How can I sedate a cat to remove stitches?

The doctor said we can do it ourselves to avoid the trouble of loading the cat and making the trip (we have logistics problems), but it is hard to get the cat to relax. Will I need to try to do it when she is exhausted and has a full belly, or is there a trick to getting her relaxed so that I can snip the 3 stitches from her belly without fighting us off?

I'd say to give her as much tuna as she can eat, then a good dose of quality catnip.

have someone else distract her while you snip the stitches

If you can find someone that is good at restraining cats then this can be done without sedating the cat. Make sure you are using suture scissors and see if you can get someone like a veterinary technician or veterinary assistant to come to your house

I have worked in the SPCA and frequently had to remove stitches - we never sedated a cat for this.

There is a medication that can be prescribed by a vet, it is basically a kitty prozak. It takes about an hour to work but it should help keep them calm. I have to give it too my cat before he gets a bath because he gets so stressed out by it. The medications effects may upset your cat at first because they start to feel a little fuzzy but it should make them feel much more comfortable.