My Maine Coon just had double knee surgery

Hi all - could use some help. My big boy just had both of his knees operated on and he's doing ok except for using his box. He can't put weight on his back legs and he - of course - won't accept my help to stand in his box. I've got wee wee pads down but he seems very reluctant to wet himself. I know he's got to go because they gave him fluids and he's had very small accidents when he's tried to move and it caused pain. He's almost 2 years old and weighs in at 21 pounds. Any suggestions for how I can get him to let loose?

I'm sorry I don't have any ideas @OlliesMum  if he won't let you hold him up, but how are things going?   Hopefully someone will see your thread who has had to go through something similar and managed to find a way to help.

Welcome to the forums and I'm sorry that it's under these circumstances. How is he today? Cats can be very reluctant to soil themselves and even a very sick cat will do whatever he can to "hold it" rather than wet himself.

I think the only thing to do is get him to the box as often as you can and hold him there. Eventually he will let go and pee. I hope that's already happened by now. If he hasn't peed in more than 24 hours then you must call your vet ASAP and get him to the clinic for an emergency procedure of relieving his bladder.

Update on my post :
Thanks for your concern about my Oliver. He's gotten past his shy bladder issues and has been using the box. First with help and now he's been able to negotiate it himself and is figuring out how to move himself around a bit more. We had a small issue last night with his IV catheter. I took off the 'cone of shame' for him to drink some water and turned my back for a second and in that split second he'd gotten under the bandage and pulled the cap off the catheter! Thankfully the vet office is open late and they took the thing out - it was a precaution in case he wasn't drinking. So now the cone stays on unless I've got 100% attention on him! We're already starting to have issues with him wanting to move around more - and we're only 2 days after surgery. It's going to be a long 2 months of confinement! If anyone has any suggestions for crate friendly toys to help keep him from getting bored that would be great!

A friend of mine who fosters a lot of kittens uses two things to keep them amused.  One is that she gets cartoons on her extra smart phone and hangs it on their cage like a kitty TV.  They seem to love it.  You could use a tablet too for a larger cat. She can put Animal Planet or something like that, maybe videos from YouTube.  Anything with motion they like.  She also uses some baby toy that sings songs etc. when you push something on it.  The kittens like to bat it all the time to make it sing.  She is going nuts listening, she says.  She  had offered me loan of the toy when I was raising the little black kitten over the past couple of months but I declined.  I knew it would drive me bonkers.  She still has a 100 watt bulb light cliped onto the cage (she has a giant dog size cage she keeps them in most of the time, but they get playtime out of the cage a coupe of times a day.  They are so big now they can get into trouble, climbing curtains and boxes and the like.  Your guy can't do that, obviously, but if you had one of those strollers for cats that is all zippered mesh, you could take him for walks.  She does that with the kittens also from time to time.  Her other cats walk on leashes with harnesses.

So you've got a 21 pound Maine coone whose wearing a "cone of shame" in a large dog crate for healing purposes?  How big is that crate   It must be HUGE! 

Anyway, I was going to suggest moving the crate around from room to room as YOU move around from room to room, since they generally like to be where WE are, but that might not be so easy. 

If he gets antsy, which is a distinct possibility, you might use Rescue Remedy, or any type of calming spray on the surfaces (I just used some simply to get my Darko to the Vet, and it worked wonders).  Also, there are CDs and DVDs created just for cats which you might look into.  Just google it.  As far as specific toys, he should be able to have any of his favorite little stuffed toys in his crate...whatever will fit.

for a quick recovery

I'm glad the bladder issue is resolved. I agree nature movies could be a good idea. They are actually available for free on Youtube. If the crate is large enough, maybe you can hang a few toys inside for him to bat at? You could then change them everyday so he has something new to play with. 

He's in one of those outdoor mesh tent enclosures set up in my dining room so he can see everything going on around him. At night I've been putting him in his soft sided crate so he can get a break from the cone. So far I've been sleeping on an air mattress next to him so I don't have to haul him up and down the stairs but that's not going to work for the next two months! So he may be sticking to the tent at night by himself pretty soon. I've ordered a soft cone that might work better for sleeping.

Excellent idea on the rescue remedy. He's been getting a homeopathic spray called ComfyPet pain relief from PetAlive that seems a good supplement to his 2x per day pain medication. I'll have to switch out with some rescue remedy and see how that helps. He's got some catnip tea bags in there with him right now and I'll look into the DVDs suggestion too since he is strategically in sight of the tv.

Thanks again for the great suggestions and the good vibes. Oh! He's also loving getting some reiki in the morning to help with the stiffness too!

I'm so glad Oliver has started to use his box, and there are some useful ideas here for keeping him entertained and calm while he's in that crate.  

Has he got any scratching / rubbing surface like the cardboard beds or flat panels you can get so he can stretch a little and keep his front claws nicely preened in his space?   I bet he's loving that reiki - lucky cat.