Elizabethan Collar and Catbox

[jenwales]

I wasn't sure whether to put this here or in Behavior, but here goes.

Our recently adopted, almost 17 year old cat George had an abscess on his head which was drained yesterday.  He was given an antibiotic and is wearing the collar.  I forgot to ask how long he needs to wear it (duh!).  The wound looks good and is scabbing up.  Our only instruction was to keep it clean and put Neosporin on it twice a day.

We've only had George for a week, but prior to today he was using the catbox just fine.  Today he has urinated just outside of it twice and was going for a third time but we managed to plop him into the box just in time.  He's a diabetic and urinates what seems like buckets so we definitely need to get a grip on this.  I can only guess that the collar is causing this.  Does that make sense?

How long should I keep the collar on?  The wound is just below his ear on the front of his head, so bandaging it would be VERY difficult.  TIA.

 

[stephanietx]

You might need to trim down the collar a bit or maybe get him one that's a bit different in style that aren't as cumbersome.  You want to leave it on him long enough that it heals without him scratching it.
 

 

[just mike]

Oh what a pain this must be!  I hate using them on my dogs and never had to use them on my cats.  I have hooded litter boxes so I can only imagine what *that* would be like.  George may not be able to gauge the distance into the litter box, or the collar maybe scaring him if it rubs on the litter box.  Maybe trimming the collar as another poster suggested would help.  I'd call the vet to see how long it needs to be left on.  Sounds like he's already healing right up so it probably won't be long.  BUT, the wound needs to heal properly too.  You could try one of the inflatable collars to see if it works on him.  They are pricey though and may not be within your budget but you could check it out if it looks like this is going to be a long time. 

Best of luck to you and bless you for taking in George!  Please keep us posted on the outcome!
 

 

[jcat]

George may not be able to gauge the distance into the litter box, or the collar maybe scaring him if it rubs on the litter box.

Would a rather large flat cardboard box with a plastic garbage bag as a liner, a plastic tray, or even a big cookie sheet or aluminium grill tray filled with litter help?