Please help me to get my usually placid cat into a carrier for vet visit?
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at
9:37 am
My lovely soft 2 year old cat needs to be checked out at the vets as I think she has ear mites. I made a couple of appointments, but have had to cancel them because she gets very distressed when I try to put her in the carrier. I have an appointment tomorrow and they have advised me to put a towel over head. Any other suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks.
Filed under: Cat Supplies
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Hi. Yes! To get your kitty into her carrier for tomorrow, using a towel is a less stressful way.
But, there are certain things you could do for furure vet visits to make her calmer for the visit.
Firstly, in dealing with just tomorrow’s visit, make sure you place a blanket or toy that smells of herself, her home or you into the carrier as it is a familiar smell and will make her feel a little less stressed. Also, getting a catnip toy, rubbing it all over her bedding and anything that goes inside her carrier and leaving the catnip toy inside her carrier will help distract and sooth her. When you get her into the car,cover her carrier with a towel to make her feel more secure while travelling and while travelling keep chatting to her in a soft and soothing way.
For future visits, I suggest -
You get an top opening plastic covered wire carrier. Open top carriers are far easier to get kitty in and out of with minimum fuss and being open wired it’s airy and less claustrophobic.
http://www.thepurrcompany.com/shopping-detail.php?prodnum=23
Buy a product called Feliway, for car travel I suggest the pump spray version, as this is a mimic of a cat’s pheromones and helps to calm a stressed cat. Spray it sparingly in your cat’s carrier about 30 minutes before you are due to go in the car, making sure all bedding, blankets and toys smell familiar to kitty.
http://www.feliway.uk.com/feliway_uk.nsf/Page?OpenForm
Also, if your kitty isn’t a good car traveller, having some Bach’s Rescue Remedy helps by either putting a couple of drops in kitty’s water or applying one drop under kitty’s tongue directly if no water is to hand.
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Bach-Rescue-Remedy/238000.aspx
http://www.rescueremedy.com/
http://www.rescueremedy.co.uk
The last and most important one is take your kitty for very short journeys in the car round the block to get her used to travelling and disassociating travelling in a car with going to the vets. Build up the duration of travelling from just down the drive for a minute to 10 minutes over a period of a few weeks. Next time you should see some improvement.
Good luck and hope future vet visits aren’t as traumatic for you both.
All the best!
PS For tomorrow’s vet visit I’d suggest wearing a long sleeved top if you can as it’s cosier for your kitty and stops you from being scratched.
try putting food or her head
Try putting treats in the carrier, or along with the towel over her head, put a towel around her front, so she can’t scratch you. Back the carrier up against the wall so it can’t get pushed away. Speed is the key.
If you’ve ever watched Animal Planet, and the "rescue shows" on there, you’ve seen how they put FERAL cats into carriers.
THIS WORKS!!
Stand the carrier OPEN on it’s END…..against a wall, so it won’t get away from you.
Give your cat a treat, so she’ll let you near her. Pick her up by the scruff of her neck, other hand under her back legs, and put her HIND END FIRST, down into the carrier…Don’t let go of her neck, yet……..Close the door quickly, with the hand that WAS under her back legs, while getting your "neck" hand out!
Yea……….cat inside…….no scratching, no towel (in the way)!!
Good luck………..
the one who said "grab by the scruff of the neck" is correct. but, do not support the back feet, let her hang by her neck. it looks cruel, but even vets do this. cats are born with an instinct to not resist when held by the back of the neck because this is how mom carries them away from danger. if she needs to move a baby, she bites the back of its neck, and runs away with the kitten hanging out of her mouth.
if you support the back legs, the pressure comes off the neck and they attack.
a very large carrier, at least twice the size of the cat ,helps a lot. get a dog carrier if you have to.