My cat has to go to the vet today

[Miss Chicken]

because he has a sore leg.

Has anyone got any suggestions about how to get him into his cat carrier which he absolutely hates going into. He struggles when I try and put him into it and I don't want him to hurt his leg further.

Also this cat is reallt frightened of strangers and will be traumatised by going to the vet. Anyone else have this problem with their cats.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Leave the door open and toss a toy in. That worked for me once.

 

[auntiehill]

I used to tilt my carrier on it's side and then lower the angry cat into the thing. Otherwise, he wasn't going to go without drawing blood.

Put a thick towel or blanket to make it a more comfortable trip, if possible.

My cat was ALWAYS freaked out at the vet's. There was nothing I could do except wear thick clothes (for my own protection) and just hold and comfort him as much as possible.

Next time, ask your vet for a few kitty tranquilizers. That way, you can slip him a happy pill about an hour before you go and won't be so hard on him.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ That's a good idea. Most of my cats have been a real hassle to get to the vet. Except for my best cat, who used to just sit up on my shoulder and watch the cars out the window as I drove.

Good luck, Miss Chicken, and I hope your cat is okay.

 

[nevermore]

We used to have to wrap my mother's cat in a towel and shove her into the carrier while she yowled like something straight out of a horror movie, which we also had to cover with "Do not approach the cat", "Cat bites", "Do not stick fingers into cage" etc. stickers. She also got away from my dad at the vet's once, which resulted in her getting up on top of the cabinets and eventually mauling a nurse, my dad and the janitor who brought the ladder to try to get her down. Thereafter she had to be tranquilized and accompanied by my mother whenever she went in, which was only when she needed her shots (she was an indoor/outdoor monster). And of course, she proceeded to live well into her 20's...

And yeah, my cats are so freaked out by simply leaving the house that I avoid taking them anywhere ever. They're strictly indoor cats, so I've only taken them in the two times they've been sick and then they didn't really care...

 

[Crusher Disciple]

^ Good LORD! And I thought Owen was a holy terror!

All he does is howl and try to break into the exam room cabinets. The vet even get a fecal sample out of him last time.

 

[nevermore]

^ Good LORD! And I thought Owen was a holy terror!

She herded two adult huskies through a screen door when she was 4 months old. She rode an Irish wolfhound out of our yard. She killed and dragged home a full-gown possum when she was 18. The neighborhood kids had nightmares about her pouncing on them from the bushes; some still do.

She was a 6-pound calico manx with no front claws of whom I lived in abject terror for the first 15 years of my life. Other cats can only aspire to her unique blend of stealth, psychosis, cuteness and pure evil.

Her name was Chula. She was legend.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I have a 9 year old cat and a 2 month old kitten. I NEVER put them in a cage/carrier. I just think that's horrible to shove them in some uncomfortable contraption like that. Just my opinion. I certainly wouldn't want someone to shove me in a cage. I'd rather feel a little more open and free on a leash.


I use a leash for my felines and canines. My cat has cancer and had quite a few vet visits a few weeks ago and she was scared at first but didn't mind much. I held her and pet her so she could feel better about the situation.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I have a 9 year old cat and a 2 month old kitten. I NEVER put them in a cage/carrier. I just think that's horrible to shove them in some uncomfortable contraption like that. Just my opinion. I certainly wouldn't want someone to shove me in a cage. I'd rather feel a little more open and free on a leash.


I use a leash for my felines and canines. My cat has cancer and had quite a few vet visits a few weeks ago and she was scared at first but didn't mind much. I held her and pet her so she could feel better about the situation.

That wouldn't work for me as I have to catch a taxi to the vet and therefore I have to use a carrier.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I have a 9 year old cat and a 2 month old kitten. I NEVER put them in a cage/carrier. I just think that's horrible to shove them in some uncomfortable contraption like that. Just my opinion. I certainly wouldn't want someone to shove me in a cage. I'd rather feel a little more open and free on a leash.


I use a leash for my felines and canines. My cat has cancer and had quite a few vet visits a few weeks ago and she was scared at first but didn't mind much. I held her and pet her so she could feel better about the situation.

That wouldn't work for me as I have to catch a taxi to the vet and therefore I have to use a carrier.

I don't drive, actually. Public transit is my way.

 

[MANT!]

When I brought 2 cats back from the UK..had to put them in separate carriers (They had never been apart since birth)..the British vets gave us some "long duration" tranquilizers to be given 1 hour prior to flight..as it happened, we got the seat above the live cargo loading hatch..we watched as our carriers..(I know as my 1st wife had me spray paint them bright green for easy ID) were loaded...saw one cat, Tabby by name, pressed with her back against the cage snoozing away..saw only the horrified wide eyes of the other cat ,Carbon, as she was loaded into the airplane with the APU exaust screaming all about her...later we found her pill in the bottom of the carrier after the flight..she never was quite the same again...

 

[Miss Chicken]

I don't drive, actually. Public transit is my way.

We are not allowed to take pets on public transport in Tasmania (we only have buses not trains). So taxis are my only choice and pets are only allowed in taxis if they are contained.

His appointment is in about 90 minutes time.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I don't drive, actually. Public transit is my way.

We are not allowed to take pets on public transport in Tasmania (we only have buses not trains). So taxis are my only choice and pets are only allowed in taxis if they are contained.

His appointed is in about 90 minutes time.

I should have looked at your location. I figured you were somewhere in NA, lol.


Well....I have no good advice for that since my mom had tried to put one of her cats in a carrier and we all ran in fear of the growls and claw swipes. It was a nightmare.

 

[Miss Chicken]

We are back from the vet.

DAMN CAT.

For the last three days he has been limping and hissing if we as much as touched his leg. He gets down to the vet and walks normally and not a single sound as the vet felt his leg. The vet said that the leg wasn't swollen, and his heart rate and temperature were normal. The cat didn't even protest much when the therometer was put up his bum. The vet thinks he might have only spained the leg. I have been given some aanti-inflammatories.

The vet said to keep him in for a few days. However after I got out of the taxi I put the carrier down to open my front door, I must not have done the carrier up properly because the cat broke out of the carrier and ran away as fast as I have ever seen him run!!! I think he is now under the house.

The vet bill was $106

 

[Non Sync]

Leave the carrier out all the time with the door open. Allow him to get use to the carrier on a non-threating basis. Put a treat in it so that he'll get use to going inside as well.

When it is time to actually take him somewhere, it should be slightly easier to get him inside.

 

[RJDiogenes]

My cat has cancer and had quite a few vet visits a few weeks ago and she was scared at first but didn't mind much.

I'm sorry to hear that. Is she responding well to treatment?

The vet bill was $106

Ouch. Well, at least he seems to be okay, if a little miffed at the moment.

 

[TheSeeker]

When I brought 2 cats back from the UK..had to put them in separate carriers (They had never been apart since birth)..the British vets gave us some "long duration" tranquilizers to be given 1 hour prior to flight..as it happened, we got the seat above the live cargo loading hatch..we watched as our carriers..(I know as my 1st wife had me spray paint them bright green for easy ID) were loaded...saw one cat, Tabby by name, pressed with her back against the cage snoozing away..saw only the horrified wide eyes of the other cat ,Carbon, as she was loaded into the airplane with the APU exaust screaming all about her...later we found her pill in the bottom of the carrier after the flight..she never was quite the same again...

Great. Now I'm even more stressed about moving my cats back to Canada in July.

 

[Geckothan]

I never had any issue taking my cats to the vets. I just gently push them towards their carriers and they go straight in, no hissing/scratching/biting/screaming at all. They make a bit of noise if we take them in the car, but the vet is a 2 minute walk down the road so we usually just walk down there. I don't know what some people do to their cats that makes them so scared/hostile (no offense to good owners with difficult cats ), but mine have never attacked anyone and don't seem to be scared of anything except fireworks.

Good to hear it's nothing serious Miss Chicken. Does he playfight with other cats much? Maybe they just got a bit rough.

 

[Docbrown777]

First take the carrier out and let it sit somewhere for an hour. If your cat is like mine it knows the noise of me getting the carrier out and freaks out at just that.

Leave the carrier out so the cat thinks the threat is gone. If you have the time wait till the cat goes to sleep. Then pick it up and put it inside before it even knows what is going on.

Alternate is to pick the cat up and walk it over to the carrier making sure not to show the cat where it is going then drop it in.

Still having trouble? Try throwing a blanket over the cat then scooping him up. Then throw cat and blanket in the carrier together.

In ever case position the carrier so that you can drop the cat straight down into it.

 

[Marc]

Guess my sister is lucky that a couple of her cats don't have any problems going in the carrier though sometimes at the vet they can be a handfull

The other, Oscar (a ginger desexed male) is a bit tricker to get in the carrier. Though one time after the vet was finished, Oscar stalked back into the carrier (so no struggle) and if he could of pulled the door shut he would have. Cat was decidedly unimpressed.