Meeko gets the Cone

Awhile back, Meeko developed abscess on his rear. This isn't a crazy unusual thing for a cat; we figured Panther bit him a little too rough during a wrestling match one day, even though they look like they're being really gentle with each other. So we cleaned him up, got him on antibiotics and everything healed up well.

Poor Meeko kitty recovering from abscess surgery

Then about a month later, I noticed Meeko licking his rear again and acting uncomfortable. A wound had opened up in the exact same spot where his previous abscess had been. This time we had to sedate him to get a better look. The doctor probed, looking for any foreign material that could explain why the healed wound had reopened. Nothing interesting in there, but it was a big pocket of space under the small opening.

I thought maybe the infection had been resistant to the first antibiotic, but the doc wasn't so sure. There was no sign of infection this time. No discharge or anything like that. Spider bite? Maybe, but it didn't look like the classic spider bite wound. There was really no way to know what had gone wrong, but it was strange. Doc sewed him up for me, and this time, he had to wear the cone. Even thought I hadn't noticed him bothering the wound as it healed the first time, we were not taking chances since it was now a recurring problem.

I know pets hate the cone, and I thought I was sympathetic to them, but man-o-man, is is rough living with a depressed pet who is stuck in one of those things. He had to wear it for two weeks and a couple days. Two weeks for the sutures to come out and the doc wanted it on a couple extra days for good measure.

You have never seen so happy a cat as Meeko the day he got his cone off. There was frolicking. I think he groomed his face for an hour straight. He played with Panther (who had been afraid of him in the cone and kept her distance for the past two weeks). He rolled over for belly rubs.

Meeko and Panther snuggled again!

And the best - the cone has been off for a week now and his healed wound continues to be healed. I'm watching it closely, but I hope it's done now. None of us want to do that again.