Tricks for Vet Visits

going nova

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Hi all!

Nova was recently spayed, and today I took her to have her sutures removed.
Usually, she walks right in to her carrier, but she is a bit leery after her spay.

Fortunately, there's a liquid vitamin that she really likes called "Pet Tinic" which is fed to her from a syringe.
So to get her to go into the carrier, I poked the syringe through the vent holes in the back so that she would have to go in to get it.

Once at the vet's, I had trouble getting her out of the carrier!
I had to take the top off of the carrier because she holds on to the edges around the door and just will not let go!

How do you all get your cats to cooperate with you when you visit the vet?
For those of you with multiple cats, do you feel that your cats communicate with each other regarding the cat carrier?

I've though about wrapping her in a towel, but this might make driving with her a bit difficult.

Please share!
 

yosemite

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Usually a few days before a scheduled vet visit, I bring the carrier into the living room/den, put in a nice soft towel and leave the door open. The kitties treat it like a hidey hole and it thus becomes less of a bad thing.

Our cats are used to being out on harness and leash so we often just take them to the vet with harness and leash rather than carriers but unless your cat is used to this I wouldn't recommend or advise it. Even then we always make sure we have the carrier with us in case it's needed for an emergency such as kitty freaking out in the waiting area for some reason. So far we've not had any problems but there is always a first time.
 

tamgirl99

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I've been looking into this myself and recently bought a different kind of carrier for my new kitten. It's a Sherpa bag that I got from Petsmart and it is similiar in design to an ordinary duffle bag. I like this because most cats LOVE travel bags. The other good thing about it is that it has two different openings, the standard door that zips open, or the top portion can completely unzip so kitty can be pulled out if needed.

Unfortunately my 17lb cat won't fit in this (and believe me I tried...
) so I have to use the regular carrier for her and take it apart like you do when we get there. I now put the carrier in the utility room (leading to the garage) and carry her to it, instead of trying to bring it out where she sees it first. She always takes off when she sees it and this works a lot better.
 

laureen227

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cooperate?
yeah, right

i operate on the principal that i am bigger - might is right! i manhandle them into their carriers. sometimes takes a while, but i ALWAYS win!
the carriers are out all the time, but they know something's up when i put one on the bed...

 

darlili

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Tamgirl, did you get the big sherpa bag in the dog section at Petsmart? I had the medium sized one (which is, I think, the same size at the one shown in the cat section) which did ok for my 13 pound boy, who's just a big boy with long long legs. For Christmas I got the bigger bag for him and he's even more comfy.

My two will sleep and relax in the Sherpa bags when I leave them out - but they know when it's vet time and will struggle a bit. My girl won't come out of the bag at the vet, but he usually just grabs the lambskin pad and out she comes with it!
 

tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by darlili

Tamgirl, did you get the big sherpa bag in the dog section at Petsmart? I had the medium sized one (which is, I think, the same size at the one shown in the cat section) which did ok for my 13 pound boy, who's just a big boy with long long legs. For Christmas I got the bigger bag for him and he's even more comfy.

My two will sleep and relax in the Sherpa bags when I leave them out - but they know when it's vet time and will struggle a bit. My girl won't come out of the bag at the vet, but he usually just grabs the lambskin pad and out she comes with it!
No, I got the medium one as well since it said it held up to a 16 lb pet. My new cat is an abyssinian so I'm hoping she stays within the breed standard which is pretty small, I think 5-7 lbs for a female. My only gripe with it is that I wish it was a bit taller, even though they lay down the entire time. I got the red one because they had it mismarked for $49 when it rang up at $65.
 

goldenkitty45

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Unfortunately most cats experience the vet when they go in the carrier, and so learn quickly what the carrier means. My guys are show cats; Charlie wants in the carrier when I bring it up.

Most times if I had a reluctant cat (in the carrier or out of the carrier), I'd just reach in and pull them out or push their butts/tails into the carrier
 

buzbyjlc10

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I have a bag type carrier for Oliver too and I leave it out and open all the time with a blankie in there and he often goes in to nap... yeah he knows when he's going in the car cuz he gets harnessed and put in the carrier, but it's usually not too bad... once at the vet I usually have to open the top of the bag (instead of the side) and pick him up out of it lol, then he's more than happy to scoot back in once the visit is over and usually hangs out for awhile in it when we come back home... I just put it on the floor and open the door and let him come out when he's ready
 

ryanjay

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23 cats and i always have carriers out for my cats...only my one semi feral gives me any trouble about going in(then again i dont see ehr for days in general
they sell carriers that just have four latches but honestly they make me nervous due to my cats are in general pretty decent sized. and about the communicating i really think they know soemthings up and they all kinda get like not me???? once i have a cat loaded in cage the rest seem to chill out. besides the spay/neuter only one cat goes semi regualar to the vet the rest tend to go only if they are being euthanized(unfourtunetly it has happend alot past year due to i got a bunch at once so all the "kittens of 10 years ago" started to have health issues RJ
 
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