What a spiffy idea!

Right now, the Calico Queen is wearing a collar to keep her from licking where the vet cleaned up her abscessed bite, and doesn't seem to mind it much. (BTW, she's obviously feeling a LOT better to have that taken care of, and is significantly less grumpy than she was for the past couple of days, poor baby.) But the fact that this soft collar (more like a poncho -- quite the fashion statement) isn't bugging her says to me that she'd likely do well with a stretchy collar.

Here's something I find interesting: Even though I am not even on Meg's "cuddle time" list -- though she spent a couple of hours on Daddy's lap this evening -- Meg is willing to let me do the "caretaker" stuff, such as cleaning the place where the vet opened up the abscess with peroxide, and holding her still to give her a liquid antibiotic & her pain meds. It's nice to know that she obviously trusts me to take care of her -- it shows me that she knows I love her!

Thanks again to all of you for the good ideas and encouragement. I am NOT giving up on this situation, and I know we'll get through it!