Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I have two cats in a 1 bedroom apartment. They are both very attached to me and HATE being on the other side of a closed door. The younger one has recently come down with some sort of eye condition that the vet can’t figure out the cause of as there are no signs of injury/trauma and cat is not displaying signs if illness other than a very unhappy eye. The vet suggested keeping the cats apart until we know what is going on. I have younger sick cat in the bedroom with all necessities and older well cat in the rest of the apt. Problem is, no matter what side of the bedroom door I’m on somebody furry is extremely upset and won’t stop crying/pawing at the door. HELP! I’m not getting any sleep and I’m afraid my neighbors will complain of the noise! How can I keep them separated and calm regardless of what side of the door I’m on?
~ Kelly
Siouxsie: Even in the best of times, most cats hate being on the wrong side of the door.
Thomas: But which side is the wrong side?
Bella: The wrong side is whichever side of the door we’re on, silly-head! You’re 12 years old; you should know that by now!
Siouxsie: Bella, be nice!
Bella: You’re a silly-head, too! Hey, where are you going? *chase, chase, tackle*
Siouxsie: *hiss* Cut that out!
Thomas: Come on, Siouxsie, lighten up. And Bella, you be nice to her. She’s old.
Siouxsie: *hiss* to you too, stripey-pants.
Thomas: Okay, everybody, let’s just take some time to answer poor Kelly’s question.
Siouxsie: *grumble* I suppose. … Anyhow, Kelly, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, it is tough to have to separate cats, especially if you’re doing so because one is sick or injured.
Thomas: But we do have a suggestion for you. Have you considered getting a large wire dog crate, something like the one just to the left, and setting that up for your sick kitty?
Bella: There’s enough room inside one of these crates for you to place a small litterbox, some bedding and food and water dishes.
Siouxsie: Mama borrowed a dog crate like this for Kissy’s recovery from her leg amputation. Unfortunately, Kissy never got a chance to use it.
Thomas: *sniffle* And Kissy had finally started trying to be my friend …
Bella: There, there, Thomas.
Siouxsie: You can keep the crate wherever you are, so your sick kitty will always be near you.
Thomas: And your well kitty won’t be blocked out of your bedroom!
Bella: This could be a great solution for you to keep both of your cats happy.
Siouxsie: We understand that your vet might have asked you to separate your cats because your sick kitty’s condition might be contagious, and although the crate won’t stop germs from circulating around, it will keep the two of them from getting too close.
Thomas: It’ll also help keep them from wrestling, so the younger kitten’s eye won’t be further injured.
Bella: I don’t want to go in any big, silly dog crate!
Siouxsie: If you keep bothering me, I’ll make sure you have to!
Thomas: Siouxsie, be nice.
Bella: Yeah!
Siouxsie: Humph! Anyway, Kelly, you might also want to invest in a couple of Feliway diffusers. The synthetic “happy cat” pheromone does wonders to help everykitty calm down, and it’s good for any stressful situation.
Thomas: We recommend you use one in your bedroom and one in your living room.
Bella: Mama used Feliway in our new apartment when we first got here, and we settled in pretty quickly even though another cat lived here before us. Good luck, and please let us know how things work out.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
When I need to lock myself in a room and sleep while my cats stay on the other side of the door, a noisy fan and/or some headphones work wonders. My cats know that I can’t hear them once I’ve gone to bed and the fan is on, so they don’t yowl all night.
Thomas, Bella, and Siouxsie have a pawesome suggestion for mew! About a year ago we sadly lost my little sister to cancer, and during the last month of her life we hospiced her at home. To keep her comfortable, less stressed, and to make it easier to gain access to her to administer her frequent medication and tube feedings my Mom purchased a similar large 3 foot by 4 foot dog crate/kennel from Petco. It folds up for easy storage between uses and was a godsend as to avoid her meds and hated tube feedings, my sister would crawl and hide under any piece of furniture she could that made it hard for anyone to reach her.
With her new little hospice ‘room’ set up with a small litter pan, a comfy bed, her blankie, toys, food, and water she settled in to it well in our living room. This allowed her to be near me and our brother and doggie sister, which made her and us more relaxed too and it gave our human piece of mind she was safe and could be monitored and treated well and without difficulty. Our human also used Feliway diffusers for her over the years with success to treat my sister’s PTSD and panic attacks she suffered from years before her cancer diagnosis. She had been an abused kitten before adopting our family :(. Mew can also purchase collars that resemble those awful toxic, unsafe flea collars that have the Feliway added to them. Sentry is a good brand that make them and unlike the flea collars, they are completely safe and last about a month. They can be purchased at pet stores too. My sister wore one while she was sick to help ease any anxiety and we found it helped her immensely. If mew don’t want to invest in a crate (they run $75-$120 depending on size & store), ask friends if anyone may have one mew can borrow or even try mewz local humane society or shelter if they may have one mew can borrow for a short time or know of anyone. Mew will want to make sure mew sanitize any mew borrow before and after mew put mewz kitty in it, to make sure previous and future users do not spread any germs to one another. I think mew will find this a good solution and mewz kitties will too. I often slept near my sister when she was in her crate room, and I know we both were happy to at least be able to see one another and be as close as we could. We miss her everyday, she was a dear member of our family gone too soon. I wish mew and mewz fur babies many happy, healthy years together.
I was hoping for more of a discussion on “my cats hate being apart.” As I was leaving for work this morning, my baby wouldn’t stop mewling, pawing at me, and trying to headbutt my hands away from tying my shoes.