advise needed

[Guest guest]

Hello,

Can anyone advise me on what to wear around my abdominal area after surgery? I

have several indoor cat-children who love to sleep on me , and also sit in my

lap at the computer.

Is there anything, like a life-preserver, that i could wear at home, and at

night while i sleep to prevent the kitties from having contact with my abdominal

area ? It's impossible to keep them in a separate room ..., besides they are

healing to be with.

Thanks ,

[Guest guest]

Hi -

I had my abdominal myo on October 2. I have two cats myself, as well as two

dogs. My biggest fear was having my one cat jump on me while I was sleeping. I

elected to keep him out of my room at night, as this would have been

excruciatingly painful. If you cannot do that, I would definitely put something

on your belly that they do not like, or an obstacle to block them from

climbing/jumping on you. It won't be forever, but you have to protect that

incision area post-surgery. Claws/kneading, etc. will certainly do some damage!

Another tip that may help with the litter boxes--you may need some help with it

at first. You won't be able to lift heavy containers of litter, and it will be

difficult to bend down to scoop them. I bought smaller packages of litter and

put the litter box up higher so I could access it easier for several weeks.

Good luck!

sbstraus@... wrote:

Can anyone advise me on what to wear around my abdominal area after surgery? I

have several indoor cat-children who love to sleep on me , and also sit in my

lap at the computer.

Is there anything, like a life-preserver, that i could wear at home, and at

night while i sleep to prevent the kitties from having contact with my abdominal

area ? It's impossible to keep them in a separate room ..., besides they are

healing to be with.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

There is an abdominal binder they sell at pharmacies that really helped when I

had my c-section 20 yrs. ago. It's specifically made for abdominal surgery so

ask your pharmacist. I had a vertical incision and the binder really helped me

feel " held together. "

It gave me added support and a feeling of protection from things that may jump

up at you unexpectedly or even a sneeze (I dreaded the pain of a sneeze!)

Best of luck~

sbstraus@... wrote:

Is there anything, like a life-preserver, that i could wear at home, and at

night while i sleep to prevent the kitties from having contact with my abdominal

area ?

[Guest guest]

*How about something that gets up their noses, such as lemon zest?

Eucalyptus, Vicks vapour rub and lemon balm might be worth a try too.

It only needs to be on your clothes and doesn't have to be anywhere

that might touch the scar area. They'll then be near enough, but not

too close!

*You could invest in a water sprayer bottle or water pistol for

emergency 'Get off me right this second' rapid response.

*It is possible to sleep on your side (you just don't want to change

positions too often.) I love cats too, but I certainly wouldn't want

a claw in my belly or a wieght there.

*You should be careful about touching the cats and then touching the

scar area. Cats are very clean in their habits, but they still pick

up things like worms, ticks and fleas that we may not even know they

have and use litter trays and eat mice :-)

*I would have a rule of not letting the cat anywhere your

nightclothes or dressing gown during your time off work and ideally

for a long time. My operation was in Aug and I've had a spot on my

scar twice, so the scar is redder and thicker in two places.

*Have the cat on your lap when you are wearing daytime clothes if you

dare, but perhaps with something claw proof between you and the cat

like a folded up washable throw. If they are startled those claws

will sink in as they leap off you to run out of the room. It's much

better if you can have them curl up next to you or on the arm of the

chair. YOu could engineer the lighting, heating and seating to

attract them to where you want them to be. Hey! put a newspaper down

and start to read it!! There's always the infallible fascinating

empty cardboard box trick.

* You'll be moving around like an old lady and won't want to have to

keep bending down to haul dead weight sleeping tom cats from where

they're not supposed to be. Get someone else to help with this kind

of thing and their food and door opening demands. Be tough about how

cute they look as you discover them asleep on your newly washed

nightie and wash everything they've been in contact with more often

than usual, to be on the safe side.

* YOu could lie with a folded travel rug across your belly over the

other bedclothes?

Actually I'm envious as my cat died before I went through all of this

and her being around would have been so nice.

Aztek aka 'Cat'