Day 5.

Not a bad couple of days.

Raven has been much more calm.  Frankly, I really don't blame her for her earlier behavior.  If I was kidnapped, taken to a torture facility, drugged, and woke up minus one perfectly functional limb, I would raise quite a bit of hell myself.  Fortunately, she's been very content lately, and it is nice to see her finally enjoying some peace.

She is still being housed in the dog kennel, but the warden and I are allowing ample prison yard time.  She's spends that time walking around the office, trying out different sleeping spots, leaving presents in the litter box, etc.  We seem to have struck a balance such that she doesn't resent her time in the dog kennel anymore.

Also, I think I had one idea this week that actually worked.  I mentioned earlier how much Raven relies on our other cat, Abby for comfort/companionship.  This is the daily situation she's used to..

Predictably, Abby was not so keen on hanging out with vet-scent infused Raven.  We're waiting until Raven heals before reintroducing them.  Don't want to risk a cat rumble in Raven's current condition.

We thought we would try buying Raven a soft, stuffed dog, and rubbing Abby's scent on the dog.  I rubbed Abby's cheek gland on the dog's cheek.  What does Raven think?  Well, she likes sleeping with the dog, and I noticed today she was smelling and head-bunting the dog's face..

 Not conclusive proof of a bright idea, but this might be worth a shot for anyone in a similar situation.  A little bit of comfort seems to go a long way for cats going through this situation.

Thanks for all the tips on cat cones! I've got some new ones on the way.  

Day 7

Our inmate's drug supply dried up today (no more pain meds), and was therefore not so content as she used to be during the short time we kept her in the kennel--nights and sporadically during the day when the warden and I were both occupied.

Raven was back to cage raging.  We decided something needed to change before she filed a formal complaint on us.  It was decided the best thing was to convert the spare bedroom in to a padded cell.  We labored quite a bit to clear the room of everything except a bed.  Of course, we don't want her on or under the bed, so I ditched the frame, and just laid the box springs and mattress side-by-side.  That's all that's in the room aside from food bowls and the litter box.  This seemed like luxury cat accommodations to me.  

What did Raven think?  She paced around the room and seemed quite distressed there was no hiding spot. On a hunch, we put a blanket in the vet pet carrier and stuck that in the room.  She crawled in it and slept peacefully like a baby ALL day.  Very happy with her situation.  Mind you, this is the vet pet carrier, which is a tiny fraction of the size of the giant dog kennel she was complaining about earlier.  Difference?  Apparently, door open vs. door closed. 

It was an improvement for us too.  We've been doing almost constant watch for a week now, and it is time to catch up on life stuff.  Raven is happy, and I think we're good just peeking in on her every once in a while.  I'll be really glad when that cone comes off.  We had an incident where she got her front paw stuck in the loop in an attempt to get the cone off.  I have that image stuck in my head, and won't feel good about leaving her alone without constant status checks until cone-off day.  One more week.  Can't wait.  The warden and I will go out for a celebratory dinner!