Medical Pet Shirt: alternative to an e-collar (recommendation/review)

Hi there,

I mentioned in my introduction thread that I decided to de-lurk because of a great little product I "discovered" when my naughty bunny Charlie decided to bother his surgical site post-neuter.

First, a bit of background on Charlie. He's a 1+ year old (mystery age!) little mixed breed (mystery breed!) dwarf rabbit. We're his third home, he wasn't neutered or vaccinated when we got him, and he's only young. Poor little munchkin. He flew through his neuter op, but post-surgery even though he was on Metacam he experienced some swelling and bruising, and he decided the best thing for this was to lick and chew his neuter site into a scabby mess. Stressed, I did some intense Googling and read every post-neuter post made on every rabbit forum ever (well, sort of) and came to the conclusion that e-collars + rabbits aren't a good mix. Amongst the sites found with my mad Googling, I came across this website, http://www.medicalpetshirts.com/index.php/en/medical-pet-shirts-en/the-medical-pet-shirt-nl but couldn't find any reviews for the product (Medical Pet Shirt) for rabbits. I had some questions. Would the Medical Pet Shirt cover Charlie's surgical site and still allow him to pee and poo even though he is a male rabbit? Would the Medical Pet Shirt stay on? Would Charlie even tolerate the shirt, or would he become depressed and stop eating? I found a site that sells the shirt online in Australia (where I live) and ordered the appropriate size for Charlie's weight. And... it's awesome.

The shirt is mostly cotton with a small percentage of Lycra for stretch. It's easy (with two people) to get on, and he hasn't ripped it off. Most importantly, after carefully adjusting the shirt so it was fitted properly, he couldn't lick or chew his surgical site allowing it to heal (the shirt breathes well because it's mostly cotton), and it's actually saved him from getting a second operation to clean up the mess he made initially. He can poo and pee and eat his caecotropes like a trooper, and the bottom of the shirt doesn't get dirty or wet from caecotropes, poo, and urine (another of my concerns). He can groom, hop around, drink water, and he isn't depressed about having to wear a little shirt day in day out until his surgical site heals completely. I think in many cases the Medical Pet Shirt would work much better than bandages and e-collars to keep bunny mouths away from healing wounds and stitches, and still allows rabbits to do all sorts of rabbity things. I think particularly determined rabbits could chew through it, but for rabbits like Charlie who just chewed and licked because they're naughty and think they're helping, it really does work amazingly.

Here are a couple of photos demonstrating Charlie in his shirt.



Anyway, I just wanted to share this because I was really excited (as was my vet) about finding the Medical Pet Shirt and it actually working. I think it's really something that might help other bunnies out there who won't leave their stitches/wounds/surgical sites alone.

:thumb:

That's a great idea. I simply binned an e-collar some years back given bunny wouldnt have any of it. I just had to trust my bunny not to hurt herself. Fortunately she didn't but I didn't have a plan B!

I did laugh at his little bottom and tail sticking out! Very cute!

wonderful!! thank you for sharing!!

This is Hay Monster sporting a rather fetching medical pet shirt. Sadly, he couldn't wear his because, due to his problems, it unbalanced him of the little control he had (he had a scoliosis and 2 slipped discs), so he couldn't wear it more than this time. But they are a fab idea, that's for sure.

Hee! So cute. Poor little Hay Monster though. I've found Charlie does lose some, uh, nimbleness, I guess. He doesn't flop in his shirt, for instance. But I'll take that over an e-collar any day (I'm guessing he would too). I imagine a bunny with mobility issues might find the shirt difficult to wear.

Bunny bodies look so tiny in the shirts! And heads look so big.

Brilliant

Francis & Charlie. said:

Hi there,

I mentioned in my introduction thread that I decided to de-lurk because of a great little product I "discovered" when my naughty bunny Charlie decided to bother his surgical site post-neuter.

First, a bit of background on Charlie. He's a 1+ year old (mystery age!) little mixed breed (mystery breed!) dwarf rabbit. We're his third home, he wasn't neutered or vaccinated when we got him, and he's only young. Poor little munchkin. He flew through his neuter op, but post-surgery even though he was on Metacam he experienced some swelling and bruising, and he decided the best thing for this was to lick and chew his neuter site into a scabby mess. Stressed, I did some intense Googling and read every post-neuter post made on every rabbit forum ever (well, sort of) and came to the conclusion that e-collars + rabbits aren't a good mix. Amongst the sites found with my mad Googling, I came across this website, http://www.medicalpetshirts.com/index.php/en/medical-pet-shirts-en/the-medical-pet-shirt-nl but couldn't find any reviews for the product (Medical Pet Shirt) for rabbits. I had some questions. Would the Medical Pet Shirt cover Charlie's surgical site and still allow him to pee and poo even though he is a male rabbit? Would the Medical Pet Shirt stay on? Would Charlie even tolerate the shirt, or would he become depressed and stop eating? I found a site that sells the shirt online in Australia (where I live) and ordered the appropriate size for Charlie's weight. And... it's awesome.

The shirt is mostly cotton with a small percentage of Lycra for stretch. It's easy (with two people) to get on, and he hasn't ripped it off. Most importantly, after carefully adjusting the shirt so it was fitted properly, he couldn't lick or chew his surgical site allowing it to heal (the shirt breathes well because it's mostly cotton), and it's actually saved him from getting a second operation to clean up the mess he made initially. He can poo and pee and eat his caecotropes like a trooper, and the bottom of the shirt doesn't get dirty or wet from caecotropes, poo, and urine (another of my concerns). He can groom, hop around, drink water, and he isn't depressed about having to wear a little shirt day in day out until his surgical site heals completely. I think in many cases the Medical Pet Shirt would work much better than bandages and e-collars to keep bunny mouths away from healing wounds and stitches, and still allows rabbits to do all sorts of rabbity things. I think particularly determined rabbits could chew through it, but for rabbits like Charlie who just chewed and licked because they're naughty and think they're helping, it really does work amazingly.

Here are a couple of photos demonstrating Charlie in his shirt.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this because I was really excited (as was my vet) about finding the Medical Pet Shirt and it actually working. I think it's really something that might help other bunnies out there who won't leave their stitches/wounds/surgical sites alone.

Click to expand...

This looks just like what my naughty bun needs! She won't leave her wound alone & I can't put an e collar on her because I can see how much it stresses her out! She's a common Dutch, what size of shirt did you get for Charlie and what breed is he?

could have done with one of these after bisc and matt were neutered. matt was so good but bisc pulled open his stitches and had us at the emergency vets in the early hours :roll: :lol: