How to Make a Soft Elizabethan Collar for Cats With Head Wounds

Queen Elizabeth I of England was known for wearing dresses with extremely high collars--so high that they reached her chin. This style has become known as the "Elizabethan collar." In veterinary medicine Elizabethan collars are pieces of soft plastic that clip around an animal's neck. They surround the animal's face like a cone and prevent the animal from biting itself (after surgery, for instance, when the veterinarian wants to prevent the animal from biting out its stitches) or from scratching a head wound. Most veterinarians loan these collars when necessary but you can make one as well.

Things You'll Need

  • Strong soft plastic posterboard
  • Scissors
  • Soft measuring tape
  • Pen
  • Cat collar
  • String
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the cat's collar. Measure the circumference of the cat's neck using a soft measuring tape or a piece of string.

    • 2

      Draw a semi-circle in the middle of a strong piece of soft plastic poster-board. Use string or soft measuring tape to measure the circumference of the semi-circle for the Elizabethan collar. This will be the neck edge of the Elizabethan collar.

      The poster-board must be at least the length and width of the cat's head, measuring from her neck to the tip of her nose. Use the soft measuring tape or a piece of string to measure her head.

    • 3

      Draw the Elizabethan collar's outer edge. Using the soft measuring tape or string with the measurement of the cat's neck, draw the outer edge at a distance of half the measurement of the cat's neck from the inner semi-circle.

    • 4

      Cut out the shape of the Elizabethan collar with the scissors.

    • 5

      Punch holes along both edges of the Elizabethan collar with the scissors. Make the holes about 1 inch apart; the number of holes will depend on the size of the cat's neck.

    • 6

      Cut slits near the inner semi-circle with scissors about 1 inch apart; the number of slits will depend on the size of the cat's neck.

    • 7

      Weave the cat's collar in and out of the Elizabethan collar through the slits on the neck edge.

    • 8

      Fasten the cat's collar on her neck. This will create a cone shape that surrounds her head.

    • 9

      Lace the two sides of the Elizabethan collar together with string, weaving it through the punched holes. This will close it around the cat's head and prevent her from injuring herself further.