Tales From The Cage

When the kittens were old enough and able to walk, I could no longer confine them to a box.

To keep them (and mama) safe, I had to quarantine them in the evenings. You can understand what keeping the kittens safe means ie making sure they don't venture outside and get accidentally run over or fall into the longkang.

Now, by keeping mama safe, I was trying to reduce the probability of her going out on a date and getting knocked up again. Well, we all know this knocking up business can take place anytime of day but I just have to try some prevention measures.

I remember when exactly I bought this cage. It was back in 2019 on the day that my brother brought his cat (inherited from our late uncle) to my house to be cared by me.

After he dropped the cat off (in a carrier), we went to the pet shop in SS2 to buy the cage. Then we went to Kyochon for lunch.

Unfortunately, I was very careless. In the process of transferring the cat from the carrier, the cat ran away. I will tell that story in a future post.

So this was how I set up the cage for Kittie Kat & Co. I had a mat underneath with two underpads on top. But as cat owners know, your cat(s) will scratch and whatever lining you put will be sort of destroyed.

On a good day (or the morning after) it will look like this.

Scratched but dry with no offensive stuff deposited on the lining. I did not put a litterbox inside because there is not enough space. On a bad day, I have to deal with this. 

I have a horror story to tell. One Sunday evening as I was lounging on the sofa watching Law & Order : Special Victims Unit (around 6:00pm) I heard the kittens screaming (in the cage). They created quite a din and I had to go outside and see what was going on.

OH MY GOD! Kittie Kat offloaded a pile of soft stinky stools which was smeared all over the floor of the cage. It got on the mat (under the lining) and the tray at the bottom (and the grid of the cage).

So I had to let them out of the cage and clean up the mess. Haiz! That really spoiled my Sunday evening.

The following week I gave the cage a through clean up because it was stinky. I also washed and disinfected the floor under the cage.

Subsequently my technique for lining the cage evolved into this neat and tidy manner. No mat underneath, just a medium sized underpad anchored to four corners of the cage and a small underpad placed on top.

The kitties love to play on top of the cage. Then things evolved further.

I fashioned a litter box using the ProDiet cardboard boxes which fit very nicely into the cage.

It worked very well because now Kittie Kat and whichever kitten that stays with her can do their business in the box. Now only mama cat and one kitten (they take turns) go into the cage (due to lack of space).

The other two kittens share this big ass carrier which also has a cute litter box inside.

This worked out very well too. They do their business inside the litter box. Earlier on, I did not provide a litter box and in spite of the underpad, they made a mess in the carrier which I had to dismantle and wash thoroughly.

Of course Kittie Kat and her kittens protest being locked up and they make a lot of noise. I just ignore them and after a while they quiet down.

So now my routine (very early) in the morning is to prep their first meal of the day, put the plates at the feeding area and then release them from confinement.

They rush to feed while I clear the litter boxes and replace the underpads (when necessary). 

This arrangement has worked very well so far. No more (smelly) mess because the poop and pee business are done in the litter boxes. So it is less stressful for me.

Whatevery it is, I don't know how I ended up a slave to my cats >.<