Every pet owner has dealt with recovery from surgery or injury.We’ve all had our babies spayed or neutered so they wouldn’t have babies. And from there, some have lead lives more interesting than others, medically speaking that is.
First thing post-op, is get rid of that Elizabethan collar, aka Cone of Shame when pup or kitty is recovering from surgery or an injury. Or never get involved with it in the first place.
What’s the deal? The Elizabethan collar does its job. It keeps inquisitive noses and licking tongues away from the healing site but who can lie down when wearing one? Or bend to eat comfortably? Or even see around a corner or navigate that corner?
Kong invented the Cloud Collar, copied by other companies. It is similar to a sleep pillow for an airline flight and holds pup’s or kitty’s head fairly rigid without interfering with vision or eating or ambulating. Before surgery or when you are wrapping up your discussion of your pet’s injury or rash, discuss this option with your vet. There may be a case where the Cloud Collar wouldn’t prevent the pet from reaching the healing site but those are very, very rare. Do chat with your vet to be sure you’re on the same page.
An additional advantage to the Cloud Collar is that once healing is complete you deflate it, put it away so it will be available for next time. For there will be a next time. Guaranteed. And you have just saved the $15 or so of repurchasing another Elizabethan collar for no one ever keeps those around.
But not everything is perfect, Elizabethan collar or Cloud Collar. Pup or kitty is home 10 hour a day, all by himself with not a lot more to do than wonder about that wound. And some of our pets are darned clever. No matter what we do, they will outsmart us.
So step two to speed wound healing is to make the area very unattractive to inquisitive noses and tongues.
This is not to difficult to do, thanks to a pharmacist named Irv Grannick who mixed bitter extracts in diluted alcohol, enough that a spray discouraged curiosity by almost all cats and dogs. It’s harmless but smells and tastes bitter enough to dissuade even the hardiest of noses. The product is called “Bitter Apple” and it’s available everywhere from pet stores to Amazon to Chewy’s to some local pharmacies.
Since Bitter Apple is alcohol based, we strongly recommend spraying on the fur beyond the area your vet shaved and, again since it is alcohol based, we recommend refreshing it twice a day or more.
Mother Nature will heal pup or kitty. Our job is to make her job as easy as possible so she can be as efficient as possible. Keeping down your pet’s stress by using a Cloud Collar and keeping his curious nose away from the wound with Bitter Apple are two ways you can do just that.