Cat Panting And Breathing Heavily While At Friends House

[kaleidoscopesky]

I'm putting my cats over at my friends place for 12 days as I'll be on holiday. They're both caged, one of them seems fine and is eating even but the other is panting heavily and crawled into the litterbox for refuge. Will she be fine?

For reference, my friend also has a cat which is free roaming but the cat isn't disturbing mine. Also I have put my scaredy cat over at friends places before while I was on holiday but she kept crawling into tiny spaces behind furniture to hide and getting stuck in the process, hence the cage this time round.

 

[susanm9006]

I would suggest your friend cover half the cage with a towel so she has a dark place to “hide” in. It might also help if he could keep her cage in a bathroom so she doesn’t see the other cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Along with susanm9006 great suggestion, try some low volume classical harp music, it's known to help cats relax.

You could possibly look into calming products. Being away from her home and routine, and in other cats territory really bothers this kitty.

Maybe next time you can have someone come to your place so she can stay in her familiar home, and that way wouldn't have to go through this stress.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Agree with all of the above. And, I can't tell from the pic, but is the crate big enough to allow her sprawl outside of the litterbox? If not, you could get another crate that could be added as an extension to the current one. If it is big enough, how about placing some towels that have her scent on them inside the crate - for comfort?

 

[danteshuman]

I think a towel or pillow secured to that wire shelf above should greatly increase the comfort of that crate. I would put a towel on the bottom cage floor to ..... that wire can't be comfortable. Or if not a towel a nice thick layer of newspaper?

 

[kaleidoscopesky]

The crate has three levels but i didn't capture them in this picture, so it's not as cramped as it looks. Eventually my friend put her inside her room and closed the door which reportedly caused her to stop panting, maybe she just didn't like being exposed right in the open :0

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, good
I hope that she is truly doing better