Our rescue cat was neutered two days ago and when we picked her up today she was wearing a collar to stop her interfering with the stitches.

I have had two cats neutered before and one of my cats had quite a bit of surgery and none were ever issued withy collars. Admittedly the most recent was 11 years ago.

Just wondered, is this done with all neutered cats these days?

And if your cat did have one how long did it stay on?

Hi- I'm so happy to see Honey is at home with you
Whenever any of our cats have been neutered or spayed none of them have had a collar- the most recent ones were my 2 girls which were done about 2 years ago, they had the tiniest little incision marks from what I remember & the whole thing was all very neat & tiny. But they never had collars- intact I don't even think they had stitches as I think the vets had a way to do it without using stitches - I might be wrong as it was a while ago, but I'm sure they didn't even have stitches..
But they definitely didn't have collars anyways.

None of ours had collars. They were offered, but with being a multi-cat household was told collars may be removed very quickly!

They usually check to see which ones are tugging at their sutures and which ones do not.

Mine was a non suture tugger, so she was without but became interested later on and I had to watch her like a hawk.

Neither of my two got collars.

Mine didn't; the vet just told me to keep an eye on her stitches, but she didn't touch them.

Thanks for the replies. She has a heck of a lot to cope with being in a new home and I am coming to the conclusion that I have to weigh up the risk of her licking the site or being mega distressed with the collar. I think, on balance, I should go with my gut instinct and take it off for a bit tomorrow and see what happens.

2 of mine had them. They wasn't given them to come home with but I was told if they did start on their stitches to come back and get them, which is what I had to do as both were trying to get the stitches out. They wasn't too bad about wearing them and it was only for a few days. I used to take them off so they could have a proper groom etc but as soon as they started tearing at the stitches I used to put them back on. One cat actually loosened a stitch so much I had to take her back to the vets to check it so some cats do need them.

Mine weren't given collars,but I was told to come back and get them if necessary.

They both managed to pull stitches out within a couple of hours of getting home. We had kept a close eye on them initially, and they seemed fine and were playing. Took our attention away to have dinner and were shocked to see what they had done without us seeing. One was not too bad as only one top stitch removed, but the other managed to get them all out and had to be anaesthetised again to be stitched up again. Collars stayed on until fully healed after that.

I would recommend taking collars home with you just in case they show any signs at all of pulling at the stitches. If they start you need to catch them fast before they cause damage and it may be difficult to get back to the vets before it is too late.

My cat was spayed yesterday and came home with a collar. She found it so hard to eat, so much so that she was bending her head down to try to get food, flicking her head up when she had it, but the food was ending up inside the collar.

The vet told me 5 days, but I went with my gut & took it off her yesterday. The change in her was incredible. She went from confused and depressed to happy, bouncy and eating in a minute.

Watch your cat; I had to stay up all night last night to make sure she didn't mess with the stitches. She licked the fur around it as the vet staff hadn't cleaned all the blood off properly but didn't bother one bit with the stitches themselves.

When she goes in another room, I check on her every while to make sure she's not taken a notion for them.

Be prepared though - those collars are a nightmare to try to get back on.

I have taken it off her as it was clearly causing a lot of distress and adding to the disorientation of getting used to strange surroundings. We will check her all the time.
She was spayed three days ago. Useful to know your vet said 5 days Lauren - thanks!

My Tabitha didn't receive a collar when she was neutered and she did pull out her stitches - but luckily, they were almost ready to come out by that stage anyway. The vet just said to me that 'cats will be cats'. I was given a collar when she developed an infected wound after surgery for a broken leg but she and I found it far too stressful. I really don't like them and I hate seeing my cat disorientated and bumping into things. I would rather keep a watchful eye on the cat. I know it's not possible to stay with the cat all the time but I would worry more about leaving the collar on my cat when I was out.

I hope Honey is settling in to her new home. Keep us updated.

Thanks Marella. I agree with all of that. Rehoming a cat is stressful enough for them without that added stress.

i was in Pets at Home the other day and they have them in - various sizes - some of them are soo small for the kittens awh.

i'm sure they were only about £4. I'm getting my Suki done next month and will be getting one in - it was the worst thing seeing my old cat attack her stitches

Update - well I took the decision to take it off her on the basis that she would probably not mess with the stitches as so much else is going on. I have not even seen her grooming! She is fine! It was distressing her so and given her nerves it was the right decision.

Sookie was in a collar after being spayed and the vet at pets at home suggested we leave it on for 10 days! Poor thing, she hated it - she couldn't eat properly, or use the litter tray properly and she kept bumping into things. And she was walking around with her head hanging down like she was all depressed! We managed 2 days and then I gave in and took it off and she was much happier. I kept a close eye on her and she did have a go at licking her stiches but gave up after a while and was fine. COuldn't have done 10 days I don't think!