Etched Behind Eyelids | May 2022
An Alternative to the Cone of Shame for Cats and Kittens
Gustave has just turned eight months old, and last Thursday we had him neutered. In an ideal world we would have had this done sooner, but our veterinary practice didn’t have availability until now due to the pandemic boom in pet ownership, and so we waited as we know and trust them from our time there with our previous cat Minou.
On the forms I had to fill in for Gustave I was asked if I wanted them to supply me with a plastic cone for wound protection after his operation. After neutering, cats need to keep from licking their surgical incisions so that they don’t infect them or prevent them from healing through mechanical disturbance with their tongues. Minou had to have a cone at one point to help let an impacted anal gland heal, and she hated it. She wouldn’t eat or drink with the cone on and couldn’t get comfortable to sleep in it either, so I was reluctant to put a plastic cone on Gustave after his neuter operation. I opted not to get a plastic cone but rather to try a few DIY cones using felt and cardboard, to varying levels of success. Gustave didn’t like them either, and wouldn’t eat with them on. Eating, drinking and sleeping are just as important to a cat’s recovery after neutering or spaying as leaving their incisions alone is, so I needed to find a solution that worked for us and kept him happy.
Read more…
The Secret Bluebell Wood
Etched Behind Eyelids | April 2022
Chicken, Steel, a Deafening Silence
Walking back to the station from a short photography job in Wolverhampton at around 5pm, I pass a poultry processing plant on the Wednesfield Road. The door is open and a steady stream of workers can be seen stamping their time cards at the end of a shift and exiting the building via high security turnstiles.
Read more…