How to keep cats off my leg, post-surgery
April 1, 2016 8:09 PM Subscribe
I'll be having hip replacement surgery in about a month. For the weeks immediately following, I need to keep my large, cuddly cats off my leg while I sleep on my back at night. Is there something I can put over my legs (I'm thinking of something arching) to keep them off?
I'm looking for something I can buy; I'm not at all handy. Also, I'll have a pillow between my legs, which complicates things. I'd really prefer not to have to lock them out of the bedroom.
I'm looking for something I can buy; I'm not at all handy. Also, I'll have a pillow between my legs, which complicates things. I'd really prefer not to have to lock them out of the bedroom.
Try that clear plastic carpet runner you can buy by the yard. Flipped upside down, it has nubby prongs that cats loathe. Also great for keeping cats off furniture. Lightweight and will drape over your legs.
posted by HeyAllie at 8:26 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by HeyAllie at 8:26 PM on April 1, 2016
Best answer: Put some tin foil over the area you want to make sure is cat free. They also make tin foil type blankets to keep cats off of couches. Use one of those.
posted by AugustWest at 8:29 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by AugustWest at 8:29 PM on April 1, 2016
They might surprise you. I had surgery on my nose in December and was worried because one of my cats likes to wake me with tap tap tap on my nose. Weirdly she quit it cold turkey and only in the last week or so has she gone back to it. Somehow I think she knew.
Otherwise I think a comforter of that nubby plastic stuff HeyAllie suggests would work.
posted by kitten magic at 8:34 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Otherwise I think a comforter of that nubby plastic stuff HeyAllie suggests would work.
posted by kitten magic at 8:34 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
After a surgery like that you're probably not going to want anything on or over your leg and hip. Seriously, people I know who had the same procedure could barely stand a thin cotton sheet. You don't want to trap yourself under plastic or structured products. Kick the cats out and keep the door closed if you think they'll be insistent on sleeping with you.
posted by sardonyx at 9:06 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 9:06 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ooh, ouch, sorry -- I have bad hips and cats; difficult combination sometimes -- I'd probably get a grown-up's bed tent and be prepared to defend my territory with a spray bottle of water. Sleep is so important to recovery. If I was feeling generous I'd get them new cat beds on the floor beside my bed. But mostly I'd be "recovery first, cats: distant second."
posted by kmennie at 9:07 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by kmennie at 9:07 PM on April 1, 2016
I respectfully suggest re-examining the plan. My cat just had dental surgery and I made sure for a couple days he could hang out all alone in a cozy little clean new closet bed, with soft food and a litterbox right there, and I was strict about not bugging him when he retreated, and shutting my other cat out of the room and not allowing visitors or anything that might stress him when he already felt unwell. I wanted him to relax and sleep and heal. If your cat had surgery you'd probably do this for her too. I suggest that you deserve the same! You need to be able to sleep deeply without a weird gadget on you or a fear that a cat will jump on you. I've had knee surgery and when my knee was still on fire, having animals, kids, or careless adults anywhere near me was terrifying-- I just did not want more pain and was almost pathetically afraid of someone bumping my leg.
I think it's ok to shut the cats out for a week or so when you need to sleep. Use a white noise machine to silence their meows, and maybe place a fan outside the bedroom door to dissuade them from scraping at the door. If you feel bad, you can set up some fun things for them to do out in the rest of the house- leave tantalizing papers on the floor, extra wet food, a dish with some frozen fish or shrimp that melts during the night as a snack, cardboard boxes to play in, scattered treats in unexpected places, catgrass, nice new beds, whatever... you can make it feel like more of an adventure and less of a punishment for them.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:59 PM on April 1, 2016 [9 favorites]
I think it's ok to shut the cats out for a week or so when you need to sleep. Use a white noise machine to silence their meows, and maybe place a fan outside the bedroom door to dissuade them from scraping at the door. If you feel bad, you can set up some fun things for them to do out in the rest of the house- leave tantalizing papers on the floor, extra wet food, a dish with some frozen fish or shrimp that melts during the night as a snack, cardboard boxes to play in, scattered treats in unexpected places, catgrass, nice new beds, whatever... you can make it feel like more of an adventure and less of a punishment for them.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:59 PM on April 1, 2016 [9 favorites]
A Google search for blanket support turned up this: blanket support.
posted by tamitang at 10:26 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by tamitang at 10:26 PM on April 1, 2016
Response by poster: You folks are amazing; thank you so much! I just ordered the carpet runner and the foil-like blanket, and I can try some of your other ideas if neither of those work. And I can try them out pre-surgery to make sure one or the other (or both) really work to keep the cats off.
The Z-Tec blanket support might also work, but (at a quick first glance) it seems that particular product is harder (and more expensive) to find in the U.S. than in the U.K. I'm going to keep looking; I've seen some alternative products that may work, too.
I can always go to the fall-back position of just keeping the cats out of my bedroom - and I certainly will if I think my healing is in any danger. But I'll feel less stressed, I think, if I can (safely) allow them in the room.
posted by jeri at 10:57 PM on April 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Z-Tec blanket support might also work, but (at a quick first glance) it seems that particular product is harder (and more expensive) to find in the U.S. than in the U.K. I'm going to keep looking; I've seen some alternative products that may work, too.
I can always go to the fall-back position of just keeping the cats out of my bedroom - and I certainly will if I think my healing is in any danger. But I'll feel less stressed, I think, if I can (safely) allow them in the room.
posted by jeri at 10:57 PM on April 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Maybe build something out of tinker toys?
Alternately wire mesh for fences is pretty easy to make into a custom fit half cylinder. You could also go with heavier stuff to make your cage more resilient
posted by sciencegeek at 3:31 AM on April 2, 2016
Alternately wire mesh for fences is pretty easy to make into a custom fit half cylinder. You could also go with heavier stuff to make your cage more resilient
posted by sciencegeek at 3:31 AM on April 2, 2016
I wonder if this $36 Blanket Support is within budget?
However, a customer-shared image shows a cat plopped right on top of it. I would be worried about the cat falling through on to you, and adding a more rigid surface on top seems like it would add other serious concerns (like weight and collapsing). But maybe you could find a way to make it work.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 5:21 AM on April 2, 2016
However, a customer-shared image shows a cat plopped right on top of it. I would be worried about the cat falling through on to you, and adding a more rigid surface on top seems like it would add other serious concerns (like weight and collapsing). But maybe you could find a way to make it work.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 5:21 AM on April 2, 2016
Those trays you use to eat breakfast in bed might also work.
That said, we use them to create secret caves under the blankets for the cats so you may end up with cats under the blanket support system.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:27 AM on April 2, 2016
That said, we use them to create secret caves under the blankets for the cats so you may end up with cats under the blanket support system.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:27 AM on April 2, 2016
Response by poster: The more I think about it, it seems like a blanket support might not work, given that my cats are 14 pounds and 18 pounds. (The larger one is a Maine Coon.) And of course they love to jump up on tall things. Having a cat crash down on me from on top of a blanket support would be A Very Bad Thing.
posted by jeri at 9:58 PM on April 2, 2016
posted by jeri at 9:58 PM on April 2, 2016
We have microwaveable heating pads that slip under towels or cat beds which function as a magnet for our cats when I can't stand them sleeping on me, if you wish to add another prong ito the approach. (The brand we got on Amazon is SnuggleSafe; there may be others.)
posted by telophase at 8:21 PM on April 5, 2016
posted by telophase at 8:21 PM on April 5, 2016
Response by poster: So many good ideas here; again, thank you all. Last night as part of my pre-surgery prep I tried the foil-type blanket that AugustWest suggested, and it worked great. It's lightweight, so it didn't bother me, and it did indeed keep the cats off me.
Telophase, I have some of those heating pads; I used them when my cat named Puppy (RIP) was sick. I never tried them with my other cats, but that's an interesting idea!
posted by jeri at 4:54 PM on April 29, 2016
Telophase, I have some of those heating pads; I used them when my cat named Puppy (RIP) was sick. I never tried them with my other cats, but that's an interesting idea!
posted by jeri at 4:54 PM on April 29, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by advicepig at 8:17 PM on April 1, 2016