Question About Stiches - Worst Time To Go In Heat

[josemariadesousaneto]

Hi, everyone!

So, my rescued cat Atena went through a diaphragmatic hernia surgery on Wednesday. Since we found her, she has shown an abnormal breathing pattern. Even though it is a extremely risky surgery, she managed to survive! I couldn't be happier! However, these first days are crucial in order to guarantee her health due to the fact that her organs, such as intestines, were misplaced and pushing her lungs, and we don't know for how long she have been like this, and how the lungs will recover.

Having in mind I have never dealt with any cat after surgery, I'm very worried about everything. That's why I beg your pardon for coming here again so soon.

Here is the problem: She is starting to act as she did when she went in heat the first- and only- time since we rescued her (we couldn't spay her on account of her breathing problems and we will only be able to do so when she is fully recovered). The reason why I'm so concerned is that when my cat is in heat she "likes" falling over and rolling, and everytime she does that my heart stops for a moment because I'm terrified she will hurt herself or break the stiches!!! She is on leash to prevent herself from running and climbing, and I have placed some pillow where she stays, but she is playing games with me and pushing them away when I'm not looking

Do you think she could pop out her stiches doing that? Because heat for me is so uncontrollable! She is indeed using a surgery cloth, but I'm still worried.

 

[Willowy]

Just flopping and rolling won't damage her stitches. Cats are pretty flexible . I would guess a hernia operation is approximately the same as a spay, physically speaking, so she should be just fine.

 

[white shadow]

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Hi jose and welcome to the forum !

Yes, you have good reason to worry.....this surgery is hardly 'the same as a spay'. (Even after a spay, cats can 'pop' stitches, for heavens sake!)

First of all....you said:

She is on a leash​

Please...do NOT leave her alone with a leash attached. Cats can strangle themselves very easily like this. If she becomes entangled in the leash, she will probably panic - and that will make things worse. Never, ever leave a cat tied up and alone!

Here on this site, we have read stories of peoples' cats dying as a result of strangulation.

Some people will use a large dog cage to restrain a cat after surgery:

The larger, the better......a bed, food, water and litter can go inside. Make it comfortable for her. After a short time, she'll understand that it's her house.

Take her out for short periods of time.

I hope this helps....I was so worried with your first post after her surgery, when it appeared she had suffered an injury under anesthesia. It was a huge relief to hear of the outcome.

Please keep updating us as she recovers!
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[josemariadesousaneto]

Thank you very much for that point of view! I was aware of the risk of strangulation, that's why I made sure she was in a place where there is no chance she could climb, get tangled and lead to that. Unfortunately there is no crates like this available where I live I have looked all over and there are just bird cages, which are of course too small for her to even go inside. But even with all these safety measures, I'm still checking her every 1h30 at night to see if she is ok. It will be hard too keep this routine 45 days, but I'll do everything I can to keep her safe. I thought about keeping her at the bathroom, but there is the toilet seat where she could climb and all the humidity that could cause her an infection. Do you have any more ideas?

 

[white shadow]

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My brain is fried and I running around doing errands.

Let's crowdsource for ideas........ Jcatbird ???

jose, could you build a cage with wood and chicken wire....no floor, just 3 sides and top (4th open side against a wall)....? Not difficult, really. Maybe a "handy" (semi-skilled) friend could help...?

Right now, dunno!
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[foxden]

josemariadesousaneto
Where are you located? We may have members who are aware of things available near you.
These are also called dog kennels or dog crates. I have also seen ferret cages, but I believe these are smaller and are likely to be more expensive.
The shelf shown in the crate picture above is nice for a healthy cat, but not needed for Atena.

Some people put 2 smaller crates against each other to provide more floor space for their cat. That allows you to have the litter box on one side, with a bed and food on the other side.

I believe some members have used extra-large plastic dog airline carriers to crate a cat. These could be expensive, but may be easier to find.

 

[Jem]

This sounds a bit out there, but do you have a small dome tent you could set up somewhere? It would fit a litter box, bed, food, water, a few blankets, and there would be nothing she could jump on. Not sure if your cat would ruin it by scratching at the sides, or if it would freak her out, but it could work....maybe.

I also like an other poster's thought about making a crate with 2x4s and chicken wire fencing. You could also perhaps use metal screening. If you try this, just make sure you find a way to protect your cat from any sharp/poking edges from the wire. Or do they make chicken fencing out of plastic? Would plastic fencing be strong enough to keep a cat in? IDK, sorry, just thinking "out loud", but if it gives you or someone else an idea, than I fulfilled my purpose!

Good luck with everything, she's lucky to have you!!!

 

[Jcatbird]

Hello! I am so glad you wrote in. I can see you have great respect for the life of this cat and love her. I have had many cats go through surgeries. One similar to yours. Since she had breathing issues, I am very concerned with her being on a leash. You mentioned a bathroom. I know you are worried she will jump on the toilet seat but you can put something on top of it to keep her off. A box or stack of books or you can even make it so she would not jump by putting boxes around it at different levels like little steps she could walk up. The humidity might be an issue but it might also help her breathing. I think the risk of the leash is a big one. Coming into heat and rolling around could easily tangle her in the leash. If you could find cardboard boxes to make her a little house in the bathroom she will probably stay inside it. You can cut a couple of little window openings in the sides and a door so she can easily walk in and out of it. Cats love to get into boxes anyway. It might be her dream come true! I have even cut holes in plastic storage containers to make kitty houses. If she gets wrapped in the leash she will start to struggle. That will be harder on her stitches than being in a box in the bathroom. Is there a cabinet in the bathroom under the sink? If there is then you can even put a blanket in that as a house. Here is a picture of one of my kitties inside the bathroom cabinet. She recovered from her Spay surgery there. I just blocked her from jumping on the toilet until her stitches were healed. It is very humid here too but she did fine. Just keep a check on her stitches and you won’t worry. You are doing a wonderful thing by taking such loving care of Atena. Please let us know how things are going.

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Thank you guys so much!! Jcatbird , I loved the idea! There is a tiny cabinet that would do! And there's a bathroom in my room. I'm going to sterilize the cabinet and put some pillows for her, since we use it for shoes. I will avoid taking a shower there as well in order to keep everything dry and calm for her. I'm so glad you said that!!


Hey, I have a question: since she will be there, do you have any idea about how long it's recommended to let her walk a little bit outside the bathroom? Because, while I want her to rest, I don't want her to be there the whole day without a little more sunlight (there is a window there, but it's very small).

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Update: thanks to the idea of Jcatbird , Atena has a new room leash-free! I have covered the toilet sea with bags (not so heavy for her not to get here if she tries to push it, and not so light for her not to take them off easily). I have used her food plate and her water plate to prevent the doors from closing if she pushes them, and her littler is far away from her food and water - I have placed them near the shower (everything is dry ^^)

 

[Jcatbird]

She looks so comfortable! You did an excellent job. She has the perfect and safe kitty house! I hope this will make it so that you can get more rest! I know watching her so closely must have been exhausting. My kitty actually learned how to shut the door. Silly kitty must have wanted privacy. She also learned how to let herself out but I kept the door propped open some anyway.
To answer your question about hoe long before she can go out, I think it would be best to ask the surgeon. I don’t know how much stitching has to be done. I get different opinions from different surgeons here even on a Spay operation. One says 30 days. That is the longest I have been told but maybe going the longer time is safer. I know you want Atena to enjoy the sun but it is better to keep her safe than to be sorry later. Cats are very tough. She may get impatient but it will not hurt her to wait. She might get very excited when you first take her out. She might also decide she wants to mate and run off. Until she gets spayed you run a risk of her getting pregnant. That would be very bad for her after this surgery. Once she is spayed she is more likely to stay near home. If you want to walk her after she is healed then she must be out of heat.
It really makes us all feel good to see all you are doing for this kitty. You’re a great person! Please keep writing. We all want to know how you are both doing and how Atena is settling in to her new house.

 

[white shadow]

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Oh, good! WHAT a RELIEF!......for you, but, I suspect for her as well. I also think this arrangement will speed her healing and leave less of a bad memory on her psyche.

I, too, was going to recommend that you speak with the surgeon again, review her progress and obtain a schedule for her recovery period. When should she do what, when will she be seen for a check of the wound, when will the stitches be removed, what about the pain control meds (I presume she is receiving some). Also, I would ask if it is possible and advisable to give something to suppress her heat cycle....that would prevent the more extreme behaviours that could 'damage' her incisions.

I love the cover for her bandages - is that a baby's 'onesie' ? These are soooooo much better than the cones, even the soft cones.

OK - keep posting/asking/recounting/WHATEVER! We love it all !
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[Willowy]

Even after a spay, cats can 'pop' stitches, for heavens sake!

Yes, but not just from flopping on the floor and rolling around . And it sounded like the OP was keeping her doing anything more strenuous.

Anyway, I didn't pick up on her being harnessed while unsupervised; I'm glad others caught that. It's great that you were able to find a better way to keep her confined! She's lucky to have such a caring owner.

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Thank you guys very much again. She is doing OK now and I'm waiting for next Thursday to take her back to the vet.
She is eating a lot more than she used to before the surgery, so I think that is a good sign. Her breath is still faster than a normal one, but her lungs will take a while to restore themselves accordingly to the vet.

I wanna ask you guys now about the incision site. I have never had a cat, so what I know about surgeries is just what the vet says to be honest. I have sent the vet these images asking about the incision site today to see if she is healing well, but I don't know if she is going to answer today due to the fact that today is elections day and Brazil is going down. In fact, she should be coming back to the vet on Monday, but the University won't open on account of the election caos. I'm gonna sent you guys a picture to see your thoughts, ok? Don't look if don't feel comfortable with that.

Spoiler

Sorry for the blurred images, but she just doesn't stay still. It looks a little bit damp because I forgot to take the pictures before I had cleaned it and had used the medicine. As you can see, it stills swollen, but a lot less than it was. The middle is almost all closed, but the upper part and the lower one are still closing. There is just this dark red now, and there is no pus.

You guys that have experience in big surgeries like that, what are your thoughts?

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Ok, I messed it all up lol. I have already asked for the moderation to delete my two last comments. I can't edit them and I don't know what is happening. The picture just wasn't uploaded and it isn't that large. But let focus on the incision site question. Don't bother my poor computer skills

Mod Note.. we deleted the two posts.

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Update: the incision site was great! The vet was able to get the stiches out and it is almost already fully healed. I'm very surprised! I thought it would take a long time considering how big it is.

Since all her organs that should be in her abdome were in her chest prior to the surgery, I'm now overreacting to the size of her orgam-full belly. I asked the vet if there was something wrong, but she told me everything was fine and she was just getting fat after all lol. I'm still worried to be honest. It looks so big! I started to get paranoid thinking "what if by any chance a male cat manage to get inside the house when she was in heat and now she is pregnant", but I don't think that would be possible. And the fact that she has no fur to cover it up makes it seems like it's bigger than it is to me.

Anyway, I'm going to take it easy on her food. She has gain 0,3 kg after she came back and there are still 28 days to go in order to get her rest time finished. And now that she is OK she has been eating like there is no tomorrow! No more cat snacks from now on

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Good afternoon, guys
Well, I have been telling you guys about everything Atena went through since we got her and what I'm going to ask now is related to that big picture.
Sometimes I feel like I'm overthinking, so I'm just gonna tell you about my newest paranoia concerning her and see what you think lol

Well, I have told you guys that she has been eating like there is no tomorrow, right? Almost 1kg per week of dry food! I told the vet and she said she couldn't eat properly before the surgery and now she can, therefore she would eat more. Ok, I got that. But I also told you her belly has been looking so big lately, and she said that the orgam-full belly would look like it was bigger because prior to the surgery her organs were unduly inside her torax as I told you. Ok, I got that too. Finally, the vet examined her when we got back to take the stiches out, she saw her nipples and told me she was about to go in heat because they were swollen and that we would have to wait until she is 1 year old (February/2019-ish) to get her spayed because she went throught so much now and she needs time to recover.

The thing is: eating a lot, big tomach and swollen nipples. This 3 things led me to think "is it possible that Atena is pregnant?". I know it sounds crazy, specially after she went through 3h30 of surgery and all that, but well... I don't know. The vet saw her and felt her stomach, but I don't know if she was looking for that. And she didn't go into heat again as the vet predicted. The first time she did went into heat was 59 days ago. She was kept inside the house the whole time (she likes to play in the garden with lizards and birds, but the walls are too high so she never leaves). But I thought: what if a neighborhood cat got somehow inside the house? She can't leave because she is small and doesn't bother trying to climb that, but what if this maniac random cat could? Maybe some kind of spider cat could climb a 4 meters irregular wall. Plus, the second time I thought she went into heat was when she first arrived as I told you guys, but it was so short I believe she wasn't. Maybe her medication was changing her behavior or she was just happy to be at home after 2 days at the hospital, but It didn't look like heat in the end. And even if it was really heat, I have read about cats going into heat being pregnant, so my fertile imagination thought that maybe she could be pregnant from the first (and probaly only) heat. I know that you may be thinking "are you crazy???", and so am I. That's why I'm asking you: am I crazy? I have just asked the vet and I'm waiting for her to answer, but now I feel like I'm being stupid and everything is just a coincidence.

 

[josemariadesousaneto]

Hi, everyone!
There was a unfortunate plot twist in Atena's postoperative.
After the surgery that took 3h30 to correct her diaphragmatic hernia, she was doing great until her nipples started to get bigger. We took her to the vet and she said she was about to go in heat again, and that's why it was like this. However, almost 11 days later, heat is nowhere to be seen and last night purple halos started to appear around her nipples. Furthermore, it's point turned into white as you can see here on the picture I have uploaded. I sent a message to the vet right away and my once hypochondriacal thoughts were shared with her for the first time: she may be pregnant! My parents say it's impossible because at the only heat she had we kept her inside until it was completly over. When I say inside I don't mean that she go outside of our property. She just likes to play on the garden with the birds and the lizards, but she NEVER leaves. However, I did my counts again and her last day of heat was 56 days ago, and it's still time, right? I don't know how, but a cat may have broke into our house somehow. I see cats around, but I just can't think of how he did it. The walls are too high and she was inside -not even on the garden- the hole time.

The vet suggested to check to see if she has babies, but it will cost us 150 reais, and it is very very expensive for an undeveloped country like ours. We could manage to do it if we had more time, but if she is indeed pregnant she will give birth soon, right? I'm freaking the hell out right now. I have been telling everyone that she got fat too fast (almost 1kg in 20 days) but everybody was telling me that it was on account of her recovery + rest.

I'm so sad right now I wish she could be spayed earlier, but her diaphragmatic hernia made it impossible. She was schedule to do it on the begining of 2019 when she would be fully recovered. I can't think of how all the surgery and medicines could affect her pregnancy right now.

What are your thoughts about her appearance? Does she looks pregnant or am I just overreacting like almost everybody is telling me? I can't think of how this could be normal. And the worst part is I'm 19 years old and in college, so I depend on my parents money-wise. I need to get them to believe me, but it has been really hard

 

[Willowy]

Cats can get pregnant even when not in heat (they are induced ovulators, if you want to do more research on that). So if she has been outside unattended at all she could be pregnant . If she is pregnant, she's probably not very far along. If you and the vet are comfortable doing a spay/abort it could still be done. If you want to let her continue with the pregnancy, you should keep her inside until they're weaned and she's spayed.

I would have thought that the vet would have noticed if her uterus was looking funny while he was in there doing the other surgery. He didn't notice anything?

It's hard to tell from her nipples whether she is or not. They could just look more prominent because she's shaved.

 

[lutece]

Cats are induced ovulators, but that doesn't mean they can get pregnant when they are not in heat! They must be in heat to get pregnant. However, it is possible to have a quiet heat cycle that the owner doesn't notice.