My husband and I just adopted a 6 week old kitten with a badly broken leg, Henry. He was left at a local shelter two weeks ago, so at this point, he's spent 1/3 of his life in a cage, with a splinted leg, without a mother or littermates. He'll be on "cage rest" for several more weeks, if not months. He's getting good medical care, so my concerns are starting to turn to his emotional and social needs.
He's currently isolated in an extra-large dog crate in a guest bedroom, with the door closed. I visit him every few hours for cuddles and food and box-scooping - but mostly he just wants to play. He wants to run, and jump, and try climb things...all definitely against his doctor's orders. Wrestling and biting and scratching human hands is also lot of fun, naturally. He's lonely, bored, and full of kitten energy - and without any other cats to help him learn appropriate behavior. He gets so overstimulated whenever he's out of his cage that I sometimes think I should visit him less...but on the other hand, he needs to be handled and socialized and bond with me and my husband.
I have seven other cats (and one dog) who I think will eventually welcome him to the family. They're a mostly young and well-adjusted bunch who all get along. They're extremely curious about what's going on behind the guest room door. Henry won't be able to play with them for quite a while, obviously - but he'll eventually have plenty of willing playmates and friends to teach him how to be a cat.
Does anyone have any thoughts on when and how to introduce Henry to the rest of the family? Should I set up a smaller crate in the family room to let him him observe everyone for a couple of hours at a time? Should I let the others explore his room (while Henry is in his cage) or would he feel too exposed and threatened?
And how do I teach him that biting human hands is not okay, when he's so limited on other ways to play? I've had a little bit of luck with distracting him with a kick toy or one of those gloves with toys dangling from the fingers - but only a little.
I would *really* appreciate any ideas or suggestions anyone has.
He's currently isolated in an extra-large dog crate in a guest bedroom, with the door closed. I visit him every few hours for cuddles and food and box-scooping - but mostly he just wants to play. He wants to run, and jump, and try climb things...all definitely against his doctor's orders. Wrestling and biting and scratching human hands is also lot of fun, naturally. He's lonely, bored, and full of kitten energy - and without any other cats to help him learn appropriate behavior. He gets so overstimulated whenever he's out of his cage that I sometimes think I should visit him less...but on the other hand, he needs to be handled and socialized and bond with me and my husband.
I have seven other cats (and one dog) who I think will eventually welcome him to the family. They're a mostly young and well-adjusted bunch who all get along. They're extremely curious about what's going on behind the guest room door. Henry won't be able to play with them for quite a while, obviously - but he'll eventually have plenty of willing playmates and friends to teach him how to be a cat.
Does anyone have any thoughts on when and how to introduce Henry to the rest of the family? Should I set up a smaller crate in the family room to let him him observe everyone for a couple of hours at a time? Should I let the others explore his room (while Henry is in his cage) or would he feel too exposed and threatened?
And how do I teach him that biting human hands is not okay, when he's so limited on other ways to play? I've had a little bit of luck with distracting him with a kick toy or one of those gloves with toys dangling from the fingers - but only a little.
I would *really* appreciate any ideas or suggestions anyone has.