Author: cheesecat

Hello, furriends!

I realized it’s been a LONG time since we updated, and this is a big part of why: after months of working hard on PT and with our vets, we finally decided that Feta’s bad back leg was not going to make a comeback, and so we opted to make her a double-amputee.

She is now Feta the Two-Legged Cat (link goes to her Facebook page) and doing great! She scoots along like she did before, but a bit more easily now without the dead weight of her bum third leg.

The biggest problem we’ve had is that we moved into an apartment with wall-to-wall carpet, and Feta has discovered she LOVES to pee on carpet. It’s not that she can’t pee in the litter box, it’s that she really doesn’t WANT to.

We’ve had to move to extreme measures, and Feta now goes into Bathroom Jail every morning at breakfast time. She has two litterboxes like this:

They’re marketed as “dog litter boxes” but work perfectly for her needs. In “her bathroom” (master bath, sigh) she has 2 of these, 1 filled with Yesterday’s News litter (though really she doesn’t seem to mind whatever type of litter) for her to poop in, and one with an absorbent “puppy pad” (unscented only) for her to pee on.

She is locked in the bathroom with a bowl of water and her heavily-watered-down wet food breakfast, and when she has peed in the pee box, she gets let out to join the rest of the house. Usually this takes 30 minutes or less, though sometimes she decides we should play a game of “litterbox chicken” and she tries to wait me out. If I cave, she pees on the carpet immediately.

This “jail” program works relatively well since she only pees once per day (part of why I water her food down – I worry about dehydration) but occasionally we get out of sync and she either has to stay in jail for a long time or ends up hitting the carpet before I imprison her for the morning.

I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy or fun, but it seems to be the best solution we can come up with for now.

Meanwhile, she uses the “normal” litterboxes like a champ when she has to poop. Cats!!!

So Feta is a total pain in the neck about her litterbox habits, but we suffer through because she’s a good soul and I love her anyway.

We are continuing to foster A LOT with TLC Rescue (NJ). Feta has gone from “seriously annoyed about strange cats in the house” to “oh hey look, a new kid – do they have any food?” She doesn’t love the kittens and their annoying antics, but she puts up with them, and is very good with the less-annoying adult cats.

One of our longest-term fosters was Justin. We had this poor sweet trainwreck kitty I posted about earlier for about a year and a half – it ended up being a “fospice” since he was older and very sick. He was a very sweet boy and we had to put him to sleep just after Thanksgiving. :'(

 

Feta also now has a permanent kitty sibling in Julius, a beautiful and sweet orange tabby who was kind of a “foster fail” – raised as a bottle baby, adopted out, then returned. He and Feta are really good friends and I love watching them together!

So, that’s the updates of the moment! We’re more active on Facebook and Instagram (@courtneys_critters, and @theluckycatrescue) than here, but still get notifications on comments etc., so if anyone is looking for any tri-kitty or now BI-kitty tips, always feel free to hit us up!

 

I keep meaning to come back and update, and wondering why I used to be able to do so more often. Well, it finally hit me – duh – KITTEN SEASON!

First off, Feta is doing fine, though we have had pretty much zero progress on her bad 3rd leg. I will eventually write more on that. We’ve also been continuing our bathroom battles, and while I think I MAY have a good REAL solution, she occasionally expresses her displeasure with the setup. What she really wants is to be able to pee like a normal 4-legged (or even 3-legged) cat. Unfortunately, I can’t make that happen, so you just gotta work with me, Cheesecat!

One cool update is we got a really wonderful custom portrait of Feta from Chewy.com! We posted on their Facebook and buy almost all of our supplies from there, and I guess as a loyalty reward they sent us this picture and one of my dog. How cool is that?

Meanwhile, as I alluded to, we have been fostering LOTS OF KITTIES. Kitten season is always really, really tough because there are far more needy babies than there are fosters willing/able to care for them. So here’s my standard shpiel: if you’ve ever even considered fostering, please consider a little bit harder 🙂 it’s not all that hard, it doesn’t take all that much space, and you are literally and directly saving lives by doing so. Plus, it is so much fun! You have to deal with some poop, but you get fluffy friends to cuddle with! It’s great!

Some of the residents we’ve had (some short term, some long term):

These guys ended up having lice and ringworm, which, if you haven’t experienced it, is a super-fun contagious skin fungus that is treated by regular sulphur baths and meticulous sterlization protocols. So much fun.

This guy I pulled off the street because it looked like his face was falling off and it turned out he was very clearly an (ex-)housecat and not a feral:

 

Honestly there may have been a couple of others that I’m just not remembering. But, yes, we’ve had a full and very busy house!

Generally Feta is Not Impressed by other cats, but she made exceptions with a few special ones.

So, there’s a trying-to-be-fast update, you can see we’ve had our paws full. But Feta continues to thrive, even if I sometimes feel like pulling my hair out!

When (if?) things settle down I will go into more detail about our PT and results 🙂

A recent forum post reminded me that I’ve wanted to update my litterbox modification advice based on some trial and error tips I’ve developed over the last many months. So, here we go! Litterbox tips and tricks for severely disabled kitties! (E.g., poor Feta, who still essentially has 2.5 legs, since she can’t bend her remaining hind one.)

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It’s often a good idea to have more than one box.

With Feta, since she sits her bum directly down on the litter, being able to potty in a CLEAN box is extremely important. Since she likes to pee and poo at the same time of day (cats, go figure) this means she often needs 2 separate boxes, so she can pee in one and poo in the other. Much as I dislike having DOUBLE the mess and eyesore, it’s better than cleaning up messes outside of the box!

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Mats, mats, and more mats!

I now have two plastic floor protectors underneath my entire setup, for ultimate floor protection, with puppy pee pads underneath in case of spillage. (Once Feta missed the box and it went under the plastic, and that was gross and unhappy.)

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“Open” access is critical. Wings and walls are a no-go.

This obviously varies by kitty, as some actually prefer having something to lean up against. Feta, however, has trouble maneuvering – it is hard for her to turn around – and so she needs an “open floorplan” to avoid feeling trapped and panicked. This means Flat, no wings, no walls. For example, this is a no-go for Feta:

Again, this is a big bummer since obviously it leads to a lot of litter spillage, but it’s still better than cleaning up messes directly on the floor.

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Now, it’s time for arts and crafts! Make your very own artistic box for your cat to pee and poop in!!!!

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Instructions for Feta-Approved DIY Handicapped-Accessible Litterbox

With all these tips in mind, this is how I am currently making Feta’s boxes. Using this method, they last pretty well, and I generally only replace them every few months.

Supplies needed: Packing or duct tape, superglue for reinforcement, scissors or knife (or both) for cutting cardboard, waterproof shelf liner or other “waterproofing” material (note: when I bought this from Amazon, it was around $6; if what you are seeing is expensive, there are sure to be cheaper alternatives)

Step 1: Obtain Box (Feta suggests buying cat food, cat treats, and cat toys from Amazon or Chewy.com, as they both have excellent boxes)

Step 2: Cut 3 walls of the box down to size. Save one of the “short flaps” to reinforce the bottom of the box. The height of the walls will depend on the mobility restrictions of your cat. For Feta, we’re currently at about 2-3″ high. Obviously, the taller the sides, the harder for your cat to get in, but the easier for you to clean up. (Leave one wall full-size to give you a “backsplash” wall, to help keep things clean.)

Step 3: Remove cat from box.

Explain to the cat that the box is destined for potty time, NOT playtime.

Succumb to the irresistible charms of Cat and play Box with your kitty for a few minutes.

Step 3: Take the “short flap” that you set aside from Step 2, place it in the “gap” in the middle of the box bottom, and tape them together securely. The point of this is to have a nice, flat bottom without any little “cracks” that could get ripped by a vigorous litter-digger (like Feta >:( )

Step 4 (the hard part!): Cover the box in your waterproofing material. If your cat is a big “digger,” make sure to have as few seams as possible, and reinforce the seams with superglue. This means fewer, bigger pieces of plastic are better than smaller ones. Overlap is good, except that the plastic often sticks to cardboard better than it sticks to itself, so it can get dug up more easily.

Note: if you don’t have a waterproofing material, you can “waterproof” by covering the box with duct tape or packing tape, but because of the number of seams, this method doesn’t last as long. Also, it’s more expensive.

As I noted before, the plastic liner seems to stick to cardboard better than it sticks to smooth plastic. So, I cover the smooth areas (like tape, or the seams where it meets other layers of plastic) with a bit of superglue for extra sticking power.

The corners, obviously, are especially tricky. I end up using multiple pieces of material, again trying to avoid seams as much as possible, and adding superglue to make sure they stick together extremely well. Along the seams and along the corners of the box are where problems are going to show up first, so I spend a little extra time trying to protect these areas very, very well so I won’t have to replace the entire litterbox for a while.

You can see in the above picture I also went up the side walls of the box and over the lip. This is optional, but I feel like it helps keep things a little cleaner, especially if your kitty is prone to… erm…. aiming problems.

Once all this is finished, you are done! Admire your handiwork. Add additional waterproofing to the “backsplash” if you like, and you can optionally extra-secure the edges on the outside of the box with more tape.

 

Now clean the superglue off your fingertips. How did you get so much all over your fingertips??

 

Finally, fill your beautiful new box with your kitty’s favorite litter, set out your multitude of floor protectors, and watch with conflicted joy and annoyance as your beloved kitty urinates and defecates all over your brilliant creation. Congratulations!!

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Final note: why my obsession with the seams? If your kitty digs into the litter and is able to lift up a bit of the plastic liner, the litter will get underneath it and start to give you a big mess. Behold:

So secure your seams, everyone! Now go forth and make some beautifully-functional litterbox art.

Questions / comments / tips for further improvements welcomed in comments!!!

Hello, friends!

With the help of the fabulous team at Aqua Dog Rehabilitation, Feta and I have been working hard to improve her flexibility, range of motion, and strength.

(Coincidentally, Feta’s fabulous physical therapist, Petra, is competing with her dog at the AKC National Obedience Championship this weekend – wish them luck!!!)

I’ve uploaded some videos to show what we’re doing at PT. Essentially, we are working at re-training her (both mind and body) to use her leg correctly, or at least a bit more correctly. We are also working to relax her muscles and stretch her out in ways that will improve her flexibility and range of motion. We’re still not certain we can ever get her stifle/knee joint to really bend properly – it’s still awfully stiff – but if we can strengthen her core muscles and get her hip moving better then she should be able to hop around pretty well!

Here are some videos from last week’s work:

 

 

Yesterday, 3-22, we went back again! This time we started with massage and laser therapy to try and get things loose and moving.

She didn’t mind the laser treatment itself, but she wasn’t thrilled at having to hold still!

Also, unfortunately, some of the massage was a bit uncomfortable as our therapist, Anita, worked to get out some of the tight knots in the muscles. As always, Feta cat was a tremendously good sport, but she certainly let her opinions of the whole process be known!

 

 

Next, we moved on to the REALLY hard stuff – practicing our proper posture! And using that darn leg! The bumpy disc is to help with her “proprioception,” or her ability to feel her body and know where its parts are. Since we’re dealing with neurological issues, it is particularly important that we make sure her brain is getting the signals telling her what her leg and foot are doing.

This type of “gait training” is our attempt to re-teach her how to walk, with the hopes that her leg and body will start to better “remember” what to do. It’s kind of like trying to re-direct a river, only the river is the electrical impulses going through her body, and the “riverbed” is the nerve pathways. By essentially forcing her to walk correctly, you can think of it as “pouring a bit of water down the proper riverbed” so it makes it more likely the “river” of nerve signals will eventually flow naturally where we want it to (to get that leg moving!). Obviously, this helps get her muscle strength back, too!

 

 

<I will add more videos here if I am ever able to get them uploaded!>

 

I thank our lucky stars every day that Feta is so food-motivated. It makes me a little sad, since it surely is a result of her being starving while she was on the streets, but it sure comes in handy now! The hard part is making sure her normal meals are balanced out with the number of treats she gets. It’s very important to make sure our Tripawd friends stay lithe and lean so they’re not putting too much strain on their remaining limbs, especially when, as with Feta, there are problems with more than just the missing leg.

So, we’ll keep at it, even though it’s slow and frustrating! I do think we’re making progress, and I am hoping that the progress will lead to many more happy years of a mobile kitty cat 🙂