Cage rest for kitten - tell me the worst?

[TailsoftheManyPaws]

One of our litter of foster kittens has broken a leg, presumably by kittening slightly too madly, and is condemned to cage rest for several weeks followed by a graded return to exercise. The cat charity involved has said we can either do this ourselves if we think we can cope, or return him for specialist foster care. I'm not sure how to gauge whether we can cope in advance; any sage advice?

My cousin's cat broke his leg as 12 week old kitten and had a couple of weeks worth of cage rest. He was fine; he was fed and had a litter box there.

My cousin put the cage in a high traffic area like the living room so he wouldn't cry and be lonely. He's a social cat so it depends on their temperament if it's come out. He was mostly sleeping it out when people were out and when they were in, he'd just people watched to be honest but when he was fed/the door opened, he would try his luck and get out but it wasn't fast or anything.

I hope they're okay though

Thank you! The vet definitely seems to think it will be a longer recovery because of where he’s broken it. I need to quiz them a bit more about the later stage when they are allowed out of the cage for gentle exercise and no jumping.

I had an adult cat who broke his pelvis and was placed on 8 weeks cage rest. I was dreading it but he was surprisingly OK.

I used a dog crate just big enough to take him and a litter tray though we had to abandon the tray as he couldn't climb in and out of it so in the end I just lined the cage with layers of those plastic backed pads used for children who wet the bed, so I could peel off the top layer as needed.

I had him downstairs in a place where he could see what was going on and he tolerated it amazingly well.

My adult cat years ago was on cage rest after being hit by a car.

Used a dog crate and an old single bed duvet with towels over it.

We didn't do a litter tray as he wouldnt use it just carried him out to the garden 3 times a day.

Put it in middle of kitchen so he had stuff to watch. Our other cat tormented him through the bars a bit.

Adult cats are easier to cage rest tho as they're lazy I suspect a kitten will be hanging from the roof

When my cat was on cage rest (6 weeks) he was fine for the first few weeks but after a while, the horrible little bugger took to shuffling his bum up against the bars of the cage and spraying wee over anyone who went past.

Thank you! Yes, it’s the ‘no jumping!’ aspect that has me wondering if we’ll cope - I assume that’s how he broke it in the first place, as he’s a very gung-ho little chap and flings himself at you from chair backs and tables.

When my then toddler broke his leg he was straight back on his tricycle and trying to climb the slide the next day. I have a feeling a kitten may be similarly daft.

He may be. He might be a bit sore the first few days which might put a damper on things. How is he now?

I haven’t seen him yet since leaving him with the charity’s vet. Going to need to decide today whether we take him back for the next few weeks. He's about 9 weeks old and was supposed to be going back for rehoming shortly- we so nearly made it through this foster without disaster!

The worst bit by far will be your guilt at him being caged. He'll probably be marginally frustrated - you'll be filled with guilt for the rest of his and your life. Just keep reminding yourself that it's for his own good....

How true!
One of his litter mates has just leapt headlong into the door with a mighty crash. It’s a wonder any kitten makes it to adulthood.