Socialization and Intros for very young, injured kitten???

suzannef

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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. 
 

nlevi42

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I'm not an expert in socializing injured kittens but my cat used to love to bite when he was a kitten, haha! I've trained him out of it mostly by pulling away and stopping the play altogether once he bites me to give him the association that biting equals no more fun. Now he does not bite nor scratch and he's a very well behaved boy besides the occasional little love nip ^^ In all seriousness, though, I think that giving him other toys to distract him when he's biting might just lead to him thinking that biting means he gets to play with fun toys.

I think that as of right now, it might be overwhelming to introduce him to eight other animals while he's small, injured, vulnerable, and caged, no matter how nice your other cats might be to him. Eight unfamiliar animals closing in on him where he has nowhere to hide could possibly be very intimidating. I'd say that, in my opinion, you're doing a great job so far of making sure he's getting attention and care! It might be harder to introduce him to the family as he gets older but I'd say wait for him to be healed before allowing him out and about with your other animals, and continue to handle him and accustom him to being around you. Good luck!!
 
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suzannef

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Thanks for the advice. Do you really think it's a bad idea for him to start spending time in a second crate downstairs? What if I locked all the others in a different room for a few hours so he could hang out with me and my husband without being gawked at?
 

nlevi42

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I think that spending time familiarizing him to other rooms would be good but again, my concern is that he'd be terrified with a bunch of foreign animals staring at him. I don't think there's anything wrong with having him in a second crate with just you and your husband around ^.^ and by the way, that is one of the absolute CUTEST kittens I've ever seen. What a little angel!! Bless you for caring for him so carefully!
 
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suzannef

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nlevi42

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​My goodness!! That little blue cast with the paw print... not to mention it's practically the size of his entire body... my heart!! My cat is practically an old man now and he loves that same kind of toy, whoever invented it is a genius. Best wishes to you and Henry :) and thank you very much for all of the adorable pictures you shared, made my day!
 
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lavishsqualor

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Henry is definitely a looker!

You and your husband are saints for taking him in.

He's very fortunate to have you.
 
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suzannef

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Thank you both for the kind words! We went in for a checkup today and Henry's leg seems to be healing well. He's still on cage rest, but gets short play breaks which seem to keep him happy. He's met my dog, Dexter, and one of my other cats, Delilah, and that has gone well.

Here he is in a thoughtful mood:

 
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suzannef

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Poor Henry. He's been subdued and limping the couple of days. We had a checkup, splint change, and more X-rays today. The ulna is healing but the radius isn't, and worse yet, he has no motor function below the break. The doctor is thinking he may need to amputate after all. He's giving it one more week to see if there's any improvement. Henry's leg swelled a lot after the old splint was removed, and he was running a slight fever, so were giving him an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. Poor little Henry.
 

hellomisskitty

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Oh I'm really so sorry to hear this [emoji]128575[/emoji] The poor little guy has been thru so much already. I'm so glad Henry is recieving such good care and is being given the best chance possible for his little leg to heal. I will be keeping Henry in my thoughts and prayers [emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]127995[/emoji]
 

catpack

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First, thank you for adopting this sweet baby! He is precious!!

I've been through something similar twice.
The first was the same situation...6 week old kitten with severely broken leg (his was a back leg). He endured MULTIPLE cast changes each week as he liked to climb in his water bowl...and then with just regular kitten litter box training...

I used a standard large size dog crate for him as we didn't him moving around much. He too got overstimulated easily and just wanted to play. I actually limited my visits with him which helped his recovery. I visited with him 4 times a day to feed and hold/pet him until he got antsy.

I used newborn size NUK pacifiers to help with the biting. He also required them for all cast changes as he would get extremely fiesty/aggressive and try to bite. I made sure to always put the pacifier in his mouth when they began to cut the old cast off. It really helped him direct his anger into something controllable.

He was casted for 6 weeks, with another 2 weeks of slow integration to normal activity.

I'm not going to lie, I had a difficult time integrating this one with other cats as he was just wide open and had play aggression. HOWEVER, I am happy to report that he was adopted at 2 yrs old with another cat (older cat by 2 years) and is doing absolutely fantastic. We never would have paired these two together, but it was kind of an oops intergration that actually worked out...especially with both being adopted together!


The second kitten came to us with what we thought was just a ruptured Achilles' tendon. He was about 8 weeks old when we got him. Surgery was done at 11 weeks of age and he was on strict crate confinement for just over 3 months.

This kitten was much more tolerant of being in the crate and didn't even try to escape when the door was opened. I, again, kept visits to about 4 per day and just focused on petting/holding.

He did really well overall and, aside from having LOTS of energy from being in the crate, he adjusted and acclimated to other cats much quicker than the first kitten.

Unfortunately for this baby, when he came out of confinement, we realized he also had neurologic issues that affected his legs. So, for safety reasons, was confined when not directly supervised as he didn't know his legs didn't work great and liked to jump off the top of counters and the cat trees, resulting in belly flops and bruised bladders. He also didn't have 100% control of his bowels until he was 10 months old, so another reason for the confinement when not supervised.

I'm happy to report he is doing well now. He no longer takes daredevil dives, for which I am relieved. Still living with me (considered a long-term foster) as he awaits a forever home. But, he's here with me until that day comes.

I tell you all that to say that these kittens that require crate rest early on can grow up to be happy, well adjusted kitties. Yours will have LOTS of energy to expend on release day and will make up for lost time. I really believe the crating is harder on US than it is on them.
 

catpack

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In regards to the swelling he has...
I know if a splint is put on too tightly there can be swelling. Were his toes swollen? When the vet wraps the splint, are the toes open or closed in the bandaging?
 
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suzannef

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Hi CatPack, thanks for the responses. The previous splint was closed at the toes, but the new one is open. I didn't see the swelling for myself. I agree that the previous splint may have just been too tight.

The biting is getting worse. I do limit my visits to about 4 times a day now, and have a toy ready to use for distraction. I hadn't thought about a human pacifier, but may give that a try.
 
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suzannef

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Henry managed to slip his splint off last night - yikes! But his leg looked much better than it had the week before. My husband and I both saw signs of motor control! Henry seemed more than a little confused by the sudden appearance of a leg he hadn't seen in over half his life. [emoji]128521[/emoji]

We had a vet appointment at 8am today anyway, so we just rewrapped it with his existing plastic splint and some sports wrap we had on hand. Then today, the X-rays showed remarkable healing on the radius as well as the ulna. So well that the Dr. didn't resplint the leg. And he wants Henry to be out of the cage half of the day using the leg (carefully) to build muscle and develop motor control. YAY! The flip side of that is that he's supposed to spend the rest of the time in his small cat carrier, not his spacious Great-Dane sized crate. And he has to wear an e-collar to prevent excessive licking/chewing. [emoji]9785[/emoji]️

I've been adding KMR in his food this past week for extra calcium, and really trying to enforce strict cage rest. I really think now that his previous splint had just gotten too tight as he grew. I'd been keeping dog socks over it to keep it clean, which worked so well he wore the same splint it for 3 whole weeks.

We're not completely out of the woods, but this is great progress. Henry is so happy whenever he's out of his cage. My other cats are doing well with him. Delilah, George, and Ivy are friendly. Jack, Belle, and Alice are watching from a safe distance. The only hissing has come from Max, who I would have previously said was th most congenial of all my cats.

Anyway, that's the update. It's been a very good day for Henry.
 

weebeasties

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So Very Happy for Henry! What good news! Hope he continues to improve and is able to run around and jump and play very soon.
 
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suzannef

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Time for a Henry update! At this morning's visit, the Vet said Henry was doing great. His leg is still thin from disuse, his paw is shaped oddly, and he walks a bit "flat" - on his heel not his toes - but everything is looking better than it was a week ago.

He's spending a lot of time with the rest of the family. The other cats seem to have accepted him. They've played with him a little bit, but hiss and leave whenever he gets bitey. Delilah keeps trying to groom him, trying to hold him down for a tongue bath, but he bites her until she gives up. :-(

The biteyness is definitely the biggest issue right now. Whenever my husband and I try to hold him and pet him, he bites our hands. Sometimes he purrs while he bites, so he likes the petting. We're trying every trick in the book to teach him not to bite.

I have one more lingering concern: this poor little cat had 5 X-rays done in the first 9 weeks of his life. That can't be good. I sure hope he doesn't end up with cancer later in life due to so much radiation. Sigh...it seems like I always find something to worry about.

Still, it's been a great week and I'm thrilled to have such good news to report! Here are a couple of new pics:

Still adorable!

This is a good shot of his lumpy paw. One toe seems too long.

This is a good shot of the leg. No idea why he had a squinty eye. :-)
 

detroitcatlady

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So adorable!! Glad to see he is doing better, hope the best for this little one. His walking may change and improve when he builds muscle.
 
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