New & Improved DIY Cat Onesie: Skip The Cone & Make This Out Of An Old T-Shirt, Instead!

John keeps telling me I need to update you guys on the cats, which seems strange since the cats are pretty much ALL I post about over on my Instagram Stories, ha. I know most of you aren't over there, though, and yesterday we invented something sanity-saving that I think you cat Moms and Dads might appreciate:

These strappy one-piece numbers that really bring out their eyes. :D

Ok, really it's a recovery onesie, since both girls were spayed on Monday. We never intended to make these, though, because I thought I was prepared with these inflatable collars:

EEEEEEEH!

Both girls wriggled out of them in under 5 minutes. Turns out their safety collars inside the rings just popped open when they kicked at it. So we tried collars without the safety clasps... and Eva nearly strangled herself struggling with it. Terrifying. So, no.

We briefly tried our old DIY cat onesie, but it was way too big. Cute, but big:

 

Eva was still able to reach her stitches through the lower end.

At this point, desperation levels rising, John went out and bought the standard plastic cones. Suki did... ok?... in it, but Eva lost her furry little mind, instantly transforming into a 6-pound wrecking ball, flailing against every hard surface and giving me a succession of heart attacks as her little head bounced across the hard floors and walls. We tackled her, took the cone off, swaddled her tightly in the onesie again - plus a blanket for good measure - and sat down to regroup.

This is what a rough day looks like.

That's a long windup to tell you I found this "recovery suit" on Amazon while looking for a better collar:

It's only $9 and ships with Prime, but after squinting at it a moment I said to John, "We can make that out of an old t-shirt right now." John grumbled at first, like he always does, but then he got that thoughtful, calculating look that means MAGIC is about to happen. 

Furry Stegosaurus!

John's first prototype just had leg holes and straps, and it worked pretty darn well. The neck part stretched out quickly with the girls chewing on them, though, causing the whole thing to slide down after an hour or two.

Prototype #2 had a head hole and extra front straps. This was the winner for Suki, and she's still snug and happy in it two days later:

 

If you tie the front straps to the leftover straps at the rear - down the length of their back - it helps keep the whole thing from sliding down. The higher neckline is harder for them to chew on, too.

 Suki's the chill one, so she adapted to this design quickly. Eva, on the other hand, immediately flopped over on her side and refused to move... for over 6 hours. 

 

 The melodrama is strong with this one.

She'd bat at toys, eat, drink, and enjoy our petting, but she wouldn't stand up or walk on her own. The exceptions were the few times a small sound spooked her, and she'd take off like a panicked wrecking ball again, racing and banging around the house in a frenzy, somersaulting head over heels onto the hard floor and scaring the life out of us.

It was kind of stressful, you guys.

By this point it was 3 in the morning and I was at my end, frazzled and exhausted. John said he'd take first watch, and I collapsed for a nap.

Three hours later John woke me up to unveil his third and final onesie design, and THIS was the winner for Eva. Within moments she was up on her feet and walking almost normally, no panic or flailing.

Ta-daa!

The key was ditching the head hole and adding neck straps instead, as well as making the leg holes a bit larger. He also added a scoop out by the tail to make litter box use a little easier/cleaner.

(Note: you may not need straps this long; we ended up cutting off at least half that length after I tied them, since Eva is so skinny.)

Here's Eva in a VERY unladylike pose so you can see how low this goes on her belly:

"Do you mind??"
 
Believe it or not she can use the box just fine in this; everything under the tail is open.

And here she is with the caption someone wrote on FoE that made John laugh so, so hard:

"Master has given Dobby a shirt! ...Dobby doesn't like it."

:D

She's actually quite happy there. This little scrap of cloth has restored peace to our household, praise be.

Suki is still wearing her version 2.0, so here you can see how much simpler Eva's version is:

I do like both designs, though, so it's up to you to decide which is best for your kitty.

Making your own is simple: all you need is a large t-shirt to cut up and some scissors. The most important part is getting the width between the legs and the overall length right, so be sure to measure your cat first.

Once you've got your measurements, reference John's photo and sketch the pattern on to your t-shirt with a bit of chalk or a marker. You'll need a helper to put it on Kitty, but it's easy: have one person hold Kitty belly-out, then feed all 4 legs through the holes. Hold on to the sides of the shirt, set Kitty on her feet, and tie up all the straps. The t-shirt material is soft & stretchy enough to be comfortable, but you can tie the straps snugger later as needed. (You can also untie just the last knot to check their stitches, which we're doing twice a day.)

I'll end with the sweet moment when Suki - still struggling around in her ring collar - ambled over to a miserably flopped-over Eva and began licking her head:

This is when my heart shattered into a million pieces.  ::sob::

No wait, I can't end with that, it's sweet but too sad. Here, let's end with Suki on the desk beside me while I'm typing this:

With bonus Blep Tongue!

Right now you'd hardly know that either girl was wearing a onesie; they've been happy and mobile, but not TOO mobile, thank goodness. I think the pain meds have worn off, so they're moving more cautiously with less crazy jumping. Lots of naps and happy purrs in laps. Suddenly keeping them like this for another 10 days doesn't seem so impossible!

I hope this helps some of my fellow fur-parents out there, and saves you some of the heartache and panic we went through Monday night. My original onesie tutorial is still great if you're trying to cover up arms or legs, but if you just need the belly covered, then this way is much easier, comfier, and cheaper.

Oh, and needless to say, if you ever make this for your own pets we're gonna need photos over on the Epbot Facebook page - or tag me on Instagram!