My 1 year old cat Toby has 3 fractures in his pelvis and has to have cage rest for 6 weeks. Does anyone have any ideas how to make this as stress free as possible for him as it is heartbreaking to hear him miaowing. Would it be ok to allow him to sit on our laps occassionally or is it really best to keep him in the cage at all times? Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Aw...poor Toby.

The good news is that cats do tend to heal very quickly from fractures. As far as lap time goes, you really need to run that by your vet. While I often tell my cage rest patients that they can have a little lap time every pet is different.

If he is really stressed your vet may consider dispensing a medication such as amitriptyline for stress or perhaps a sedative.

Another thought is to look into a product called feliway. Feliway is a feline pheromone that really helps to reduce stress levels. You can buy it as an electric plugin, but I am thinking the best thing in your guy's case is to buy the spray and spray it on the blankets in his cage each day.

I hope he does ok!

Dr. Marie.

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Poor Toby. Sorry i haven't got any answers for you but wanted to wish him a speedy recovery.
I hope you will get a few suggestions on here.
You could ring your vet up about letting him sit on your lap for cuddles.
The other thing is you can buy a plug in from the pet shop that is suppose to help with stress. in cats. Sorry can't think what's it's called.
All the best!

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The plug in is called Feliway. Will cost about £15

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Feliway would be a good idea, not all cats respond to it but it would be worth a try certainly.

Check with your vet about lap time, it depends on how immobile he needs to be kept. If they are happy with it then keep it short and calm. Dont let him try to jump down just try to get him to snooze on your lap if possible.

Its amazing how well cats recover with serious fractures, he'll be bounding around the house again soon.

xx

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Thankyou for the replies I received regarding our cat Toby needing 6 weeks cage rest to heal his pelvis which is fractured in 3 places. This is his fourth day in his medium size dog cage and he is a lot more relaxed. We have him sitting beside the window where he can see whats going on outside (mainly interested in the birds) and he enjoys the heat from the radiator so he is getting first class treatment We dont know how he got his injury but we are just relieved he is going to be able to get back to his playful self when he is better. I am new to this site but hope to get some pictures of Toby and our other cat Nancy on here soon

my scarf (please read the threads) has just finished her 6 week rest. She is okay now, but to start with we covered the cage and kept her out of the main flow of the house, now I still keep her caged at night, but she does have the run of the house during the day.... A cover is a good idea. Try that.

c

My girl needed 8 weeks cage rest poor thing but she was quite happy in there i had her in the bedroom so she wasnt upset each time i moved about and went up to spend time with her in there .
I had 2 large dog cages put together so there was more room one for litter and food and the other with a blanket over and comfy bed in for some quiet time .
I do hope he gets better quick for you xx