needing some help with my anxious kitty!

My cat Booger just had a 5 day vet stay. He is my barn cat and hates being in the house. The vet thinks he got into a scuffle with another cat, got bit, and then infected. He had a big mass of infection that spread to his neck. As soon as i found it i rushed to the vet without even calling (very protective cat mom) they kept him after cutting a huge hole near the front of his neck to drain (half dollar size). I have to keep him inside and he is on antibiotics. The problem is i have to keep him in a large kennel because of my other cats trying to groom him. I let him walk around for a bit then i lock him back up. He hates it in the house and bolts for the windows. He also howls constantly and it breaks my heart! Hes so miserable and he is also getting very dirty. His fur is long. Hes normally very gentle and i give him baths often, but because of his wound that is not an option. He wont let me clean him up even with pet wipes. He will only let me touch the top of his head and if i stray elsewhere he gets aggressive...very unlike him. I know he is trying to protect his wound but bottom line he needs cleaned up from head to toe since he cant reach his bottom. How can i calm him for cleaning and how can i just keep him calm until it heals in my house? I know he is miserable and when he cries i cry please give me some advice on how to help my catchild.

AW dear, I am sorry about Booger's situation and that terrible wound. Yes, the best thing IS to keep him confined and indoors for the time being. That wound could get so much more infected if he is let back out too soon. So, yeah, how do you keep him calm and comfortable since he does not like being indoors. Really, regardless of how unhappy he is and protesting his unhappiness, he needs to heal. It can be just terribly hard on our hearts to deal with an outdoor cat who know needs recuperation indoors from an injury. Very, very difficult. :nod: I think right now I would not worry about cleaning him at all. Since that will just stress him out more. I promise you, you will have your Booger back just as he was once he is back to his "normal" life. Just keep telling him, calmly, that this is the way it must be right now. He knows you are only trying to help him heal but none the less, is very mad about his situation. Is there anyway he could have the bathroom? or another small room? where your other cat can't get at him to groom him? At least then he would have some more room. Although, worth mentioning, more space might make him even more stressed and wanting to escape. Honestly, the crate really might be the best for him right now. Maybe put your other cat in another room and let Booger out for half of the day. Soon, he will settle and accept what his life has become for the moment. Also, you could talk to your vet about giving Booger something to help him relax and calm. There is also Feliway diffusers you can plug in by his crate. Keep his crate half covered and make a nice comfy hidey bed for him such as a cat carrier with the door taken off. Rescue Remedy is another option. You can put a few drops on his tongue, or even in his water and a few drops on his ears and above his tail. Your a good momma and us good momnma's can't help but feel upset and sad when our furkids are sick. Hope this helps in some small way.

OH!!! Just thought of something else - another option :dk: You mention a barn? Maybe he would be better off in the crate out in the barn? OR do you have a "tack" room or small room that is completely enclosed in your barn? Just bouncing ideas around. Not sure he will be happy anywhere confined because he just wants his freedom. All in good time. Priority here is to let that wound heal and keeping him relaxed all at the same time.

And, Welcome to TCS!!! Glad you found us!! :nod:

Thank you so much! I will definitely try some of these for sure. i did call my vet this morning and she said that i would have to bring him in again before she could give him something for anxiety....not sure why since he was there 2 days ago. So i ha e decided that unless it gets too intense im just going to try at home relief. Taking him into the vet would just stress him out more. (But he is a very good boy! The vet told me all about how well he behaves and takes meds. She doesnt see that often in outdoor cats. He still gets his wormer, shots, baths, and much love..he just lives outside by HIS choice, so hes not wild at all) anyway! Starting to get off track haha. In his current state, it would just be worse cor him unless things progress. I have been keeping other critters out of my room. I let him out a few times a day but its too dangerous to leave him that way since he literally climbs the walls. His wound has to heal so the less gymnastics the better last night to calm him a downloaded an app that purrs lol sounds weird but it help a lot! Helped me sleep too! I thank you very much for all of your advice. Im going to start my checklist right now Booger and i will get through this

Yes, Sambo, you and Booger will make it day by day. ARGH.... I have to say... Your vet would require you to bring him back in just to dispense anxiety medication when you were just there. That is just wrong and I would insist on asking WHY,, what would be the purpose of stressing out Booger even more. I would think at the very, very least IF you have to bring him in just for those meds, then you should NOT be charged a vet office fee. Absolutely not. OR just a very minimal office fee. The only good thing about bringing him in if needed for that medication would be that your vet can have a look at that wound to see if it is healing properly. I just don't trust many vets because I have been taken advantage by so many of them. I am so picky now about who "gets" to be my vet. :lol3: They have to be so much more compassionate and concerned with my pets rather than lining their own pockets. Not looking for anything for free, don't get me wrong, but come on. You just spent mega bucks getting Booger help and I would think that the vet would be lenient about dispensing medication and seeing Booger for the second time in two days. :lol3: Was that ranting???!!!

Here are some more vibes for your Booger!!! Keep updating!!!

I agree! She is a good vet just very strapped for time. Its hard to even get into see her unless an appointment has been made almost a month in advance. Thats why i just walked in with him. We also played phone tag for 2 days until i finally just went in to see him. I always had to leave voicemails for her. The good part is she did slightly lower my bill since there was a mixup. Whew when i walked in my hands were sweaty and shakey. I was so nervous! And when they brought him in the exam room it was like a movie scene lol he jumped out of the tecbs arms as i was almost running towards him into mine...then we loved on each other lol. Purrrfect moment. Hes never been away from me for that long. The purring app has helped so much as well as backing his crate into a corner. He is also more relaxed if he can see me and i keep my other cats away. He wants out like they are so i lock them out. (That breaks my heart too! But my little big Booger is my top priority right now) The wound is finally starting to close and its so hard not to clean it too much. It was about the size of a half dollar (deep to the muscle) now its oblong where the skin is slowly coming together. He is so stinky and his long fur is getting tangled but still no luck on him letting me groom him. So i just hold him like the big baby he is and wipe behind his ears as he drifts off. I do think he is starting to accept this more i just hope he doesnt think its forever....and more importanly i hope he doesnt resent me when bis life is finally back to normal. It does happen...i just hope not to us. Thank you for the good vibes!!! Everything is slowly coming together.

Sorry for all of the typos! I am using a touch screen so a lot of my h's are b's and well...its all messed up lol i hope you can manage to read it