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Good evening everyone. I am new mom to a young kitten and have some questions.
Upon a regular checkup/visit to determine if she had a cold, we learned our Bootsey needed a hernia repair. She's 11 weeks old and some change. Yesterday was her surgery. I bought a dog crate (big enough for a 40-70 lb dog) to keep her in b/c they told us that her movement had to be restricted for three days. We have pain meds to give her, which we've been doing.
Which brings me to tonight.
I took Bootsey out of the crate to clean it out (she tipped over her little bowl with her food in it and there was some litter - the crate was big enough for a fleece "bed", food/water and a litter box) and put her in her car carrier -- which she doesn't care for. I put her back in the crate after I cleaned it and gave her her meds, at which point she went CRAZY.
She knocked over the food bowl again, and then went to play in the litter box, batting around a small clump... and then HORROR of HORRORS... she started rolling around in her litter. What do I do???? I get that she's unhappy cause she's bored, she's had the run of the house since she came home and confinement is NOT her thing...
I just don't know what to do... I hate the idea of keeping her in her car carrier... don't want her to associate that with punishment.. but the idea of watching her roll around in her litter... EWWWWWWW
Besides that I think she's starving for affection, she's been found sleeping on me, she's been most receptive to lots of cuddling and petting and there's been very little of that these days.
Let her roll, or put her in the crate without the litter a few hours at a time???
(I know, way too neurotic to be a cat owner....)
I just don't know what to do... I hate the idea of keeping her in her car carrier... don't want her to associate that with punishment.. but the idea of watching her roll around in her litter... EWWWWWWW
Besides that I think she's starving for affection, she's been found sleeping on me, she's been most receptive to lots of cuddling and petting and there's been very little of that these days.
Let her roll, or put her in the crate without the litter a few hours at a time???
(I know, way too neurotic to be a cat owner....)
How long did the Vet say to confine her? I have never put litter in a crate with a cat. I personally would have gotten her a smaller one and let her out of the crate several times a day. At any rate the vet can't expect you to keep this up for long.
How long did the Vet say to confine her?
=====================
Her movement is supposed to be confined for two to three days. This was the first full day. I don't want her to be miserable, I'll just take the litter out of the crate, and let her back in. Friday we'll keep her confined to the basement and pray for the best (it's fully finished, and warm and dry down there, there's just lots of stuff for her to jump and play on and she's got staples in her tummy
I would expect that confining the kitten doesn't mean you need to put her in a cage. We used the extra bedroom to confine them when our kittens were little. Of course, we kitty proofed it so they didn't have wires to chew on and break stuff. They had a bed, a small table covered with a towel, their litter, food, water and toys. They were perfectly fine. Just confine her to a small space and she'll be much happier. you can go in there and cuddle with her.
Thanks to all of you for your responses and reassurances. I think she was just tired of the crate. The purpose of keeping her in it was I guess not to disturb the incision at the site of her hernia repair -- it's a pretty evil looking gash.... it has STAPLES in it... but uhm... LOL she was CLIMBING the inside of the crate today and appears to be in zero pain.
She does seem a little stressed at not having her regular affection and playtime with Mommy and Daddy ... and since the weather here is vicious and I have no CLUE what time I'll get back home tonight (Daddy's leaving @ 4:00 pm, I'm leaving my plantation at six but it took me three hours to get here today) we've decided to take her out of the crate and confine her to the basement. Not too much down there for her to get into... and I'll keep an eye on her when I DO make it home tonight.
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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun....
