dbc4l said
Last night we removed the bandages and the Fentenyl patch.  WOW that was difficult!  (Since my husband is a physician, they said we could do the removal ourselves vs. bringing her in.)  Unfortunately, there is a large strip that is stuck to her fur and skin.  We tried soaking it with warm water but it wouldn't come off.  We didn't want to traumatized Louis any further, so we left it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove it?  I have a call into my vet as well...

Also, how do you stop them from trying to lick the sutures?!?  We have a t-shirt on Louis but she just licks the outside of the t-shirt.  Is a cone the only way?  (Cones push on her ears...so I try to avoid them.) 

Yay! Glad to hear things are going pretty well. And yes, the pooping will happen soon. You can try speeding things up by adding a bit of olive oil, metamucil flakes or steamed/canned pumpkin pulp to her food.

As for the patch residue, we were told we could use Goof Off citrus adhesive remover by our vet. We did and it worked great.

Drying sutures can become so itchy. But, I recently learned at a vet conference that that licking could also be a sign that she doesn't have enough pain medication. What kind of drugs is she on and how often?