My cats ears will be amputated because of skin cancer. What to expect during recovery?

I am very sad, crying about it.
It's always been hard to keep her inside and protect her ears and this is such a common thing with white cats. I hoped we'd avoid it, though. While I was away for a month, the person minding her didn't keep her inside out of the sun and put the animal sunscreen I provided on her white ears, so her ears got burned all month... now the tips have gone black and the vet says the ears have to be almost completely cut off on Monday before cancer spreads into her. My poor kitty... this is her:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/b...


She will have to wear one of those big Elizabethan collars for nearly 2 weeks so she can't scratch her stitches they're healing. It will be hard for her to eat and drink.

Has anyone had a cat go through this before? What was it like? Did your cat heal OK and cope with the collar?

My sister-in-law had a white kitty that had her ears surgically removed because of cancer. She did just fine with the surgery, recovered nicely and died of old age.

I have volunteered at my vet and have seen the surgery done. The cat did just fine and recovered nicely. This vet was very meticulous and trimmed the ears so they were even and looked as if they were supposed to be like that. We even thought she looked like a Scottish Fold. The owner was as frightened as you are, but when she came to visit the day after surgery and saw how sweet her kitty looked..and happy and purring..she was so relieved.

Having the cancerous areas removed would have to make her fell better. Bless her heart for having to go through this due to the carelessness of the kitty sitter. She is a very pretty kitty.

The vet didn't like to put collars on pets unless absolutely necessary. If the pet didn't bother the surgical site, it was more comfortable for them and saved the owner money.

Instead of the hard plastic e-collars, how about one of these cloth collars? It would be much easier for her to eat and drink, but would protect the ears.

Purrs to you and kitty.

Hi miss schlonky,

You are so welcome. I hope your sweet kitty does well with her surgery and has a speedy recovery.

Purrs,
Patty Report It

Hi- obviously you are getting this done because this is what is best for the kitty. I have two completely white cats aswell and they are strictly indoor cats for this exact reason. I work in a vet surgery and i know for a fact, that a vet or a vet nurse would not do something that was not completely necessary. About the collar, the vets would not give you something that would distress the cat or not allow them to eat or drink, so I am sure your beautiful kitty will be just fine. Just an idea, if you buy a big avairy or large dog crate, and put a towel or something over it, your cat can still be outside but be completely protected from other cats and the harmful rays of the sun.

I hope all goes well, i am sure it will.

poor Kittie... don;t trust anyone with her other than yourself... it sounds like the caretaker was a real jerk... i haven't experienced the same thing but i had a white Persian and i know how delicate that they are... I'm proud of you for taking care of her poor ears...don't fret she'll be fine ... just tell her how beautiful that she is every day and she'll heal fine... kitties with a special feature (little ears) are especially cute... my kittie with a snaggle tooth is like a magical creature... you love them even more.. (seriously... it makes them stand out)..once she heals she'll be better than ever... just send her good thoughts and she'll absorb them... think of a cute nick-name for her... good luck!!

Of course now you know you'll have to keep her in from now on..
On the bright side, the ears are mostly cartilage and while cutting the skin to take the ear off will hurt, the pain will not be too horrendous, not like if she had to have a leg amputated or something like that. Your vet will probably give you some kind of medication for pain control for the first couple days that will probably also make her a bit dopey and out of it..
As far as the collar goes, you can take the collar off for brief periods of time. You just have to be there watching her every second so she doesn't have the opportunity to scratch her stitches out.
I've worked with a feral neuter unit that does ear tipping to mark which cats are neutered. Obviously just cutting the tip off the ear isn't the same thing as removing more of the ear, but, they seem to get over that pretty quick.
Just follow their instructions exactly and you'll be fine..