Caged cat - extended recovery advice

[Cosmic76]

Hi guys, this post is a cry for help really. I've got a 5 year old cat who was hit by a car 9 weeks ago. He had screws to pin his pelvis and an external fixator on his leg. Long story cut short, the leg is healing well, but the screws have slightly loosened in his pelvis.

It's been a long road so far. My vet isn't brilliant, i've had to chase them a LOT to book appointments and get information. He had his x-rays to see whether he move to room rest (had to wait nearly 2 weeks for the results) but sadly the screws have loosened and they've said he needs another 2 weeks in the cage.

I am yet to speak to my vet personally about what caused the screws to loosen as my partner took the call while I was at work, we were told we could let him out for a wander every day but for the last couple of weeks I've been letting his out of the cage for an hour or so in the morning and an hour in the evening as he gets desperate. I guess it was too much too soon? I feel terrible about it.

We need to reduce it back down now and be strict to ensure that the screws don't loosen any further. I'm really, really starting to lose my mind. He is very vocal and goes mad trying to get out. I have tried all sorts to keep him entertained (best results from YouTube and mouse/bird videos!) but I think I need some more ideas... I've bought puzzle feeders and he's not interested. He's very prey driven.

Does anybody have any out of the box (whole in the box!) thinking on this?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am likely not going to help with your immediate dilemma, but has your cat been seen by a specialist in orthopedics? They very may well have a solution or idea as to how to address the loosening of the pins. I would definitely follow up on this aspect. Perhaps, the pin issue will be enough to get a quicker response from one of these specialists??

In the meantime, would you be amenable to administering him some sort of pain meds - something like gabapentin, to help relax him a bit as he continues to be confined? There are OTC calming products you could try, but not all cats are affected by them, so it would be an experiment with trying the varying products. Or, perhaps, consider CBD oil? (The orthopedist might have some ideas about this too.)

 

[Cosmic76]

Hi there, thank you for your kind reply... truly, it's just nice to talk about it.

Yes, the Surgeon who performed the surgery was from a Dedicated Orthopaedic Referral Service who came to my Vets Practice to perform the surgery. My vet is now dealing with the aftercare and I do need to speak to them to ask those questions, from what my partner said, the extended cage time and reduced activity is to prevent the screws loosening further, if they do, the pelvis is healed enough that they can be removed but they don't want to remove them if they don't have to.

I would be very amenable to ANY kind of calming measures! I have both Feliway and Pet Remedy diffusers in the room, which was also advised, but I honestly can't see that it makes a lot of difference. We already administer liquid Gabapentin to my other cat who needs it for a chronic condition and I have tons of it so I will ask the question! The impression I got when I asked about extra medication before was that they wanted to keep him as drug free as possible so as not to hide symptoms but I'm thinking one of is going to end up going out the window shortly so it might be worth it...

CBD oil is an interesting idea... I have done a lot of reading about it (for treating the other cat) but hadn't considered it in this case, so I will go away and do some more!

 

[neely]

There are also some other suggestions here which may or may not help: 6 Cat Calming Products to Help Ease Cat Anxiety | PetMD Best of luck!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Courtesy of another member when I was researching CBD oil -
CBD Pet Tincture with Hemp Oil - Organic, Non-GMO, Food Grade Ingredients (4cornerscannabis.com)
Cannabis 101: CBD for Cats | Boulder Holistic Vet

 

[LTS3]

How big is the cage? Is the cat able to stretch out and move around comfortably? If it's small, consider a bigger cage / crate.Some cats go batty if connfied to small places. Here's a thread with a picture of one crate someone used when a cat had a leg injury (blue cast on front leg is sort of visible): Is there any alternative ways to secure a kitten/cat than a wire crate?

Minimizing movement as much as possible will help the bones heal.

 

[Cosmic76]

Hi LTS3, the cage is the biggest I could find (borrowed from a friend), it's an XXL dog crate, it's a actually bigger than the one in that link. He has plenty of space to move about. He just wants to be out. When he goes for his wombles he usually sits at the (locked) catflap screaming at us. So I think wherever he's confined to, he will just want freedom.

 

[silent meowlook]

Get that cat some Gabapentin!! Ask your vet. You will need to increase the dose as he will build tolerance. Use Velcro to adhere the bowls and litter pan to the cage. Cat video is a good option to give cat something to watch.

 

[Cosmic76]

It's almost like you read my mind. I have just been into the vets and they prescribed Gabapentin. I already have a couple of bottles of it as my other cat uses it. So hopefully that will help.

We already have bowls that attach to the cage, and he has a secure litter box so no dramas there. He's already been in the crate for 9 weeks. He's happy with the set up, it's huge and he has his own mattress, his bed, and toys. We keep a large laptop open next his cage so he can watch wildlife videos, which he does enjoy . He's just a very active cat who feels normal and doesn't want to be restricted any more.

I've attached a photo, but excuse the mess, he just kicked up his litter right before.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I have a cat that had to go through two different knee surgeries half a dozen years ago. She was pretty young and, hence, very antsy during her crate-rest and she often went "bananas", wanting to get out. (Each separate crate-rest experience was for 8 weeks or so.)

Anyway, several things that helped calm her down were:

- keeping her "push-purr blankie" in the cage, for her to "make biscuits" on... your cat may not be one which does this kneading behavior but my cat was -- and it was truly a calming thing for her, for her to "push-purr" on her blankie when she got stressed.

- ask your vet if it's okay to put a small cat scratch post inside the crate, so that your cat can scratch and stretch a bit. We kept a kitten-sized scratch pole in her crate, and it was of huge benefit for both her recovery (small tissue re-growth surrounding her knees) and her mood.

- we also moved her crate around during the day, positioning it in sunbeams. Sunbeams are very relaxing for cats.

- and we covered a portion of her cage at night with a blanket, to darken a section of the cage -- it helped to calm her down at night, and helped her to fall asleep.