Cage rest

[Cattery]

So my lovely boy has torn his cruciate ligament in his left knee. Vet has told us to keep him in a cage for six weeks then she’ll review. I’ve got a cage on order and it’ll be here today. Has anyone any experience of keeping cats as least mobile as possible?

Bless him OP. You'll get there and it will all be a distant memory! Zara turned 14 last week and other than a bit of arthritis she's as fit as a 4 year old. It's a short period of their life and they'll forget about it.

@iloveeverykindofcat 14 is a great age! We just opened the cage for him to come and sit on the sofa. He’s not budging. He’s not silly. I think a full recovery will take months but we’ll be with him every step of the way. Lots of check ups to come. Luckily the vet practice have set the fee so no more to pay going forwards x

Really pleased to hear the op went well OP. Lots to be encouraged about. Sounds like he’s happy in his cage for now which is good. Hopefully plenty of dreamies will help him cope over the next few weeks!!

Glad he’s doing ok - it’s a long road but good if they’re happy in their cage!

Thanks all. He seems happy enough but obviously frustrated by the rod on his leg. He’s had his antibiotics and Gabapentin for tonight so all quiet. Long road ahead for him but he’s a very determined cat (as they all are I guess) x

How's the cage rest and recovery going @Cattery ?

I think we were lulled into a false sense of security... The first two and a half weeks have been pretty easy as our cat is generally pretty lazy, but yesterday and today he's making every attempt to escape and when we let him out to have some food he just wants to explore. He's been able to sleep on the sofa or my son's bed during the day when we're in, but I feel like the battle has commenced now!!

Yes, our boy just had 5 weeks cage rest for a broken paw.
He was prescribed gabapentin and we used a feliway plug in.

It was actually worse when we were in the room with him as he wanted to be out with us.
After two weeks he could come out but OnLY for cuddles. He loved that but was more stressed afterwards. Mostly he just accepted it.

We gave him loads of nice food like chicken and salmon, so he got nice and fat over the weeks.

He’s had no emotional/behavioural changes (which I was really worried about) and is still just as loving.

That being said, the day he was allowed out he killed a pigeon and the day after climbed a tree 🤦‍♀️

Bless him - making up for lost time clearly!!

Ours doesn’t seem stressed luckily just a bit cross - and as a Siamese who’s been uncharacteristically quiet for 2 week, he’s found his voice again today!
I’ve put his crate on the table in front of where I’m working today but I’m being eye balled constantly…!

Oh bless them! It’s hard isn’t it. They so love their freedom. Arthur is doing well. Obviously he’d rather be free to roam but that won’t be happening for some time yet. He’s currently on the sofa on a blanket supervised by dh. His eyes follow me everywhere (the cat not dh) and I know he’d love to jump off and resume life as he knew it.

Hi. Update from the cage. So we are roughly six weeks in. Fortnightly check ups with the vet who has said the leg is showing no signs of infection where the stabiliser is fitted and is pleased with his progress. Another appointment on 11 December when hopefully a decision will be made as to when the frame can come off. Mainly ok in the cage but he’s enjoying sitting on the sofa under supervision. He’s determined to jump off and have a wander and is walking well on the leg. However yesterday I made an error and let him have his cone off for a few hours. I said to dh that’s the best wash he’s had in weeks, he’s really enjoying it. When I looked closer he’d ripped a great chunk of fur off his back down to the skin! Obviously full of stress and now self harming. Poor Arthur. Hope it grows back a bit before we see the vet in two weeks. 🐈‍⬛

Poor Arthur, it's a long slog. Glad the progress is good though.

7 weeks in here - cage is fine over night (a microwave wheat bag is making his bed toasty warm which he loves) and he's mostly on the sofa during the day supervised - luckily he doesn't like the cold so needs no encouragement to snuggle under a blanket. Vet next week for an xray - hoping he can have the freedom of the house after that but not getting my hopes up. He's desparate to run up and down the stairs!

@Monstermunchy 100 per cent the same! He’s tried to make it up the stairs a couple of times but has been caught. Vet said definitely no stair climbing. He’s such an outdoorsy chap but I think just the freedom to roam the house would be marvellous for him. It’s so hard and we are all struggling now. Honestly, it’s like having a toddler again. Love to you and your patient

Toddler, yes!! I think I described ours as like having a 'new baby' 🐱 Only this week he's been staring longingly at the cat flap... no chance mate!

And same to you, they're high maintenance like this, aren't they!!

Oh they so are. One of us couldn’t do it on our own because one has to sit with the cat whilst the other hoovers out the cage because when I tried to hoover around the cage with him in it he hissed. He was scared and couldn’t run away I suppose. The cat litter! The mess! Hanging in there 🐈‍⬛

It’s hard to believe where we were with Finlay in December last year - he’s definitely back out there living his best life despite two hospital stays recently for totally different reasons - he missed out so much last year on his first Xmas that I’ve given him his own tree this year!

@JaceLancs oh so cute! Merry Christmas Finlay!

Is it over OP? Is he okay?

Zara was 10 when she went through it, now thriving in her fifteenth year of life. Everyone says she looks nowhere near her age. We have a young rescue girl as well now, at first she was kind of horrified (I think I had forgotten what teenage cat energy is like...) but now she thinks she's fine, she'll give her a hiss if she's going over the top, but the cold weather has convinced her that her pesty little sister has her uses. For one thing, she's is extremely furry. A few months ago I certainly would not have seen them lying with their bodies pressed together.

Hi!@iloveeverykindofcat Aaah look at them snuggled together! Beautiful.
Small progress; he’s out of the cage and exercising the leg. One of the vets told me on the phone two weeks ago that the muscle needs to be used. He doesn’t seem in any pain and apart from the frame restricting the bending of the knee he’s getting about the house well. He can go up and down the stairs on his three good legs but he knows he can’t jump. I know this because I found him hiding down the side of the bed after I’d been talking to a workman at the front door, whereas usually he’d have hidden on top of the wardrobe. He’s loving the freedom of the house but is wondering why he’s not allowed out. Vet next Weds at 11am so we are crossing fingers that the operation has mended his torn ligaments and that the metal frame can come off asap. Thank you for asking and I’ll update with our news. So encouraging to see your puss doing so well now and a good age! 🐈‍⬛

That's brilliant news OP.

Just in time to climb the Christmas tree

Ha ha ha can you imagine the bulk up the tree wrecking it all 🎄🤣
Not long to go now…x

Hi all. Check up with the vet earlier today. She’s thrilled to bits with the stabiliser and how it’s looking after two months. She said sometimes you can get signs of infection but thankfully no sign of anything like that. She said Arthur was moving well on the leg and she will removed the metal cage next Friday the 20 Dec. He’ll have an anaesthetic then she will unscrew the bolts and fill the holes with skin glue. He has to be there for 7.30am and can hopefully be collected at lunchtime. Once he’s home it’s another ten days in the cage to rest then hopefully that’s it!

So pleased to hear your good news!
Its nearly 12 months since Finlay’s accident and he’s doing well

Thank you. Morning Finlay! 👋 Glad to hear you’re doing well x

Happy New Year cat mums and dads! The removal of the stabiliser was all good. The vet said his leg will be stiff for a while and wants to see him on 16 January. The cage has been dismantled and Arthur is free! Well to be honest, he was spending most of his time on the bed or the sofa. He’s not allowed to jump but he can get upstairs and downstairs fine. He’s walking well but not bearing his full weight on the leg. We are all hopeful if a full recovery 🐈‍⬛

Yay! Congratulations. I'm sure he'll do fine now. Zara went for her booster last week and confirmed still in great health at 14, though not too happy having to share a waiting room with all the peasants 😆