Self Cleaning Litterbox
Posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 6:17 pmSelf Cleaning Litterbox
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 LitterMaid Automatic LME5500 Cat Litter Maid Box Elite  US $86.95
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 190 CAT BOX CAT LITTER CAT TOYS RELATED PATENTS CD US $19.95
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 Smartscoop Automatic Cat Litterbox US $99.95
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My mother is getting a hip replacement?
She's a very, VERY independent woman. I live about 90 miles from her, but I offered to come stay with her for a little while, just to help out around the house. She's 51, and getting her right hip replaced. She told me that she would need to be up and walking around as much as possible, but I feel that she doesn't need to be carrying laundry down two flights of stairs or bending down to feed her cats or cleaning the litterbox or changing her sheets or anything like that.
Basically, what I'm asking is this: Is she just being her normal stubborn, independent self and acting like she can do everything on her own, or should I really just wait for her to call me if she needs me? She says she will, but...well, she's incredibly stubborn.
I've had both hips replaced in separate surgeries. You are correct -- she doesn't need to be toting laundry baskets on stairs. Depending on what kind of walking aid they send her home with, she may be unable to walk & carry much at the same time. I went home with a walker. The only things that can be carried while using a walker are either in a bag attached to the frame or in a backpack on the patient's back! The same goes for stairs. When you are using any kind of walking aid, you CANNOT carry much unless it's in your pockets or on your back. She'll be able to do stairs but she won't be able to carry anything.
Changing sheets may be a bit of a challenge. I didn't even try for several weeks. I let someone else do that. I had no pets to deal with but I imagine that the ingenious could figure out how to feed a hungry cat. Feeding a pet on the floor can involve bending farther than restrictions might allow (for me - nothing past 90 degrees flexion in the hip for at least 3 months). But I could do a "ballet" move keeping my operated leg unbent and sticking out the back. You can do a lot if your tools have a long enough handle - think long-handled bath brush, long-handled shovel for the litter box, you get the picture. I was given a gizmo by the occupational therapist that allowed me to pick things up - I call it a "reacher". Very handy. She'll probably get similar tools from OT.
In reality, except for my first week at home, I could do a lot. I did our laundry - it's on the main floor so no steps - by using a wheeled cart. The toughest part? getting stuff out of the dryer because it required me to bend over too much. So I used my handy reacher to fish the clothes out. I cooked meals by using another wheeled cart in the kitchen. That allowed me to wheel it between refrigerator, counter & stove. I could gather what I needed and wheel it wherever. As I got better, I used the thing as a sort of "walker" while cooking and put my crutch or cane aside while I cooked. Everything I did took me 3 times longer than normal but all I had was time on my hands so it didn't matter. It was good for me to be up and active.
From the perspective of a former hip patient who is also pretty independent & stubborn at times, if your mom will be alone when she goes home, I'd recommend that someone go stay with her the first couple of days that she is at home and then call her daily for a week, see what she needs, visit occasionally. I assume that she has arranged for someone to run errands and drive her where she needs to go for the duration (it's typical to not be allowed to drive for 5-6 weeks). She needs to stock up ahead of time on easy-to-reheat meals. I cooked big batches and froze single servings of stuff like soup. Anyhow I didn't have much of an appetite for the first couple of weeks - think it was the pain meds.
She will also probably be taught how to dress & undress and be given some tools that make it possible to do this completely by yourself. OT does this. the tools can include a dressing stick, sock helper, long-handled shoe horn. They also may provide a bedside commode (I used mine over the toilet fixture, adjusted for the proper height, and I placed it in the shower to use as a shower seat). This was a rental item for me. Also we installed a shower-on-a-hose - very handy.
I couldn't push a vacuum for several months. I hired Merry Maids weekly for 3 months. There was no way I could do house cleaning beyond wiping off a sink.
