160 Chapter 11Nursing care of hospitalized cats
● Unpredictability can be a major stressor for cats, so aim to keep to a reliable daily
routine:
● Cage cleaning, feeding, grooming and general care of the cat should be car-
ried out at the same time each day and preferably by the same person.
● Daily treatment and examination should also be conducted at a consistent
time, and preferably by someone other than the person conducting daily care.
● Owners should also be requested to visit at the same time each day.
● Using bedding from the cat’s home that contains familiar scent can help to increase
the cat’s sense of security. Ask the owners to bring in bedding or use the bedding
contained in the cat’s carrier if suitable.
● Owners can also be questioned as to the cat’s preferred food and litter substrate,
especially for long-term hospitalization. Owners can also be requested to bring in
some of the cat’s favourite food and stay with the cat while it eats, especially if the
cat is otherwise reluctant to eat.
● It can be highly stressful for cats to be observed, or to observe other cats undergoing
veterinary examination or treatment (Wallinder et al., 2012). Therefore, do not
examine or treat cats within sight of other cats, or other animals, or allow them to
witness other cats undergoing examination or invasive procedures.
● Being watched or approached by other unknown cats whilst confined in a cage
can be a major stressor. For this reason, cats should not be permitted to roam free
within the hospital ward if the cat cages are on ground level or if free roaming cats
are able to approach the caged cats.
● Gentle, calm handling and restraint as described previously should be continued.
● Adequate analgesia should be administered to minimize acute and chronic pain.
Cleaning the cage
Keep the cat in the same cage during the period of hospitalization. The familiarity of
the hospital cage can be the best thing that the cat has as a place of safety in an unfa-
miliar and hostile environment. To maintain this, it is best that the cat remains in the
same cage throughout the period of hospitalization. Frequent re-location from one
cage to another, for cleaning or other purposes, should be avoided, and cleaning
should be conducted with the cat in the cage as follows:
● Approach calmly while speaking to the cat in a relaxed, friendly voice.
● Open the door quietly.
● Open the door wide enough to allow sufficient access for cleaning but avoid push-
ing the door wide open, especially if the cat might be likely to attempt escape.
● If the cat is friendly and seeks attention, stroke or play with the cat while cleaning.
● If the cat is shy or fearful, allow it to retreat to its hiding place and drape a towel
over this to increase the cat’s ability to hide and feel safe.
● If cleaning with the cat in the cage is not possible, e.g. if the cat is so fearful that
there is a very high chance of escape and/or aggression toward the person cleaning
the cage, provide a carrier or something similar as the cat’s regular hiding place
within its cage, so that the cat can be safely enclosed. The cat can then be allowed
to retreat into, or be encouraged into, this so that it can be removed with the cat