I feel bad

709juggalette

709juggalette

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Okay,my kittens are 11 weeks old now and when I am home,they have the run of the house.Normally they follow me tho and stay in the same room I am in.

Anyway because they get into EVERYTHING,overnight and when I go out,I confine them to my bedroom (I don't sleep in there anymore tho).All of their things,like the litterbox and food are in there.I let them out in the morning tho or when I come back and they are fine,just happy to see me.

However I feel kind of bad.
It isn't cruel to confine them in a room when I have to go out or sleep,is it?
I just don't want them to get into something and maybe hurt themselves or something when I can't be there to watch.
 
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goldenkitty45

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No its not cruel at all. Think of the kittens as a 1 yr old - would you allow them total freedom when you can't watch them????

My kittens are only allowed supervised exploring when I'm around to watch them - otherwise they are confined to a room for their safety. Charlie didn't get total freedom till he was about 5-6 months old.
 
hurdyburdy

hurdyburdy

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I don't think its bad either. Plus they have eachother for company.
 
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rotobay

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It's no more cruel than putting a baby in a playpen or strapping a toddler into a carseat. They may not love the idea, but its up to you to look out for their safety.

I just recently took in a pregnant stray who, as far as I know, has always lived outside. We had to leave for a 4 day trip and I had to decide if I should leave her inside the house OR out. We ended up leaving her inside. She may have preferred the freedom of being outside, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
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joshoisasleep

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Most of the time my kitten is free, and she is free to explore wherever we are staying indoors and out (we are exploring South America), and she is very happy to do so. However, if we have to leave her somewhere for the day, she usually gets shut in our room, or if we're driving she loves to be left in the car and sleep on the dashboard. She's quite happy with this and sleeps under the covers until we return.
When she was very small (less than 6 weeks) and I worried about rolling on her at night (she insists on sleeping between my girlfriend and I in the bed), or she annoyed us so much that we couldn't sleep, she would go in the drawer. It was the only option... either that or we would either risk crushing her in the night, or have to put her in another room which was much colder... very young kittens must be kept warm! I felt guilty, but she went happily to sleep very quickly with her favourite wool sweater in there, and then I would open it again once I knew she was asleep so she could do her kitty things. After doing this maybe once or twice, we found when we came home she would be curled up in that drawer of her own accord!

As long as your cat is given plenty of time to roam and explore and play, I wouldn't worry about leaving her in a cozy place when you have to.
 
mews2much

mews2much

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I lock mine in the bedroom at night and when we are not Home. Coco stays out here al the tme. All that is in that room is Cat Toys,Scratching Post, Cat Sofa,Cat Bed,Litter Pans ,Food and Water. Its a big room. When we are here they are out here with us. Sasha gets in trouble and breaks things out here.
 
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miao_kitty

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Originally Posted by joshoisasleep

Most of the time my kitten is free, and she is free to explore wherever we are staying indoors and out (we are exploring South America), and she is very happy to do so. However, if we have to leave her somewhere for the day, she usually gets shut in our room, or if we're driving she loves to be left in the car and sleep on the dashboard. She's quite happy with this and sleeps under the covers until we return.
When she was very small (less than 6 weeks) and I worried about rolling on her at night (she insists on sleeping between my girlfriend and I in the bed), or she annoyed us so much that we couldn't sleep, she would go in the drawer. It was the only option... either that or we would either risk crushing her in the night, or have to put her in another room which was much colder... very young kittens must be kept warm! I felt guilty, but she went happily to sleep very quickly with her favourite wool sweater in there, and then I would open it again once I knew she was asleep so she could do her kitty things. After doing this maybe once or twice, we found when we came home she would be curled up in that drawer of her own accord!

As long as your cat is given plenty of time to roam and explore and play, I wouldn't worry about leaving her in a cozy place when you have to.
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I love the idea of putting a kitten in a drawer to sleep. It's a good way to train them to sleep somewhere other than your bed. I'll have to remember that when I get another kitten. It sure beats getting mad at them and flinging them off you in the middle of the night. =P and it's cozy =)
 
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joshoisasleep

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Originally Posted by miao_kitty

I love the idea of putting a kitten in a drawer to sleep. It's a good way to train them to sleep somewhere other than your bed. I'll have to remember that when I get another kitten. It sure beats getting mad at them and flinging them off you in the middle of the night. =P and it's cozy =)
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Yeah, I've done my share of kitten flinging... hehe they're so funny to toss onto something soft!
The cutest thing about the drawer was it was just big enough for her, and she came to really like it, since it was cozy. We'd come home and find her in it, but as soon as we did she'd hop out... she would never go in there when we were home in case we shut it!
 
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ashley45

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I felt bad about confining Moses to a bathroom when I was gone and he was tiny, but then I reminded myself that the spare bathroom with all of his toys and soft bed, and delicious food was way better than a cage at a shelter or petstore. Compared to the place we got him from, the bedroom was like a resort!

A full bedroom is even better, especially since they have each other.
 
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