My cat is going to be a cone head!

Errowyn

Project QL Intern
Sep 4, 2008
526
0
0
41
California
My cat Rascal has had a scratch on her head for quite some time. She keeps scratching the scab off when it starts to heal. We've been doing what we can to keep on top of it by putting anti-biotic on it each time the wound is opened.

Finally I decided to call the vet to see what could be done. He told me that odds are she needed a cone.

Yeah.

One of those big things they put on animals to keep them from gnawing at wounds.

That cat is going to hate me. I am going to be on her hit list for the rest of her life.

I went and ordered one online and it should be here in three to four days. I got the velcro kind for easy getting on and off.

Upon hearing the news Dad exclaimed "Rascal's going to be a cone head!!" He then added, "Better you than me having to put it on her!"

Once it arrives I can see it now. Chain mail gloves, band aids, helmet, phone to call an ambulance....
 
"I wish I could tell you that Rascal fought the good fight, and Errowyn let him be. I wish I could tell you that--but Errowyn's house is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for a while--life at her house consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Rascal would show up with a new cone. Errowyn kept at him--sometimes he was able to fight her off, sometimes not. And that's how it went for Rascal--that was his routine. I do believe those first two months were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, that place would have gotten the best of him."

Seriously, though, I hope that your cat's head heals soon.
 
One of my cats turns into a Conehead every summer. She's allergic to pollen and her belly itches. (I had one cat with a similar allergy who itched around her neck and face.) When the pollen gets really bad we pull out the Cone of Doom and treat her several times a day with Torture Juice.

Of course, that's all from the cat's POV. "Torture Juice" is a prescription spray with alcohol, antibiotics, and steroids. I can imagine that it must really sting.

Hope your cat gets better, Errowyn.
 
"I wish I could tell you that Rascal fought the good fight, and Errowyn let him be. I wish I could tell you that--but Errowyn's house is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for a while--life at her house consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Rascal would show up with a new cone. Errowyn kept at him--sometimes he was able to fight her off, sometimes not. And that's how it went for Rascal--that was his routine. I do believe those first two months were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, that place would have gotten the best of him."

Seriously, though, I hope that your cat's head heals soon.

:roflmao: Good one! The only thing I'd change is Rascal is a she.

She's got a temper though so the next thing being written might be about how she took some fingers off. ;)

Thank you for the well wishes. With luck I won't have to keep it on her for too long.

JulieB,

We once had to do something similar to Beethoven. He's got sensitive skin and has bad reactions to flea bites. We only had to keep it on him for a few days though as we were able to advantage him pretty quickly.

Thank you for the well wishes.
 
To Cone the Cat: Day One

Rascal's cone arrived today.

I spent this morning researching the best way to put a cone on a cat. Translation: How can I keep my arteries inside my arms?

I still think those pictures of the mellow cat with the cone on are all Photoshop. Maybe they mellowed out the cat so much the cat wouldn't care and then snapped a photo before the beastie then proceeded to tear the person's face off?

I decided to go for it and cone Rascal. Getting a cone on a squirming cat is not easy...let alone a fifteen pound squirming cat. Once I got it on I let her go.

She freaked.

Really freaked.

It scared her pretty good and it took me a few good minutes to catch her to take it off.

The moment I got it off she turned on me, yellow eyes glaring, and with a growl that told me I trusted you, mere mortal! You shall pay for this!!

I know better than to think she'll adapt to it but I'm hoping with trying to get it on her for a few minutes a day she'll get to the point of she'll tolerate it.

That's wishful thinking, isn't it?

She spent the next hour growling at me whenever I passed her until she forgot about it this evening. She's back to give me attention, mere mortal! mode.

Though I'm still expecting her to hatch something as revenge by tomorrow morning....
 
I'll pass it by my parents to see what they say.

Dad tried coning Rascal and she got it off! She was mad at him. That tail of hers was twitching a mile a minute and that little brain was thinking "I shall leave a hair ball the size of a small shirt on your bed mortal!"

In the meantime we're putting neosporin on the wound. The vet said it's okay to do so if coning the cat fails that'll help.
 
I'll pass it by my parents to see what they say.

Dad tried coning Rascal and she got it off! She was mad at him. That tail of hers was twitching a mile a minute and that little brain was thinking "I shall leave a hair ball the size of a small shirt on your bed mortal!"

In the meantime we're putting neosporin on the wound. The vet said it's okay to do so if coning the cat fails that'll help.

Another thing you can try is Desitin baby ointment. Our vet suggested putting that on the stitches after our cats had been spayed. They hate the taste. It worked great with all of our cats over the years except one. You might ask your vet about it.
 
Sounds like the collar's too big if the cat can get out of it. Try padding the inside with some moleskin flannel.


My cat's a mush who'll let you do anything to him. He gets shots twice a day and doesn't even try to nip us.
 
My Dad volunteered me to try other ways of coning the cat that were suggested. She managed to get out of just about all of them and is now a large hissing puffed up black mass with yellow eyes. She's been glaring at me and hissing at me each chance she gets.

I think I'm going to be on her "scratch arms off" list for a while.

She's especially annoyed because I petted a little tortise shell that lives down the street and she smelled the cat.