Cat People – How do you put yours into the carrier?

[applecruncher]

I got a reminder card the other day. My kitty (5 yrs old) is due for a couple sots this month.

Oh, my. I’ll make the appointment for a couple weeks from now. But meanwhile I have to prepare for battle.

A cat-owner friend usually trims my girl’s nails every couple months – I can’t do it…….just does not work for us. Friend locks her under her arm and does it real quick. Amazing to watch.

I think I’ll have the vet techs do the nail trim same time as the shots. But I digress.

The carrier. I try to put it out a couple days in advance, hoping she will play in it. Uh….no. Mistake. That only gives her a heads up. About a half hour before we have to leave I try to grab her, and wow……she fights me every step of the way.

I watched several youtube videos. One suggests using a pillowcase, put over cat’s head then put cat in carrier. Seems cruel. What I usually do is put carrier in dry bathtub, put on heavy gloves and safety goggles, then go in bathroom and click her food bowl with fork. When she comes running, gotcha! I shut the door so she can't run. But what a battle!!

How about you guys?

 

[QuickSilver]

Honestly... I have never had a problem getting my cats into their carriers.. but they have been traveling with us back and forth to our 2nd house since they were kittens.. I just pick them up and put them in.. head first.. Of course, I have to find them first, because when they see the carriers come out, they scatter like leaves on the wind.

 

[Debby]

I haven't had to try yet so I have no advice to give but I'll be keeping an eye on any other suggestions you might receive. Just in case you know.
But it sure sounds like you're going in armed for battle! Wouldn't want to be you.

 

[Warrigal]

I'm waiting for the video

 

[Butterfly]

I'm not a cat person, but my sister is. It's a battle royal to get her cat in the carrier. Last time it took 3 of us to do it without bloodshed.

I'm a dog person, and my dogs just get happily in the car. Much easier.

 

[applecruncher]

Too bad I can't call in that guy Jackson Galaxy I've watched some of his videos. My cat is okay with petting and some brief cuddles, but she doesn't like to be picked up and she's not a lap kitty at all. The vet techs love her, though. She lets them pick her up for weigh-ins, and she was really well-behaved last year when she had mouth/gum surgery (of course she was put to sleep). She doesn't get into mischief (well, except for the window blind that she ruined), no scratching of furniture, very good with her litter box.

 

[SeaBreeze]

I've been using my old hard carrier, and I have it in the living room under the coffee table with a towel in it, so he's been going in there on his own and hanging out. My level of calmness seems to affect his reaction, if I don't make a big fuss, just get the wire door attached when he's out of the room, call him over, I can usually get him in pretty quickly.

When we take him camping, we use the cloth carrier, and with packing and checking the house before we leave, I'm in a less calm state of mind, and I think he senses that. I just need to put him in that carrier to get him into the truck safely, and once we start moving I let him loose on a harness with a 6ft. lead. He fights a bit more getting into that, but I do the head first, and zip up quickly once he's in. Once we're driving, he usually crawls into it, on the seat between me and my husband, and sleeps with the door unzipped.

We don't take him to the vets often thankfully, but last time we went it was hard to get him out of the carrier. The towel was still in there, so I ended up pulling the towel as I was grabbing him to come out. Nail trims are always good first, so I don't get clawed too badly. Here's a video where they make it look very simple.

I really believe that whether we are calm or nervous, our pets can sense that and act accordingly.

 

[SeaBreeze]

I like that My Cat From Hell Show, Jackson Galaxy really does have a way with cats.

 

[DoItMyself]

[h=2]Cat People – How do you put yours into the carrier?[/h]

A combination of ropes, welding gloves and facial protection.

 

[applecruncher]

A combination of ropes, welding gloves and facial protection.

:lol1:

 

[Laurie]

Carefully!

To be fair, I've always found an open cage type better than a closed one, even with a mesh front - they never lose sight of you, and their surroundings. I find that closed ones frighten them.

Usually they're as good as gold. Once when we were moving house we let them out for a "comfort break" in a country rest area, two of them, brother and sister, and they just did what they needed to, had a walkabout, and jumped back in when told.