Onesie Advice Please

[biscuity]

Coojee had her spay operation yesterday, we are having problems with her onesie. It's a little too small for her & she gets her front legs out of it. It makes her front legs restricted so she walks in little steps like a poodle. She gets out of it about 3 times a day.

Does anyone have a pattern so we can make one please?

(We tried a doughnut & she hated it. Really badly stressed her.)

 

[verna davies]

I have never had to use one but have just googled 'home made onesie for cats' and quite a few suggestions came up.

 

[biscuity]

Thanks

I found an image on here & couldn't figure out what it was. I showed the image to my wife who said it was a onesie - back to front with a hole cut for the head & arms cut off. We have just tried that & it looks promising.

 

[biscuity]

The onesie is for a 1 year old baby. It's a bit loose & Coojee is walking a bit funny with it - picking up her back legs as she walks. It's not tight & Coojee is now laying on our blanket purring. It made me cry. I'm relieved that she is happier & more comfortable.

 

[TobiDaDog]

What about a large sock? I cut the toe and some 'arm holes' out of one for Reese. (albeit for different reasons, she was cold) Perhaps if you cut it long enough it'll cover her belly pretty well?

 

[CrazyCrazyCatLady]

One of our cats had an allergic reaction following his tooth cleaning. It was awful. He lost all the fur on his tummy and it was a weepy/oozy mess, he ended up having to have a second surgery to excise the wound. We became huge fans of a onesie product called a Suitical. We bought them from both chewy.com and amazon. They aren't cheap, but they are fantastic. He's around 8 or 9 lbs and could wear the extra small and small if you're curious about sizing. He couldn't get to his stomach at all and could eat/drink/use the litter box. He didn't love it but he put up with it and it was a lot better then dealing with the cones.

I will say he didn't mind the kong blue collar cone that is inflatable as much as all the other cones we tried, and we tried a number! We got that on amazon too.

 

[LTS3]

There's a video in this thread of how to make a onesie fit a cat: Question About Cat Using Stairs With E-collar

A picture of a onesie: Alternatives to the Cone

Can you try a bigger sized onesie if the one you have doesn't fit? Or try a small dog t shirt?

It's probably not worth buying a medical pet shirt for your cat to wear for a week or so post-spay. Medical Pet Shirts

 

[lutece]

If you do use a onesie or "recovery suit" like a Suitical, be sure to check it frequently to make sure it is still intact. These things probably work fine for most cats, but the one time I used a "recovery suit" on a newly spayed cat, she managed to chew through the suit on the third or fourth night, and rip up her incision. Back to the vet she went, for more stitches and a heavy duty plastic cone...

 

[biscuity]

Thanks for all the great replies!
Coojee has been sleeping well in her onesie on our bed. It's 3am & we had some trouble as she was half out the onesie at the top end, she hadn't struggled out but it just come off as she shifted around. We have had a bit of a time getting the onesie off, then my wife made some adjustments to the onesie so now the closure under her neck crosses over for a tighter fit. Coojee ignored us for an hour, but is now purring as I write this. It's not litter tray tested yet, so we can see how that works a bit later.

 

[biscuity]

It's morning & I'm worn out!

Coojee had breakfast & her meds. She was having trouble getting around, I think because her onesie feels strange. I let her clean herself after breakfast & then lifted her to be near her litter tray. She used the tray fine, but didn't bury her wee. The onesie worked fine. No wee on the onesie & she's not got out of it since the adjustments last night. The onesie isn't restricting her leg movements, but she is walking poorly, I think it feels strange for her.

She was a bit depressed this morning, but now she's more interested in what's going on around her. Her pupils are now back to their regular size, so I assume that the operation meds have now worn off.

We visited our local charity store & found a onesie with buttons down the front. We won't mess her around in her current onesie, but if she gets out of it, or it gets dirty, we'll try the new one.

 

[cat princesses]

Check out an old thread I commented in The cone and feed back.

 

[biscuity]

Thanks for the link. Actually my wife is making new onesie for her right now from scratch.

The onesie with snap buttons was easier to get on her, but it's tighter around the legs so it feels weird on Coojee's legs & she can hardly walk in it. I now know that her legs are fine because when the onesie is off, she can run & play.

I gave Coojee the last of her meds today. She is much better & is interested in everything but can't get around. So I carry her to be with us. I hope the new onesie will be better.

 

[biscuity]

The new onesie is a black strappy number! It's a pad of shaped cloth to cover her tummy, with straps to go around her legs, tied on top to keep it in place without anything around her neck. She is able to walk & jump a little in this onesie & it's much easier to adjust. It slipped down a little in the night, but it seems to be the best option so far. It's given her some independence, so we don't need to carry hr everywhere - just up & down the stairs. I'll try to get some photos.

I had the days wrong, last of the meds this morning as this is morning #5 after the op. We now have a purry kitten back, not really enough drinking going on though. We are adding extra water with her tinned food.