PumpkinSundae

I wanted to sew some cotton surgical cones for my vet's office and for a shelter and was wondering what you thought of this design. It has a thin batting inside and I did see that some people sell them but didn't know if you thought they would work well. If anyone out there has tried one, I would love to know if they are good. I would like to sew the puffier collars, but I just can't figure out the measurements for the stretchy material that goes inside around the neck, and I can't figure out even what kind of material to use. I would use fleece for a puffier collar but for the part that goes right around the neck fleece doesn't seem to stretch that much. I have a piece of ribbing material but that seemed a little rough.

My kitty is modeling the cone. She is 18 1/2 years old, so sweet and a good sport.

Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you very much!

Quiltwoman44

from what i've seen recently on t.v. the poor animals have started taking much better to guards rather than cones. By this i mean a round donut shape around their neck only. still keeps them from biting their stitches or what ever. Cones tend to block their view and also bother their whiskers. One big reason they always hate wearing one.
Ha, having said this i noticed the very first picture has the cone going downward. sigh. Great idea. At least that is better. Looks like poor kitty would deal with it better.
Someone will come and give more advice on what to use. Cute kitty!

QuiltE

Probably would be best to get input from your vet's office and the shelter, as to what might work best for them.

They will know what the good/bad points of their current products are. Let them try a couple of yours and get their feedback for any design changes they feel would be best.

Peckish

My kitten did not do well AT ALL with a cone. She wiggled and writhed all over the floor for fifteen minutes straight, and I was very worried she would rip out her stitches.
I ended up cutting a section of stretchy, 6" wide Ace bandage, sewing it into a tube, and pulling it over her tummy. She did try to pull on it a bit, but was unable to get to her incision. She left it alone 90% of the time. I made new ones and replaced them every 1-2 days.

quiltsfor

Putting on a cone backwards like in the picture in the first post, creates a tripping hazard. It's too easy for the cat to put their foot into it and trip. Also, and even worse, it puts the cone edge in reach of their claws to pull at it/get caught in it and/or pull it off or pull it in an ackward position to entangle their neck.

quiltsfor

My vet office prefers to use the newer donut design. It's less upsetting to the animal (dogs and cats etc.) and doesn't hinder their sight line to see beside them and makes it less scary/less startling for a sick/hurting/frightened/nervous animal, making it much more restful for them, than the oversized hindering cone.

And makes it less likely that they will catch the preventive on something like a corner/wall/edge of something. And also makes it much easier for them to reach their water/food. (though depending on how wide the donut collar needs to be, per side of the animal, the food and water dishes may need to be elevated for the duration of wear, so they can reach them.

quiltsfor

Also, after checking with your vets office for the type they prefer, be sure to make them so that the neck closure can be adjusted for neck size, where it would connect together on the back of the neck, with an inch or two of quilted fabric without the pillow stuffing.

rjwilder

I've made the donut shape collars for people in my neighborhood. So far everyone likes them and I've gotten no complaints from anyone. They are adjustable, the animal can sleep better which helps promote healing, plus they don't walk into the walls.

ibex94

I have never heard of donut cones so had to look them up. What fun!

Quiltwoman44

years ago i had my two girls fixed and took them home without any information and i too used that wrap bandage over both girls tummies. I just didn't want them licking that area but wanted it to breathe. Seemed to have worked well.
but the life saver type of collar seems to be a bit better than cones. Maybe they are changing things for the better...