Getting cats into carriers.

[Snoof]

Sorry for posting two threads in the same fifteen minutes, but I thought this one would fare best on its own as it may come in handy for countless others who face this struggle regularly.

On Tuesday I want to take Ninja to the walk-in at the nearby vet clinic (10.30-11.30), so I'll need to get him into his carrier. At the moment, it's being cleaned out and when I'm done with that (in half an hour or so) I'm going to put it on the ledge by his safe space so he can sniff around and get used to it. I'm going to put a towel in it or him to snuggle down on.

Now I have three options - let him have his breakfast before putting him in it and taking him away, put him in it then feed him breakfast when we get home, or use the breakfast to get him in it.

My question is this: Would any vet think I was weird if I brought a cat in a carrier with an empty foodbowl in it? :lol:

[Booktigger]

I Am sure they have seen worse - mine have raised eyebrows at the bag of catnip in the carrier!!

[Snoof]

:lol: BT. I'll have to explain Ninja to the vet anyway (he might try to take the guy's arm off, he's done that with my housemate before although it was sort of justified).

[yola]

I wouldn't worry about the empty food bowl and the vet. However, consider that putting Ninja's breakfast in there and effectively 'trapping' him using something he trusts might mean a bit of a backward step in the relationship building. I'd rather let him have his breakfast and then put on some body armour and try and reverse him into his carrier.

[Snoof]

Yola, that's a good point (and also why I'm not letting him have his meal in there a few times before effectively trapping him in it). I feel like a right plonker to begin with. The problem is, I can't figure out whether it'll be a bigger violation of his trust to use breakfast (in a place where he never gets it otherwise), or to use my body, which he's having far more trust issues with than the food...

[yola]

Hmmm. Snoof I see your dilemma. I think as you can still talk to him and stroke him gently (if possible) whilst maneouvring him into the basket, the body is the lesser of the 2 evils (IMO . . . ).

[CJK]

i hope you manage to get him int here ok.
I neer thought of trying catnip to lure them in, good idea!

[Snoof]

I guess I could get some catnip... He's not had it before and I could maybe use it as something he only gets in the carrier. It may even mellow him out... Only...

Dishrag used to get really violent on catnip :lol: He would hide under my bed then wait for bare feet to appear, run out, shred them, and duck back under. Sweetest, most mild-mannered cat otherwise, but on catnip he was a ball of black fluffy violence :lol:

Don't think the vet would appreciate that!

[CJK]

lol, Mr darcy does that to my feet every night if i get out of bed, but not nasty, just playfull

[Donna]

What about letting him have breakfast as normal and then maybe entice him with a few treats in the basket?

[Snoof]

I thought about that, Donna, but I've used treats specifically as a tool to build his trust and I'd really hate to use them to get him in there.

I guess I can try gently herding him in, and then if it doesn't work I can (on Wednesday, if worst comes to worst) try the breakfast-in-the-carrier thing later :)

[Donna]

Can you pick him up yet? If you can you could wrap him in a towel so as to avoid being shredded and place him in backwards so he cannot see what is happening (or cover his eyes with the towel).

[smudgley]

SNOOF, CAN i MAKE A SUGGESTION, THAT BREAKFAST IS LEFT UNTIL AFTER YOU GET BACK FROM THE VETS! whhops caps lock :roll:

Why not try & get him in as suggested with treats/ his fave blanket. But I wouldn't feed him prior to his vet trip.
We all know what happens when there's food & nerves & travelling. (YUK)

[smudgley]

Snoof. Do you have a brave friend who could get him in for you? As you are just building a bond with him, so as not to "fall out with him" over the issue of getting him in. If someone else did it, it may not get in the way of your bonding so much. (Just remember you've got to get him back in there at the vets though)

[Mags]

. (Just remember you've got to get him back in there at the vets though)
I have always found that Cassie is difficult to get into her carrier but after the vet has finished she dives back into it like nobody's business!!!:lol:

[Snoof]

Smudge, it would have to be Matt. I'm going to try luring him with some treats and some gentle herding and hope for the best, I think... Carrier's next to his box, squeaky clean with an old towel at the bottom.

It's not as good as having his own old stuff in there, but that'd require me to either empty his box now or shove the cuddlies on top of him once he's in... I think he's been in it already though, so it ought to smell somewhat like him...

Donna, I still can't pick him up (or rather, I haven't tried yet) but as his main issue is with my body I wouldn't anyway. Maybe Matt could do it but I'm the person Ninja trusts the most and that's still pretty tenuous so I'd happily sacrifice his trust in Matt for the sake of continuing to build his trust in me :lol: I'm cruel that way :roll:

And Mags, I agree 100%! Trouble: getting cat into carrier at home, getting cat out of carrier at vet's. No trouble at all: getting cat into carrier at vet's, getting cat out of carrier at home!

I used to have an 18-lbs cat (on a small frame - someone else fed him really fatty foods but he was miserable if he was kept inside and she wouldn't stop, very nasty situation) and getting him into the carrier often consisted of standing the carrier on end and then letting gravity do the work :lol: But once he was out at the vet's there was no more trouble.

I'm hoping Ninja will not hate me until we get back home, so I can give him some comfort while we're at the vet's...

[Snoof]

He's currently sitting in it and seeming quite happy. If I'm at all lucky he might be in it when I get up and I'll be able to just close the door, ring for a taxi and trundle off... But I won't hold my breath :lol:

[dandysmom]

I always feed mine breakfast first, having smuggled the carrier downstairs while he/she was eating, and then as they were having a wash-up, throw a towel over & pop in so quickly they didn,t have too much time to object violently. Have never had a problem with vomiting in the carrier. But with Ninja's trust issues, I think it might be better if Mike could do it for you..."good cop. bad cop routine". Whatever you do, he's going to be upset & that may be the easiest way for him...?? What do you think?

[dandysmom]

Sorry, just realized I nsaid Mike when & meant matt:oops: And the point about up-ending the carrier worked with my Siamese, letting gravity work, but the others I just put in quickly facing back so I could close the door before they could turn aroung. Eagerly awaiting the results...

[Snoof]

Well, I tried gently herding him into it and he ran away. He's back now, to eat his breakfast, but hissing and legging it when I come near. I think I'm going to have to give it up as a bad job for today and try again tomorrow with his breakfast in the carrier.

I did try to block off the hole he goes out through, but he saw through me and ran...

Sigh.

I feel like we've taken a grillion steps backward and he isn't even in the box...

[Mags]

Snoof, try having the carrier open ready to put him in, in one room.....then pick Ninja up outside the room so that he hasn't had chance to see the carrier. If you're pretty quick you can often get him in there before he realises what is happening. I always have to do that with Cassie as once she sees the carrier she has gone!!

[Snoof]

I still can't pick him up Mags :( But I'll certainly remember that tip for the future!

[logoes]

Snoof, If all else fails would you like to try one of the old-fashioned wickerwork cat baskets, the sort where you drop the lid down quickly. If so send a PM to me, I'm just down the road from you - well at Levens - and I'm more than happy to let you have it if you think it might work - Logoes.

[Booktigger]

When I fostered an unhandleable cat, I was quite lucky with vet visits, as I left the carrier on the windowsill and he used it as a bed. I did have to use herding techniques to get him in there though, as he didn't go in the carrier as early as the vet visit was, and when he was rehomed, he decided to ignore the carrier!!

[Snoof]

Logoes, I don't have a car so I wouldn't be able to come pick it up. I'm also thinking he'll still refuse to go in it, so we'll be faced with the same problem. Thank you very much for the offer though :)

We're ordering some Rescue Remedy, and tomorrow I'll try putting his breakfast in the carrier. By breakfast he's generally very hungry, so he won't resist going into the carrier for very long.

It's abusing his trust, but like my friend pointed out - any way I turn this is abusing his trust.

[mishmunnypenny]

just another point about the body being the lesser of two evils... remember that the body that made him go into the carrier is also the one that frees him from it when he gets home :)

[Snoof]

I got some catnip today (by the time I got round to shopping I was completely depressed about what a fiasco it was :lol) and spread some in his box when I got home. I figured it might mellow him out enough to allow me to pet him so we could at least start rebuilding trust... And it worked, he let me cuddle him and let my son pet him a little bit.

I might try putting his breakfast in there tomorrow, but I don't know for sure yet. It's going to depend on whether or not he's in the conservatory when I get down there, and on whether or not he'll let me fuss him and how he's acting and stuff. Otherwise I'll wait for the Rescue Remedy to arrive and see if that opens up any new possibilities.

[Snoof]

Another failure. We're going to leave him to it and wait for him to be relatively comfortable again, then decide whether we should try to block off all exits and get him into the carrier, or ring a vet for a callout visit (and block off all exits).

It's going to be traumatic either way. I'm sad that we keep having to push him around on this. Hopefully the Rescue Remedy will help him calm down a little, at any rate.

[dinahsmum]

Snoof
I'm sorry I've lost the original plot on this one.......remind me why Ninja needs to go to the vet?

[Snoof]

Just for his checkup and shots, DM.

He's currently in his box in the conservatory, happily being petted and fussed... So I don't think it's nearly as awful as I was telling myself it would be this morning.

[dinahsmum]

If it were me, I might weigh up the trauma of the vet visit with the benefit of what he'll get there.

My cats were never vaccinated between their kitten shots and the ages of 12 and 14, when we needed to kennel them whilst we holidayed. They were vaxxed on two consequtive years but haven't been done for 2, as they haven't needed to go to kennels.
I do think we over-vaccinate................but we're in a time of change. The vet profession will agree on a new regime over the next few years.



........that was all me whittering on but basically saying 'does he need to go in the dreaded box?'

[Snoof]

Well, for one, he's an outside cat. For another, his recent behaviour toward other cats is making us think the kittens will help him tremendously once he gets past the likely initial stage of wanting to eat them in violent ways.

I agree 100% that we overvaccinate animals. You've got me there. But I'm having trouble determining if it would be responsible to get two kittens (who will be as vaccinated as they can be according to age, so it depends a little on how old they are) when the original cat hasn't been updated according to current veterinary philosophy. Know what I mean?

Personally I suspect it's a ridiculous worry, but I'm not well-read enough (and not adept enough at navigating what's true versus what's moneymaking bollocks - that came out monkeymanking at first :roll: :lol:) to determine if that's just my view on the matter or also likely to be practically accurate.

Does that make sense?

On yet another hand, I think the kittens will help him realise we're not evil. We plan to get two sociable ones, and seeing them be unafraid and not get hurt (not to mention getting in the dreaded box and coming back in one piece :roll:) may help him realise that we're ok. In fact, given how intelligent he's proven himself to be, I daresay I'm 99% certain that he will learn from them to some extent (thereby making it more sensible to get the kittens, give him a while, and then see about getting him a checkup and booster shots). But as it's not just about Ninja's safety but also about the kittens', I'm loathe to make that decision when I don't feel I know enough to determine if it's got a sound basis.

He has been vaccinated (by the rescue).