Cats and Ostomy Bags....

Just awoke from a nap, with my youngest cat (who's one year old and still very much a kitten) asleep on top of me. Apparently, she must have been kneading biscuits - because I just woke with tiny pinprick holes everywhere! I really need Izzy to learn like her two older siblings not to do that! :-)

But the issue was very quickly dealt with. Having a two-piece bag, I quickly popped a new bag over my base plate and I'm good to go. Fortunately, I discovered it before I ended up covered with you know what....

Cats! I adore them. Their nails? Not so much... But it's all part of my "normal" life!

De-claw them. 

Piece of sellotape over claw pricks on bag saves changing bag and lasts until your normal bag changing routine 

I clip my cat's claws. No issues, ever :)

From Humane Society of U.S. :  "Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of each toe on a cat’s paw. It would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle. The standard method of declawing is amputating with a scalpel or guillotine clipper. The wounds are closed with stitches or surgical glue, and the feet are bandaged. Another method is laser surgery, in which a small, intense beam of light cuts through tissue by heating and vaporizing it. Both can cause lasting physical and behavioral problems for your cat. Declawing significantly increases the odds of back pain, litter box aversion and biting.
Declawing is banned or considered unethical in dozens of countries around the world. In the U.S., New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia and more than a dozen cities have banned declawing. The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance oppose declawing and tendonectomies except in rare cases when it’s necessary for medical purposes, such as the removal of cancerous nail bed tumors." 

Avoiding Ostomy Bag Leaking | Managing Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden

Yeah so? Then deal with holes in the ostomy bag and crap squirting out like a Play-Doh factory; it makes no difference to me.

I have cats and this has been a worry for me. So far so good. 

I am only 5 months in so I haven't had to deal with it in warm weather yet. But for now, between my clothing and the ever present blanket, I am well protected. 

Perhaps you could try wearing a wrap or even a heavy fabric bag cover? 

With an attitude like that you should never own an animal, especially not a cat. 

Enough said. 

Yup. The challenge of having pets. No declawing!!! A suggestion (and it works for me) is to use a Stomacloak. That is a fabric pouch cover. Your cat's claws may go all the way through, but I doubt it. There are also some pouch covers that are waterproof (i.e., very thick durable fabric). I have dogs and they dearly love to jam their noses around my bag/stoma. So I shoo them away until the next time. As I am kind of brainstorming here, my ideas are scattered. But could you try to cover your stoma/bag with a blanket/heavy sheet when you snooze? In any event, look for a solution because pets really help with your mental (and physical) health.

My visit was to Henry's copy/paste from the Humane Society. Every dog I've ever owned is spoiled and taken great care of, thanks for judging me. Enough said.

Anytime sweetie

Yes, with the dogs sniffing, but they do love a good stench, that's why they often sniff regular human bums too.  My brother's Great Dane still sniffs my bum but not the new front one funnily enough, probably trying to figure out why there is no smell from the old orifice!

Many years ago I lived near a bus-stop that I could see from my kitchen window and I noticed one day a lady was bending over to pick something up, when my kelpie (years ago when dogs roamed free) decided to insert his snout directly into her behind, she almost fell over but no harm done, still laugh about it to this day! ⋆˚🐾˖°૮ • ﻌ - ა⁩

My cats sleep on me, beside me, and on my feet. Sometimes they just need to be taught nope, not okay. Same as a human child. Of course, they argue! Nobody wants a spoiled brat around, though.

My dog is the same. He is learning "nope," so now it's sniff and run. Brat!

They are inside / outside cats. Declawing them would be inhumane for me. They need their claws to climb trees, and to defend themselves.
My 9 and 3 year old cats know that they cannot use their nails on my abdomen, which is why they go to my hubby! :-)
Our youngest cat is learning; but at just 1 year old she's still very much a kitten!

I am blessed, as my ostomy nurse has prescribed me 20 base-plates, and 40 bags a month. I used a two-piece high output bag from ConvaTec for many years with a pre-cut hole; however, since my stoma changed over the years, becoming smaller and oval instead of a circle.
My old ostomy nurse (who was severely overworked) wanted me to be one of a handful of people to try the Coloplast SenSura Mio bags - however, she didn't do her homework and had ordered me the wrong one-piece bag - I had NEVER had to make a stencil of my stoma, nor had I ever cut my own hole in my base-plates - I guess she thought that since I'd had my ileostomy for well over 25 years that I'd figure it out.
So I had to do my own research to find out why the one-piece bags were coming off up to 3 or 4 times a day! And I eventually learned that Coloplast has three different wafers to suit different ostomies, and that I required the deepest convex one, and that she'd ordered me a bag which is normally for new ostomies....
My GP was furious, as I've been dumped into the terminal section, or the "too hard basket" - and he and his practice nurse for 3 months left her phone messages that they were worried about me, and if she could ring them back - she never did. My GP got extremely angry and asked for me to be referred to a different ostomy nurse without my knowledge - which is when my old ostomy nurse sent me a very angry and extremely rude email - I gave the email to my GP who became even more angry, and as a result, my old ostomy nurse very nearly got fired.... But I asked for that not to happen, as we'd been close at one time when she was still enthusiastic about helping her patients, but I'd noticed that she just didn't have time for me.
I now have a new ostomy nurse, who is younger. I only need to email her and she normally rings me back straight away when she's not busy. She's so much more supportive.
And I am so much happier.... She should be starting work again soon, as in NZ people tend to take time off and go on leave during the Christmas and New Year holidays until the beginning of February....

I forgot to say that years ago I tried the Sellotape trick; however, my output is very watery. The doctors could not find anything that would thicken it up without causing me a lot more pain, and this would cause the Sellotape not to stick.

But I really appreciated your comment!

Declawing our cats is something we will NEVER do. They're inside / outside cats, they need their claws to defend themselves, as well as to climb trees. I live on a small farm, rabbits are a pest in New Zealand, and they hunt mice and rats. Although one of my cats has diminished vision, and she likes to collect leaves to give to me.

Thank you for that comment HenryM!!

I'm somewhere between 25 to 27 years with an ileostomy. I tell my cats firmly NO - but when our youngest, who's now 1, was a kitten and I had to change my bag, she'd want to play with everything in my ostomy changing bag - so my hubby would take her and keep her occupied until I was finished.
These days Izzy is good when I am awake, but she likes to sleep on me, as all our 3 cats do! My husband apparently is far too restless for their liking.
So most nights I have one cat on my legs, one in my right arm, and the other on my chest.
The eldest two (3 and 9 years of age) know not to knead my stomach. Izzy will learn too... Throughout my journey, we've had a lot of cats, most were dumped and just walked into our home.

Our 3-year-old Angel loves to sleep on my chest and really loves to knead (which can be very painful). Usually, she will listen when I repeatedly say "OUCH" - sometimes I just pull up our blanket and duvet over my left shoulder until Angel is content and goes to sleep! :-)

You had me laughing quite loud with that story!!

I lost my beloved Rottweiler a few months ago, and my husband and I are still in the grieving process, as is our oldest cat who was her best friend....
Since Covid, everything has become so much more expensive. Dog food has tripled in price here in New Zealand, and we can no longer afford to feed another Rottweiler.
A lot of people in my community have Jack Russells - and we're hoping to eventually get a puppy.... But we are waiting for the right time.
A lot of people have said we should adopt a rescue, but living in sheep country, and having goats and cats, we need a puppy we can train ourselves. I have known people who've adopted a rescue dog, whom they were never told enjoyed chasing other animals - sheep, goats, cows, etc. - and the farmers out where I live will shoot dogs who are attacking and killing their livestock.

EXACTLY!!

While some people might get upset when their cat puts a hole in their bag, these days I just go with the flow, grab a new one to pop onto my base plate, and it's done in under a minute. I'm more amused than anything.
Our young Izzy is learning, like her older siblings, that my abdomen isn't for their use! Especially the right side!

Sorry to hear about your rottie; it usually takes me a couple of years before I can contemplate getting another dog. I have had kelpies and black labs in the past, but the most recent addition to the household is a wee ball of white fluff of some kind of Maltese/Shih Tzu (?Shihtese! 😂) extraction. At least she's not tall enough to sniff me, but if she's on my lap and hears any stoma noise, she does glare directly at it!

A Jack Russell would be a great dog for a farm; I have heard they make good mousers, and I agree you have to be careful with a rescue in the country. Good luck in your search for a new pup.

*Miss Molly below is not in the most ladylike of poses! 😅

🔒 Login to see image

The one who likes to sleep on me is my boy cat; but he prefers to snuggle near the armpit and place his paws on my chest, though none of my cats feel intimate enough to knead me (not sure if I should be happy or sad), but they do love this fuzzy small blanket I put on the bed especially for them and they knead the blanket like crazy 😅

Ok, then my suggestion doesn’t work for you. Hopefully you find a solution that’s easy and comfortable.