In a few minutes I will practice my own advice here. Wish me luck, friends.
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Need to get an extremely agitated cat into a carrier.
- Thread starter sinead campbell
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Good Luck @KittyPa. (turn that frown upside-down)In a few minutes I will practice my own advice here. Wish me luck, friends.
Your method sounds good to me, too, except I was not fast enough with a previous cat.
He wiggled his behind, knocked over the carrier, and managed to get all paws...every which way.
I think the secret with your way is being ...super, super fast...so our cats definitely don't see it coming.
update us later, if you can. I don't think @Sinead Campbell will mind us slightly 'hijacking' her thread.
Besides, it all has to do with getting cats into carriers.
I'm going to go looking for that 2 door top-opening carrier that @Neely mentioned, this weekend.
It's about $35 CAD at walmart. ... http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/petmate-2-door-top-load-kennel/6000191325858
Similar on amazon, $27 USD plus shipping,...
I had to take my contrary 14 year old female kitty to the vet this morning. She's not feeling well and I'm concerned. Anyways, I got her into the carrier. As I was lowering her she spread her hind legs. I had to let go with one had to get her legs in the opening. She put up a little fight, but the fact that sh'e weak at the moment worked in my favor.
Good Luck @KittyPa. (turn that frown upside-down)(sounds goofy, but I always wanted to say it.)
Your method sounds good to me, too, except I was not fast enough with a previous cat.
He wiggled his behind, knocked over the carrier, and managed to get all paws...every which way.
I think the secret with your way is being ...super, super fast...so our cats definitely don't see it coming.
update us later, if you can. I don't think @Sinead Campbell will mind us slightly 'hijacking' her thread.
Besides, it all has to do with getting cats into carriers.
I'm going to go looking for that 2 door top-opening carrier that @Neely mentioned, this weekend.
It's about $35 CAD at walmart. ... http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/petmate-2-door-top-load-kennel/6000191325858
Similar on amazon, $27 USD plus shipping,...
She has a little fever. They were unable to get a urine sample because she already let go all over us as she was being removed from the carrier. I'll find out the results of the blood work tomorrow. I still have to take her back for the urine sample. She may have a urinary tract infection. Anyways, I'll get more practice wrestling her into the carrier.
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Oh, I thought you were just going in to the vet for something routine.
Major health vibes for your female cat are being sent.
There's really not much of a bright side, when our cats are ill, but if anything is good, then all the various methods mentioned above for getting a cat into a carrier are useful.
(Sent you a PM, too.)
You all may not believe this, but my ferocious male cat, who is the terror of the vet's office, goes straight into the carrier like a lamb. Cats! Go figure. The vet won't even examine him unless she knocks him out.
My Little Figgy drew blood when I was putting her in the carrier. Then the vet says she's such a good patient.
Cats! Go figure.
My large male cat Sonny scratched up both myself and his former foster mommy getting him into the carrier to go to his last vet appointment. He was calm and cuddly with the vet staff. He actually walked right into his carrier after the appointment for the vet tech. He never does that.
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After reading some of your catastrophic experiences of putting cats in carriers, I though I'd share my experience with 6 feral cats. . . . They've taken up living in our yard, with us feeding them.
A friend loaned me her live-trap, the size of which is just big enough to allow the bigger cat into it though the tails of even some of the smaller ctas stick out the door. Oh well, I'm not trapping with this one, just conditioning the cats to feeling comfortable with traps. . . .
I placed a stick under the open door to hold it up, and a bowl of enough smelly food for all of them to eat at the far end. They soon learned to go in it to eat at least once daily, taking turns of course.
When it came time to get them all neutered, I borrowed larger live traps from a local TNR group, lined & covered each with two separate towels, baited each, & set their doors up for trapping. . . .
I made the mistake of putting all 6 traps next to each other my first try, so only caught the younger 3, though all showed up. My second try I put 3 traps in separate places, out of eyesight of each other. Each time I caught 3 cats within 10-15 minutes . . . no scratches ever involved, even though one of them was hissing & spitting from the get go!
If you have a cat that becomes so fearful it draws the blood of those trying to help it, this kind of trap allows the caregivers to isolate the cat at one end & give it a shot to anesthetize or calm it, without having to handle it while it's capable of lashing out. It's the ONLY carrier most vets will accept feral cat patients in, due to the circumstances. . . .
I was just thinking that some of you --with terribly frightened cats that tend to lash out-- might want to invest in one (big enough to not have the door come down on its tail when it gets triggered, of course). I recommend getting one with both a trap door and a sliding door at the other end, plus --in case you need to hold it in there for recuperation from something-- a 'fork' barrier to stick through it, used to keep the cat at one end while you clean &/or put food & water in the other end.
As far as calming goes, I'll try L-Tryptophan on fearful cats since reading this article, as I already used it with success on a very frightened & lost German Shepherd during 4th of July fireworks this year, giving it 1/2 a dose. Both times --after it took effect about 1 hr later-- he laid right down & went right to sleep . . . until it wore off again, about 4 hours later. (It's just an amino acid, one source being chicken & turkey dark meat.) It's much easier on the system than drugs! Here's the article:
"Tryptophan . . . is primarily used to decrease aggression and stabilize mood for dogs and cats.
L-tryptophan is a large neutral amino acid that is an essential dietary constituent for dogs and cats. . . ."
http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/tryptophan-nutricalm
NOTE: The long ban on L-Tryptophan was due to a batch that was made on machinery that was NOT cleansed of the prior batch of OTHER stuff that had previously gone through it . . . NOT anything to do with L-Tryptophan itself. It gave 'them' a twisted excuse to ban it & get it off the market for a long time, though. This is a discussion of that: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/...I-?qid=20091222094349AA6ijPm&p=tryptophan ban
A friend loaned me her live-trap, the size of which is just big enough to allow the bigger cat into it though the tails of even some of the smaller ctas stick out the door. Oh well, I'm not trapping with this one, just conditioning the cats to feeling comfortable with traps. . . .
I placed a stick under the open door to hold it up, and a bowl of enough smelly food for all of them to eat at the far end. They soon learned to go in it to eat at least once daily, taking turns of course.
When it came time to get them all neutered, I borrowed larger live traps from a local TNR group, lined & covered each with two separate towels, baited each, & set their doors up for trapping. . . .
I made the mistake of putting all 6 traps next to each other my first try, so only caught the younger 3, though all showed up. My second try I put 3 traps in separate places, out of eyesight of each other. Each time I caught 3 cats within 10-15 minutes . . . no scratches ever involved, even though one of them was hissing & spitting from the get go!
If you have a cat that becomes so fearful it draws the blood of those trying to help it, this kind of trap allows the caregivers to isolate the cat at one end & give it a shot to anesthetize or calm it, without having to handle it while it's capable of lashing out. It's the ONLY carrier most vets will accept feral cat patients in, due to the circumstances. . . .
I was just thinking that some of you --with terribly frightened cats that tend to lash out-- might want to invest in one (big enough to not have the door come down on its tail when it gets triggered, of course). I recommend getting one with both a trap door and a sliding door at the other end, plus --in case you need to hold it in there for recuperation from something-- a 'fork' barrier to stick through it, used to keep the cat at one end while you clean &/or put food & water in the other end.
As far as calming goes, I'll try L-Tryptophan on fearful cats since reading this article, as I already used it with success on a very frightened & lost German Shepherd during 4th of July fireworks this year, giving it 1/2 a dose. Both times --after it took effect about 1 hr later-- he laid right down & went right to sleep . . . until it wore off again, about 4 hours later. (It's just an amino acid, one source being chicken & turkey dark meat.) It's much easier on the system than drugs! Here's the article:
"Tryptophan . . . is primarily used to decrease aggression and stabilize mood for dogs and cats.
L-tryptophan is a large neutral amino acid that is an essential dietary constituent for dogs and cats. . . ."
http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/tryptophan-nutricalm
NOTE: The long ban on L-Tryptophan was due to a batch that was made on machinery that was NOT cleansed of the prior batch of OTHER stuff that had previously gone through it . . . NOT anything to do with L-Tryptophan itself. It gave 'them' a twisted excuse to ban it & get it off the market for a long time, though. This is a discussion of that: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/...I-?qid=20091222094349AA6ijPm&p=tryptophan ban
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Thanks for that info, @Kommunity Kats.
Can you post a link to what those traps you use look like?
Are they similar to dog crates?
Really useful info about the L-Tryptophan, too.
Can you post a link to what those traps you use look like?
Are they similar to dog crates?
Really useful info about the L-Tryptophan, too.
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Not like dog crates IMO.
The best ones (IMO) are basically varmint traps, but with an extra (slide) door opposite the trap door.
The kind I borrowed had only one door, a pretty-much solid -& heavy- trap door. (The weight may be necessary to close quickly & make it impossible for the critter to push it open in their panic while it comes down. If I get one of my own, I want one with both types of doors + a 'fork'-divider to make it easy to clean + place food & water inside, as needed.
The ones I trapped with were around 3' long.
You can see a variety made by the same company as those --some with dual trap doors & some that are collapsible-- here:
http://www.havahart.com/store/animal-traps/cats
That company makes sturdy traps that can be used for various critters.
Some traps are sold cheaper, & are big enough for stronger animals (like raccoons), but not strong enough.
This explains how to use the divider:
"Caring for cats in traps " > "Feeding and Cleaning"
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/trapping/caring-for-cats-in-traps
I don't know if pet cats would prefer a larger cage to convalesce in, or not.
I suppose it depends on the cat & situation.
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Just wanted to say that I can relate. This is what it took to get my two-year-old cat, A.J., into his carrier for a vet trip a month or so ago.
Ironically enough, I had to take him to the vet to board him there so that the staff could give him his prescription medication twice a day. No single human being alive can even hope to medicate this cat, and I have no one to help me. Love him to death, but between being scared of absolutely everything and everyone except me, wanton destruction of speaker wire, and...well, this...he's a real handful.
Ironically enough, I had to take him to the vet to board him there so that the staff could give him his prescription medication twice a day. No single human being alive can even hope to medicate this cat, and I have no one to help me. Love him to death, but between being scared of absolutely everything and everyone except me, wanton destruction of speaker wire, and...well, this...he's a real handful.
