Tips For Making Cat Happy When Confined To A Small Room?

[AceCluck]

My partner and I are going out of town for 3 days (Sunday, March 11- Tuesday March 13) and we are going to have to keep our cat Aditya in the bathroom while we are gone. My partners parents will be here, but they work 6am to 6pm, we have two dogs, and can't leave alone with them. Two months ago our older dog who we didn't know was in pain at the time, tried to attack Aditya and ended up breaking her jaw and her cheek. Aditya is doing great now, and our dog has her pain controlled.

Back to the question though. How can we assure she is the most comfortable and happy for these three days? We leave tomorrow, and we got her a scratching post that hangs on the door with catnip (which calms her down and eases stress and pain, doesn't excite her like it does most cats), a litter box for the bathroom, a bunch of safe toys she can have in there, her bed and her box, and cleaned out the cabinet under the sink and made it into a space for her. Plus food and water, and my partner's parents are going to feed her the wet food she's on 3x a day like normal, plus give her some of her favorite treats. She will also be able to come out of the bathroom from 6pm to 10pm each day, but there are no windows in the bathroom. Does this sound good for just a few days?

 

[duckpond]

well she probably will not be happy about it, but i think she will be fine. Sounds like you have it all under control! Enjoy your trip.

 

[AceCluck]

well she probably will not be happy about it, but i think she will be fine. Sounds like you have it all under control! Enjoy your trip.

Thank you! It's actually a trip for doctors appointments, otherwise we wouldn't be leaving her here. I just hope she's not too upset about being in there. It's already where we keep her box that she sleeps in, and she prefers to be in there, I'm just worried she won't like it so much with the door shut.

 

[duckpond]

Thank you! It's actually a trip for doctors appointments, otherwise we wouldn't be leaving her here. I just hope she's not too upset about being in there. It's already where we keep her box that she sleeps in, and she prefers to be in there, I'm just worried she won't like it so much with the door shut.

Good luck with your Dr. appointment, i hope all is well! She most likely will not like the door closed, but she will be fine. Sounds like you have thought of what she needs.

 

[vyger]

Wow, a chance to sleep 20 hours a day without being bothered by people!! What a wonderful vacation for a cat. Seriously, she will most likely enjoy the time off. Add a cardboard box with some holes cut in it for a distraction. I would leave a night light on since it has no windows.
If you set up an I Pad for her so she can send you emails everything would be perfect.
Cat selfies at 4 in the morning.
Most cats can be by themselves for a while with no problems. She will sleep through it and hardly notice your gone. Kittens are a different story but that is because they are needy.

 

[LTS3]

Be sure to cat-proof the bathroom: all medicines, cleaners, hair styling tools, etc either put behind closed doors or taken out of the room completely and stored in a closet for the time being, keep the toilet lid down, etc. Keep a small nightlight plugged in so the cat isn't in complete darkness. The normal bathroom light may be too bright and harsh.

 

[Furballsmom]

If you set up an I Pad for her so she can send you emails everything would be perfect.
Cat selfies at 4 in the morning.

LOL that's too funny!
Anyway, the only other thing I could think of, and you probably already have, is to put some worn socks or tshirts in the undersink cubby that you made all nice n fluffy/soft for her.
That way, your scent will be there for her.
You folks are terrific - I'm glad she has you!!

 

[AceCluck]

Wow, a chance to sleep 20 hours a day without being bothered by people!! What a wonderful vacation for a cat. Seriously, she will most likely enjoy the time off. Add a cardboard box with some holes cut in it for a distraction. I would leave a night light on since it has no windows.
If you set up an I Pad for her so she can send you emails everything would be perfect.
Cat selfies at 4 in the morning.
Most cats can be by themselves for a while with no problems. She will sleep through it and hardly notice your gone. Kittens are a different story but that is because they are needy.

She already had a box with a hole cut in it that she absolutely loves, and that is in there for her, and we already have a bathroom nightlight so that is good too being able to receive emails from her would definitely take a lot of the stress off leaving her here haha. Hopefully she does sleep through it most of the time though, she's a pretty calm cat so she probably will.

 

[AceCluck]

Be sure to cat-proof the bathroom: all medicines, cleaners, hair styling tools, etc either put behind closed doors or taken out of the room completely and stored in a closet for the time being, keep the toilet lid down, etc. Keep a small nightlight plugged in so the cat isn't in complete darkness. The normal bathroom light may be too bright and harsh.

We have a nightlight in there, and I just moved all of the cleaning supplies etc into a different room while I was turning the bathroom into a temporary cat room

 

[AceCluck]

LOL that's too funny!
Anyway, the only other thing I could think of, and you probably already have, is to put some worn socks or tshirts in the undersink cubby that you made all nice n fluffy/soft for her.
That way, your scent will be there for her.
You folks are terrific - I'm glad she has you!!

I actually didn't think of that, but it's a great idea. IllI probably put a worn shirt in her box since that is where she sleeps. I ended up making the cabinets under the sink into a litter box area. I'll add a photo she seems to like it all so far.

Also thank you, that means a lot. We try to do the best for all of the animals who live here. <3

 

[Wenda]

Aww, she's so cute!!

 

[AceCluck]

Aww, she's so cute!!

Thanks! Here are a few more photos, since I love to show her off haha.

 

[1 bruce 1]

It sounds like you've really done all you can to make this a cat safe and at friendly room!!!
It's probably a bit too late to suggest Feliway as you leave tomorrow, but it might be something good to keep in mind in case this happens again. I think a few days won't be bad. She'd probably be happier at home, confined, than left somewhere for a short time a they have little time to adjust to their new surroundings before coming back home.
Also, for her treats, would putting them in a lid-less plastic water bottle be something she'd like? It's kind of a fun way to make treats more "interactive". I think of it as the equal thing (to a cat) as a good novel is for us =)