Cats after my Op

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Hello, I am new here, I was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago and gearing myself up for a mastectomy /diep flap reconstruction in December. I am wondering about how I’m going to keep my cat from jumping/lying on my wound sites when I’m asleep  -I will have stomach and breast sites to protect. He loves to sleep on/around me and is very comforting but he also jumps on me and springs off me when he leaves the bed. Does anyone have experience with this and using something to protect the sites? The last resort is to lock him out of the room and he will probably paw at the door all night! Any suggestions welcome. Thanks Cat

  • Hi 

     I got a cocker spaniel dog and because I live on my own he goes everywhere in my house even on the bed. To be honest after my mastectomy even while I was having chemotherapy he changed and started to stay away from me not so loving I would say, but now all my treatment is over he’s back to normal.  I slept on my back after my mastectomy with a v pillow for weeks because I could not sleep on my side perhaps if you do sleep on your back you could put something lightweight either a small thin cushion or a nice soft fleece folded over your chest area to protect it.  Animals are funny sometimes thy sense there is something wrong. My poor cat sadly passed away before I found out about my cancer but that cat had started sleeping on my chest before she died , I thought it was because she was getting ill after I found out I had cancer I wonder now did she sense it.you will find away around this without pushing the cat away .

    take care it will soon be over and you will be back to normal xx

  • Thank you, I’m sorry to hear about your cat, and good your spaniel is back to normal, actually that’s funny you say that about your cat because mine has recently started sleeping on my chest and he never used to, I hadn’t made that association. That’s good to know I could just use a pillow on my chest, but will have to push him off.  I will have a big scar healing on my stomach as well which will be more vulnerable I think but I don’t know if I should be putting anything on top of it. Some sort of frame under the bed clothes might be good I wonder. Thank you for your encouragement too, it still feels pretty raw as I was only diagnosed 10 days ago, but to hear positive words means so much. Blush