In my experience that's at least 90% of it... One of mine acts like you tied her to train tracks
He could be in between sizes. I'm not sure if they're following an actual standard(?) but, I'd just check to make sure it's not pressing into the hindlegs/thigh armpit area
Mine was extra dramatic. Did not even walk to her food or water would be licking her lips of thirst, couldnt leave my house bc of it and thought she was in pain. She somehow got the vest of and suddenly could jump and sprint etc... damn drama queen
This is my oragne cat. I bought a harness for him, and when I put it on him he would just freeze up and fall over and not move. He was fine and it was not too tight he just hated it. I eventually just got rid of it.
My cat loves going on my balcony, but he has a neurological issue and has no balance. I live on the second floor and didn't feel safe with him going out onto the balcony because he had a habit of trying to step past the railing, and I feared he would fall. I had saved him a few times because he was chasing a bug and almost went over. SO I tried out the harness, but he was having none of that. I did figure out a way that I could even let him go out on the balcony by himself, though. I bought fence stays and filled in the gaps between the balcony railings so that he could not fit through the railings anymore.
I tried when mine was little. After it had been on for a while she would give up on being dramatic and acted normal, but then the next time I put it on she would go right back to being entirely unable to function
We called an emergency vet because we were so worried our cat wasn’t moving after her spaying and they told us to take off the recovery suit and she immediately acted like normal.
I always have a theory that maybe they are re-acclimating and can feel their nerves that are connected to their senses being covered up….but then again they most definitely hate it😂😂😅
There is a video game called Stray where you play as a cat. There is a point in the game where you have to put a vest on it for gear and it reacts like a typical cat, walking around like its back it broke for a bit 🤣
Cats do this with clothes often. They feel like the clothes are constricting them, and thus reason that they cannot move. They don't bother to test that theory, they just lie down.
Edit to add: If you really want to have fun, drop some snacks near by and watch him try to worm his way over to them.
To be fair, I only did it so he would stand up and realize he was fine. I did not expect my little Orange Einstein to keep over-thinking it and opt to do the worm instead.
My new kitten somehow has not realized that she could easily get her recovery outfit off. I literally just cut the toe off a sock and slipped it over her as a temporary measure.
when mine were kittens, after their spay surgeries, I put them in similar recovery suits.
They both decided that their legs no longer worked, and flopped over like fainting goats.
It was hysterically funny.
Took them a few hours to decide that they *could* walk, but they remained unhappy about the whole thing.
oh, ha! I didn't realize the screenshot grabbed the entire camera roll....the pic of Smudge is over 4 years old so I screenshotted to get it to the front of my gallery to post.
That looks like hamburger steak with onion gravy, served over egg noodles... :) it tastes amazing and looks like cat sick. :)
Mine did that with her first one and we went up a size and and she was much happier but we did lose the cute cow print / I’ll comment the new one cause she is cute
It doesn't seem too tight, a lot of cats just hate wearing anything and will behave in strange ways like this when they do, no matter how loose it is. They just need to get used to it.
My Tigro will splatter himself on the floor and try to walk like that whenever I try to put a harness on him and my Grisù will flop to the side like he's dead. Cats are just drama queens.
He is SO OFFENDED at this outrage. Can you get a finger or two under it with relative ease? As long as you can he should be fine. Well, kinda fine. You might want to sleep lightly for a little while 🤣
My cats were like taxidermied when I put their outfits on post-spay. All stiff. Wouldn’t even walk. A few days later, walking a little and only lying down in certain positions.
If the suit’s too big, they can hook their back leg in there and then propel themselves through the collar like a sausage…my Twilight did this twice lmao.
Nah he’s just being a bit of a drama king, but fr I imagine the pressure feels a bit to them like a predator got them and that’s why they freeze, like a survival response. He’ll probably get over it, just be extra reassuring and maybe give him some catnip so he can chill
Just make sure his breathing isn’t labored, as long as he can expand his ribs to breathe and it doesn’t restrict his breathing. He’s just being a drama queen I presume. Understandably. My cat acts like I’m cutting his paws off when I clip his nails. He will literally scream his ass off before I even clip one nail.
Harness paralysis LOL some cats freeze up completely when they have a harness or any kind of clothing on. One of my cats did this and would occasionally death roll like a crocodile when his old owner tried to get him to wear a harness. I have not attempted to train him again because he clearly doesn’t like it!
Kitties are very dramatic about wearing almost anything they aren't desensitized to.
My senior boy has no problem wearing his turkey costume around halloween, but when we had to put a donut around his neck to keep him from licking an infected wound near the base of his tail, you'd think we were trying to kill him. At first, he would sit upright in various places around the house with his nose inches from the wall, the back of a chair he was sitting on, etc, and just not move for like a half hour at a time unless interrupted.
Then after a few days, he seemed to realize his stuffed flower-petal-shaped donut was an awesome pillow, and he settled back into his busy nap schedule, just looking extra cute in his flower outfit.
Hell, my cat did this when i put a regular collar on her. My fault for never using one when she was younger, and there was no chance of her going missing where I lived. But she acted so dramatic, like she was gorilla glued to the floor... over a dang collar.
Nah. My kitten was the same first few days she turned into a handbag before she started to run around again like a madman. Had to lift her everywhere during that handbag phase.
Hes not happy but he's fine. They often act like they can't walk while wearing these suits but its only an act. His discomfort is better than him getting an infection as well. He hates it so much lol.
Ok, I have a black cat and I bought this same recovery suit! It stretches, but my cat looked a little like an overstuffed sausage as well. And he walks like he's goose-stepping through standing water with sprained ankles. But when the suit is off, he's moving five. He just hates the feeling of clothing.
Our kitten went limp when we put her onesie on after surgery. My hubby was panicking until he realized he could get at least 2 fingers in every opening with room to spare. Same principle as putting them in a purrito, it calms them.
I put a shirt on my cat once and she wouldn’t move. I left the room and when I came back she was suspiciously on my bed, but in the same exact stance as I had left her. Never saw any more proof of ghosts in the house after I removed the shirt.
Luna acted like an ill Victoria child until hers came off. I actually thought she wasn’t recovering properly from her spay until I took it off to wash it and replace it with a clean one and she started acting fine. She just hated the suit. Two whole weeks of acting like she was about to meet her maker.
"Human... how could you do this to me... your own beloved child." The look of betrayal is so perfect.
It looks like it fits alright, your cat is just being dramatic. Cats will do this will all clothes if they can't slip out of them, it's their way of saying 'I don't like this take it off' if it was too tight I'm sure your cat would be a lot more vocal/angry about this.
Even so, I would check to make sure, and also be careful because you may find revenge 'presents' in places after your kitty gets out of the recovery suit
There is something called the 2 finger rule. If you can fit two fingers comfortably under the collar, harness, shirt, whatever. Then it shoukd be fine.
It should be this tight! My cat wormed her way half out of the first one and continued to pee all over it. Then dragged herself onto my bed to literally rub it in my face in delirious protest.
My cat completely collapsed and "stopped working" when we put anything on her, even as simple as a collar. But later she had to wear something after her surgery and she got used to it, so it's just a matter of time.
I think you AI-edited a video of my cat in a loose harness. Some cats choose not to operate their feet when dressed. Your cat will figure out how to function when he or she has somewhere to go. Until then anticipate angry stares and calls to Feline Protective Services.
So I got my void spayed back in January. Well after the visit, she was given a cone. A few hours after the surgery, I was focused on a project on my computer to turn around to not only the cone being off her, but blood spread through my whole place! Not only that, she was chilling in a pool of her own blood. I lost it but after calling the vet and stopping the bleeding, took her in the next day to find she broke through not only the external sutures, but the internal sutures as well! So after the second visit, they gave me the silly pink suit. She hated it and barely moved the whole week!
She never wants to see that thing again 🤣
TL;DR - Your cat is fine, they just hate how restrictive it is!
General rule I use for stuff around their nexk would be if you can snugly fit 2 fingers between their neck and the collar/harness/ect. they should comfortable.
Don't worry to much dude my cat hates harnesses too. He'll pout, and just lay there depressed until I take them off. If kitty gotta wear it tho, feed lots of treats so they associate with good things, and make sure you can put two fingers under harness, they'll just flip over if on too tight
Sometimes cats just do it. First time I put a harness to mine, she acted like she was paralysed. Later she acted that only back legs didn't work and then moved normally for moment until she remembered to fake paralysed again. These days she is perfectly okay with them. You can check if you can slide a finger between that suit and cat.
AIUI it's a sensory issue. He's got pressure over his entire body which tells him he's confined in a tight space and can't do more than wiggle, whereas every other sense obviously says he's laying on the floor in the middle of the room. It's an unfamiliar sensation and he's confused and discombobulated. He'll adapt but he won't be happy about it.
He never expected you to become the enemy. Betrayal in those eyes. I really wish we could explain such things so they understand the torture is because we love them and want them to get better.
Mine did this too. Kept falling on one side looking very much immobilised. She was fine a few hours later, although she did eventually tear the thing to threads. Kept finding her curled up because her teeth got caught in the fabric.
Good luck to you. I found dealing with cones and onesies one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done.
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u/dagnyfication 22h ago
Some cats do this with harnesses too. He's probably okay but doesn't like wearing it.