Ellie The Matted Mess!
- Thread starter Lahree
- Start date
I think that cutting what you absolutely have to would be better for Ellie.
But... isn't it nice to be worrying about hair styling instead of Ellie's health?
YES!!!!
The saddest thing was when she got her bandage off yesterday I noticed a very large lump of some kind of material near the beginning of her sutures. I looked and looked at it and finally decided that what I was looking at was a giant, hard wad of hair stuck to the begining of her suture line. It was like someone had taken a 1/2 inch of hair, rolled it into a cylindrical shape and then GLUED it to her belly. It was as hard as a rock. Her sticky, sticky bandage and the friction of moving around with it for over a week had caused it to roll the short hair into a glued wad. I called the vet about it today and he was embarassed he never noticed it because he was too busy looking at the sutures themselves. He told me to wet some sterile guaze and rub it gently against the wad and it might loosen it away from the skin. I did that about three times and finally it did loosen up and I gently peeled it off of her. It was matted with blood and glue, but it came off and she danced around like a happy, happy girl. I imagine lying on that was exceedingly uncomfortable!
We had decided not to de-mat her as it would have taken such a long time and she has little patience with being messed with and it was such a huge area to cover. We have cut out all the mats we could find and we find a few more little ones each time we brush her. We carefully, gently and slowly brush her and give her treats as we do it. We only do it a few minutes at a time and are exceedingly careful as we get anywhere near where the hair is going to pull near her belly. She looks pretty bad in the middle, but her front end and back end look great, lol! She's got a gorgeous tail and a gorgeous "ruff."
Her sutures look great and she obviously feels great and now that she has the bandage off and the collar off, the cat plays with her again! Hooray!
Chris
Premium Member
That's a great way to approach it -- very wise!!! As long as Ellie is happy, that's all that counts.
Yes, she is doing very well and is now very happy. Only four more days until she gets the stitches removed. We are being less careful with her as far as activity level. She is now allowed to go potty without a leash, we just keep a careful eye on her and she has to come in if she starts jumping on the fence when she hears the neighbor dog. She also is allowed to run after thrown toys. We throw them a very short distance. We are also making her do her regular routine now as far as having to sit and be quiet for dinner and lay down and be quiet when asked, etc. We weren't having her do this previously because it figured it hurt to lay on her belly and sitting caused tension on the gluey belly band. She is MUCH happier now that we are playing with her and she is ecstatic that the kitty plays with her. This is turn makes Richard and I so very, very happy. Pretty soon this will be just a bad memory. It was two weeks ago today that she had her first surgery. What a nightmare!
Ann
Moderator
This is such good news! Can't believe the difference in your posts from a week or two ago. So glad Ellie is on the mend and you have only good things to look forward to. And yes, her fur will grow back and she'll thank you for getting rid of the mats!