Said It Here

How to keep a hyperactive kitten calm after surgery?

Extremely active young kittens will not stop bouncing around during recovery, making strict confinement difficult and mentally exhausting. Without proper small-sized recovery gear or a manageable setup, caregivers face intense stress trying to prevent re-injury while managing months of restricted movement.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    making a makeshift onesie from a sweater sleeve
  2. 2
    ordering a small onesie online overnight
  3. 3
    quarantining the kitten in the bathroom during the healing period
  4. 4
    upping gabapentin dosage
  5. 5
    swapping a head cone for a flower donut
  6. 6
    playing cat calming music
  7. 7
    using a snuffle mat
  8. 8
    wiping the cat down with paper towels instead of bathing
  9. 9
    utilizing a playpen so he stays off the furniture and the two dogs are fully separate
  10. 10
    leashed and short potty trips instead of running freely in the yard
  11. 11
    getting a cone and a recovery suit

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“no matter how hard i try, she will not stop bouncing around.”source ↗

“i had to make shift a onesie for her since no pet store nor the vet had a cone collar or onesie SMALLL enough.”source ↗

“do i keep her up in the bathroom while she heals / no playtime?”source ↗

Winter-Ad-2216 · r/cats · 10 upvotes

“I’m £6k down and mom can’t afford another trip to the kitty hospital or the mental strain that comes with it, nor can he.”source ↗

“we’re only on day 4 of a strict 8 week prison sentence and it’s been mentally damaging for us both!”source ↗

“I’m really struggling with the caregiving side of things at the moment, I’d do anything for him don’t get me wrong it’s just very overwhelming for us both”source ↗

JediBaggins · r/cats · 10 upvotes

“We have a second dog and they play every night, am I just expected to separate them at all times so they dont play?”source ↗

“will we HAVE to close him in the crate, or is it fine if he jumps once or twice up and down throughout night?”source ↗

“do I just section off the kitchen and let him stay there so he cant jump on anything?”source ↗

“Overall, just worried about when im at work and hes unsupervised, and about playing/jumping.”source ↗

Ok-Actuary-5377 · r/puppy101

Where this came up

r/catsr/puppy101animal carebehaviorcatsdogshealthpet carepetsstresssurgery recovery

People with this problem also raised