wet lines on her nose. What is this being caused by?
 

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Remi&RiRi

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Smoothie seems to be walking better, but is still very disoriented. I tried to give her food and water again and she was not interested at all. Instead she tried to walk behind it, and almost knocked it over. She also has these two wet lines on her nose. What is this being caused by?
It’s good that she’s making some progress. It sounds like she’s still too loopy to notice food/water. I am not sure about the two wet lines on her nose. Maybe there’s something on google about it. Hopefully she will be quite improved by tomorrow.
 
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amarshall0919

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Smoothie is doing awesome this morning besides the fact that she has discovered her stitches and now wants to lick them constantly. I went to the vet this morning to get her a cone, and they said instead of me buying a cone I should just use a paper plate, cut a hole in it, and tape it together and if it breaks, I can just use another plate. I just hope this works cause I’ve never heard of it before lol.

Went to the store and also bought some non-stick wound pads, gauze roll, and paper tape in case the paper plate doesn’t work. Could I use this to cover her stitches or would it fault the healing process?
 

Remi&RiRi

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Smoothie is doing awesome this morning besides the fact that she has discovered her stitches and now wants to lick them constantly. I went to the vet this morning to get her a cone, and they said instead of me buying a cone I should just use a paper plate, cut a hole in it, and tape it together and if it breaks, I can just use another plate. I just hope this works cause I’ve never heard of it before lol.

Went to the store and also bought some non-stick wound pads, gauze roll, and paper tape in case the paper plate doesn’t work. Could I use this to cover her stitches or would it fault the healing process?
Good to hear she’s doing a lot better! I just found this online “If your cat panics with the plastic cone on or keeps slipping it off, you can try something else to keep him away from those sutures: a soft cone, inflatable “donut” collar, onesie, bandage, or bodysuit, depending on the location of the incision.” So yes I think if the cone doesn’t work you could try the gauze (as long as whatever you secure it with doesn’t actually stick to the sutures/incision).
 
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Smoothie has ate twice now, but still has not drank any water. It’s going on two days since she’s had any water.
 
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amarshall0919

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I got some water into her system by giving her a wet food treat and adding water to it so it was more like a soup. She still has not used the bathroom yet, so I hope she will soon. I just know she is in pain. Her body temperature feels lower than what I am used to. I wonder if this is due to the pain she is in.
 

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As long as she’s getting water from her wet food (and adding water is a great idea), I wouldn’t worry about her not drinking from her water bowl. I’ve had one of my cats for four years, and I’ve actually never seen her drink! But I feed only wet food and add water to make it soupy so I’ve never worried about it.

If she hasn’t used her litter box by tomorrow morning, I’d call the vet. Anesthesia slows down the system but things should be getting back to normal. Did they give you pain meds for her?
 
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amarshall0919

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Since the vet did not give me a cone, I have constantly been trying to find ways to get Smoothie to stop licking. Nothing stops her. Not the paper bowls, not the paper plates. I am literally so aggravated because even with a big paper plate around her head, she can somehow manage to lick the stitches. I am at a loss on what to do. I tried to wrap gauze around it and she ended up pulling it off. I tried to put clothes on her, and even that did not work. Nothing I am doing is stopping her from getting to the stitches. The only way I can stop her is if I am with her, and manually have to stop her. This means when I’m asleep or if I leave the house, she has free range to lick the stitches because even if I have a makeshift cone around her head, it doesn’t stop her. Does anyone have any advice? I feel like I’m going crazy.
 
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I figured out how to stop her from licking the stitches! I just made the plate bigger lol. However, she just attempted to eat some kitty litter that was clumped together by pee. Now she has never done this. I am quite confused.
 

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I just read your thread because I was searching posts with Feliway and I became quite interested in your story. How did things turn out with Smoothie now that it's been a few months since her surgery?
 
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amarshall0919

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I just read your thread because I was searching posts with Feliway and I became quite interested in your story. How did things turn out with Smoothie now that it's been a few months since her surgery?
Around the middle of November she began to act like her old self! My husband began to slowly reintroduce her and Midnight again and they were doing very well. Suddenly one day, she acted like she was afraid of Midnight again through the crack in the door. We were back at the beginning. She then slowly began to get better again.

I had my baby December 9th. About a week after we brought her home, our baby began to cry very hard in the car seat. Smoothie, startled by this noise that she had heard before, quickly jumped up in defense mode towards the car seat. I try to get her in the bathroom, and she hisses at me. I finally get her in the bathroom and she calms down. Two weeks later we are getting ready to leave to go to my grandma’s house when I scared her by coming out of the bedroom too quickly. She flew off the bathroom sink, and basically tumbled halfway down the stairs. She stops and makes a deadline right back up to me like she’s going to attack. I lock myself in the bathroom. She is better just a few minutes later.

Now that we are almost through January, it finally seems like we may be getting somewhere. Our baby has cried many more times around Smoothie, very loudly I must add, and Smoothie has no reaction. The most she will do is come up and smell our baby’s head while she’s crying, and then she walks away. She is used to her now. The other day she saw Midnight in the hallway because my husband was switching the cats. She had no reaction at all, and seemed not to care about him.

It has been almost 7 months since Midnight and Smoothie have been in the same room together. It has been incredibly hard. I still get scared sometimes thinking about their fight. I have scars from the attack. I hope she never attacks Midnight, my husband, or myself like that again. I especially hope she never goes after our baby.
 

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Wow. I am so sorry to hear of how stressful this must be for all of you. I can't imagine having to keep them separated so long. That has to be really difficult. I am glad to hear that you have seen some improvement and have some hope. I wish I could help. Thank you sharing the update.
 
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Update: We believe Smoothie saw something outside the window and she has had a complete and scary personality change. She is on severe attack mode, and no joke, looks like she is very on edge and scared right now. We are very afraid to let her out of the room. She was just fine a few minutes ago. Something is seriously up with her.

She doesn’t seem like she’ll attack us, but she is scared. The thing is there was nothing outside for her to act like this. It was just a switch like it’s always been.
 
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Would it help to find out what’s outside, maybe use some kind of cam? If you are able to to “shoo” away whatever scares her, it might help. (Not sure if this is day or night—- I use those lights that snap on, to keep away foxes and the like). This sounds deep, like things trigger her chemistry. Is there anything on that level which helps, besides Feliway? Also, does she get any exercise or play time, or is it even just too scary to be in her room now?
 
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amarshall0919

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Would it help to find out what’s outside, maybe use some kind of cam? If you are able to to “shoo” away whatever scares her, it might help. (Not sure if this is day or night—- I use those lights that snap on, to keep away foxes and the like). This sounds deep, like things trigger her chemistry. Is there anything on that level which helps, besides Feliway? Also, does she get any exercise or play time, or is it even just too scary to be in her room now?
I got her to calm down, but she was very on edge! There was nothing outside, that is the strange part. There’s no other reason for her to have acted like that. I mean it is possible that she saw something we didn’t see, but my husband even went outside to see if there was something and there was nothing there. She will see other outside cats, and doesn’t react at all except she watches them. This was different, like she got scared and was definitely on edge ready to attack at any moment. I’m not sure what causes it. It’s well after her spay so it’s no longer hormone related. Ever since that one day in July she’s been different, and can flip like a switch. She’s been way better here lately though so this is the first time in awhile I’ve been afraid of her.
 
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