Another common question that owners have is, “What do I need to do with my pet’s incision?” Overall, the body is exceptional at healing, but you can help it out by doing the following: 

• Keep the incision in a clean, dry and safe environment – This means that until your veterinarian tells you that your pet incision has fully healed, that the “cone of shame” should remain on, they should not get a bath and there shouldn’t be anything that bumps into the incision. Our pets are very smart, and they have ALL day to figure out how to get out of their cone, or even use the cone or other objects to itch their incision, so please monitor your pet’s incision at least three times a day.  

• Cool compress, then warm compress – In the initial three days after returning home, your pet’s incision is in the acute inflammatory phase, so performing a cool compress two to three times daily for 10-15 minutes using an ice pack wrapped in a towel will be beneficial to help reduce developing inflammation. After the initial three days, you should perform a warm compress two to three times daily for 5 minutes using a clean washcloth wrung out with warm water to help bring blood flow to the site.  

• Important: Compresses are only beneficial if they are tolerated. Never force your pet to perform cool or warm compresses if they become resentful or combative.  

• Important: Never place an ice pack or other cold object directly on your pet’s skin surface without having a cloth/towel in-between. This can injure them. 

  

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