Recently I was asked to make post surgery clothes for (female) kittens from the shelter I often volunteer at. These kittens are being spayed and they need to wear something that prevent them from removing the stitches after the procedure. I don’t have many experiences with kittens so at first I thought that the shelter was asking me to make cone collar. Then I learned that wearing cones is very uncomfortable for kittens, so what they want is special clothing.
After making some research (googling of course) to find out what these clothes look like, I began to draft a pattern. I asked for Fuwawa’s help in the muslin stage since there is no kittens on hand.
The muslin fits Fuwawa well! On the first one (grey), I was considering using velcro for the closure, the white one is using snap on buttons tape for closure. The next step is to draft a smaller ones for the kittens. I decided to use zipper since it is cheaper than snap on buttons tape. Here’s the first versions:
Unfortunately the tail hole is too small! But look at the cute kitten’s butt!
For my second version I made the clothes longer and eliminated some part around the back legs/tail.
Now they fit well!
I’m very happy seeing that the clothes fit the kittens quite well. The fabric is cotton jersey in animal stripes pattern that I think fit them well since they are tiny tigers!
If you’re in Japan and would like to adopt these kittens (or cats and dogs), please contact Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK) here.
*cat photos by Animal Refuge Kansai
8 Comments
Hi Novita! Thank you so much for your pattern. I used it to make one for my kitten who had neutering surgery yesterday. But I think I made a mistake in the back legs. Because I joined the pointy piece at the back with the edge of the lower front piece, the hole was too small for my kitten’s legs. Anyway, that was just my first try, so I’ll make another and adjust. I had no FOE, so i just left the neck and leg holes as is. And I had no zipper, so I just made ties, like the ones for hospital gowns. I think it all worked very well, even though mine did not look as good as the ones you made. The main purpose of the kitten clothes is to stop them from licking the wound. As long as the belly is covered, they cannot lick or bite off the stitches. Definitely, making kitten clothes is better than having my kitten wear a cone and stay inside a cage. I have to say, though, that I’m really looking forward to the end of the 10-day recovery period so that my kitten’s life can be normal again. She’s really really mad at me now because of the surgery and having to stay overnight at the vet. It was a big struggle to get the clothes on her. We were both so exhausted at the end of it, we (kitten and me) took a nap for 3 hours! what a day (whew!). Thanks again, Novita!
So glad to hear that the pattern is useful for you Esther! You can also use strips of jersey instead of FOE to finish the neck and leg holes, and use buttons instead of zipper. Ties are great as well!
Hopefully your kitten will recover soon, she’s so lucky to have you that care so much about her comfort :)
Oh, I would also love a pattern. I have a friend who has a cat with a surgery scar that something like this would be nice for. I hadn’t even thought of making something to help, but at the very least now I’m inspired.
Oh my goodness do you have a pattern download for these? I’d love to make some for the shelter!
I need to make more of these next week, so hopefully I can upload the pattern and tutorial :)
So cute and useful! Poor kittens!
Amazing project and incredibly cute kitties in their little clothes!
These are so cute, and you are so kind to make these!