When pets remove their sutures

Surgery that requires cutting through muscles is not closed up using only skin sutures – the muscle layers are all stitched back together first. It’s not a huge problem for the external sutures to come out prematurely, but you must guard against oral bugs being introduced to the op site by your pet.

Apply some kind of dressing to the site and bind up with a pressure bandaging – a stocking will do. Take your pet to the vet the next day for re-suturing and the fitting of a collar to prevent those teeth from doing any further damage. Cats, being finicky about personal hygiene, are particularly keen on the removal of stitches.