Getting a cat, which doesn't really trust you, into a carrier

chint

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Wow... that was an hour long attempt which went straight to hell... I think my cat have earmites, so I booked an appointment to the vet today. I delayed the appointment a couple of times, but I had to give up after about an hour of trying. My cat got terrified, and there is no way in hell she's going into the carrier. She got so scared that she shat and peed several places. I thought it was a bad thing "quitting"... that I could make her see that I did for her own good, if I got here into the cage and went to the vet. But no... I got an emergency-solution to rub some stuff on her neck which should fix the earmites, if that's whats bothering her. So... hopefully no more trips to the vet before august or so for her yearly check. I hope she feels a lot safer and doesn't think I want to kill her by then... (I can barely just pet her for now, had her for two months, picking her up or pushing her into the carrier is out of the question for now, obviously). Any suggestions when that time comes? My god she really hates the idea of going into the carrier... I've had the carrier in my living room for as long as I've had the cat, and I tried spraying feliway on/into it, had a treat there, catnip and a quilt. But that didn't really do anything good, other than it made her a little curious.
 

Kieka

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Are there any travel/mobile vets in your area that are able to come for home exams? They typically can't do anything beyond basic care but annual exams, vaccines and small things like ear mites would fall in the range of care they can provide. It costs a little bit more usually but if you have one in your area it would avoid the entire (literal) mess of trying to get her in the carrier. 

Part of the problem right now just might be the short time you have had her and trust is still developing (and just to day it, give her a week or two and she should forget the whole thing). Of mine two go in okay and one is a challenge. That one runs and hides when the carrier comes out. When I finally do catch her the one who hates the carrier will struggle some but never enough to scratch me and I can get her in the carrier fairly quickly. Even the ones who go in okay though will try to avoid going in but they have the bigger carrier with the top loading so it is more of a half heart attempt to avoid the carrier. 

In your case, maybe using a towel and wrapping the cat in the towel first would help. Keeps all the limbs contained to prevent reaching for the doors and will contain any mess. I had a cat many years ago who always made a mess in his carrier. I got in the habit of arriving at the vet 15 minutes early and bringing a clean up kit. Wet wipes for the cat and carrier, extra towels, a plastic bag I could seal for the soiled towels, a gallon baggie to put the dirty wipes in (I didn't want to leave smelly stuff in the small vets bathroom), plastic gloves for me, and usually a shirt too just in case. Thinking about it; a second clean carrier and just cleaning the cat and changing carriers at the vet would work too. 
 

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Well, I would still keep leaving the carrier out, and when things are calm again, if you are able to pick the kitty up and get her in there, or coax her in with a toy or a treat and if you are able to get the door closed for even 5 or 10 minutes it will be helpful.  Poor Theo peed and pooed too when we had to take him in for his neuter surgery... little guy was shaking so hard the carrier was visibly bouncing in my hand, and he was still just a baby... but he isn't scared of the carrier, and will even curl up in it and go to sleep sometimes.  Of course we keep a nice soft blanky in there.  And it is very wise of you to keep working on it now and not wait until the day or even week of the appointment to start training.  We have a couple different carriers, and I can say, the ones that you can just unlatch on the side and take the top off are better than the ones that only open and close by the front for such skittish cats.  This last time we had Theo to the vet, he growled so horribly the vet and me were both afraid someone was fixing to get bit.  Luckily, no one did, but if I had the top off kind of carrier we would have just been able to unbuckle the top and been able to leave Theo in there.  As it were, we had to drag him completely out.  The good news is we didn't have any problem getting him back after the exam.  :)

Best of luck to you.
 

Kieka

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Just to say, top access carriers are completely worth the investment.

I got my first one when Link got too big to fit comfortably in our other carrier and Rocket joined the family so I needed a third carrier. It is amazing for both getting them in and getting them out. My Mom ended up keeping an eye out at yard sales and finally found the exact same top loading carrier (it had a small crack so the people didn't want it but some reinforcement and it is fine for us) because she loved it so much. Rocket has the older smaller carrier but the top and bottom can quickly come apart with some snaps to take her out; putting her in still is a bear and she is the hardest to get in. As soon as hers needs replacing I am getting her a top load one too though.  

Since we have three cats and three carriers ours are stored in the garage between use. But none of my cats like sleeping in things so I don't think keeping them out would help us. Link spreads out too much and the other two seem to prefer curled up on laps. 
 
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chint

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Will I be able to grip her with a towel? If she has decided not to be handled or picked up in any way, it's really hard. 
I'll have to check is this is also a top access... I think so. Yeah, think I'll try luring her in. Didn't try with a toy this time, maybe da bird or something like that can work. In a couple of weeks or something, if she ever lets go of this experience. I'll keep the carrier in the living room as usual :) God damn, cats can be stubborn...
 

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Can certainly sympathize with this. Getting Maxine into the carrier is an event in itself, though switching to a top-opening carrier did help. However, just getting hold of her in the first place is the real adventure.

She's no fool, and though I don't know how she senses it, about half an hour before we're ready to leave, she goes under the bed. I've tried everything to disguise what's coming, but she's always one step ahead, literally. This is the Three Stooges routine I've finally resorted to to capture her. I open the bathroom door adjacent to the bedroom - I then slowly push the bed up against the bathroom door - she keeps moving that way to stay under the bed and will eventually run into the bathroom - I then vault across the top of the bed into the bathroom and close the door. The bathroom is small enough so that I can grab her. I just glad no one is around to watch me go through this absurd procedure.

Good luck.
 
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chint

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Haha, only cat owners will get that one. I know exactly what you mean - you get into absurdities like that owning a cat :D 

Yeah.... half the problem is that she doesn't feels safe with me yet, I suspect. She has a problem with intimacy, and today really triggered her. What I don't understand, though, is that she actually seems calmer and more approachable now. She looks a little more relaxed and seems like she feels a little more safe. Weird... maybe because she saw that I didn't want to hurt her (even though it got a bit rough when she jumped out of the way when I almost got her cornered)? 

How does a top-open carrier work, exactly, when "capturing" her?
 

Kieka

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The top carrier just makes it easier to get the cat in once you have them. Instead of pushing them into a hole you are lowering them into one. I actually find that if I try through the front door and then quickly switch to the top they miss the transition in resistance and are in before they realize it. 
 
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chint

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But how do you close the lid before she manages to escape?
 

Kieka

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The front door I hold closed with a foot or knee if I can't get it latched. As to the top door, once all four legs are in the carrier it is pretty simple to just close the lid and they duck down out of the way. It is too high and narrow to easily climb right out without being able to jump or get on hind legs. 
 
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chint

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Ah, I see! My carrier is pretty small, so I imagine she'll be able to just get out pretty fast. Maybe I'll invest in a more practical carrier.
 

arouetta

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My solution to a cat that was impossible to get into a carrier was to get one with a second, top-loading door.  It's tons easier to lower a cat in a big door than push them through a little door.
 

sargon

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It won't help now, but leaving the carrier around and open for your cat to explore really helps.   My cat doesn't freak out at all in hers, and even sometimes climbs inside it just because she wants to!
 

mollyblue

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Think of it like swaddling a baby, wrap her up securing her arms and legs and it will calmer for both of you.
 
It won't help now, but leaving the carrier around and open for your cat to explore really helps.   My cat doesn't freak out at all in hers, and even sometimes climbs inside it just because she wants to!
Yes,  I have one that actually prefers to sleep in hers, and the others nap in them occasionally and explore them for fun. 
 

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I have to pin one to the floor, on his belly, grab by the scruff, stick his head in, and push him on in with my other hand on his butt.  Where he cries the whole time he's in there.
The other one?  I open the carrier and he dives in.  Sound asleep as soon as we hit the road.
 

cocobutterfly

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Where do you live? There are many vets who make house calls in and near every major city. Are you in the US? Do an online search... google, yelp.
 
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chint

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Thank you for the replies. I'll think about towels next time (hopefully she's a lot safer around me and this won't be a problem to this extent). Also, My carrier is top access, but, heh, welll, you can se for yourself:


It's split in half, and it's not very big. It hat a lot of good reviews, so I bought it. But I'm guessing I would've chosen quite different now.

Anyway, I have the carrier here in my living room at all times, and she's not afraid of it. Even when I tried getting her into it, it didn't seem like she was afraid of the actual carrier, more what I was going to do to her, or that she was forced to be in a small crampy carrier. Maybe she has bad experiences with it, I don't know. Maybe it's just natural.

I'll keep that in mind, cocobutterfly (cool nick :D ). I live in Norway. I've no idea if that's practice here, but I can check it out if that becomes an option :)
 
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chint

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Just to clarify top load carriers are something like this, http://www.thecatsite.com/products/petmate-21605-curvations-top-load-small-pet-kennel

They have an actual door in the top. Most cat carriers can have their whole top removed to get the cat out easier. But putting the whole thing back together when the cat is unhappy is a challenge.
Ah, I see! Why doesn't everyone include this? Much smarter than the frontdoor. 

Yeah, I can't see how that'll work. Have to do it really fast and risking damaging the cat or traumatizing it or something...
 

mollyblue

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It's split in half, and it's not very big. It hat a lot of good reviews, so I bought it. But I'm guessing I would've chosen quite different now.

Anyway, I have the carrier here in my living room at all times, and she's not afraid of it. Even when I tried getting her into it, it didn't seem like she was afraid of the actual carrier, more what I was going to do to her, or that she was forced to be in a small crampy carrier. Maybe she has bad experiences with it, I don't know. Maybe it's just natural.

I'll keep that in mind, cocobutterfly (cool nick :D ). I live in Norway. I've no idea if that's practice here, but I can check it out if that becomes an option :)
Cats really read a lot into what we are feeling as well... maybe you are under a lot of stress worrying about how it will go and that could be making her nervous too.  Not sure if it has been suggested already, but you could try putting her in the carrier and taking her for a short ride so she doesn't always associate the carrier with bad things.  I know a lot of cats don't like car rides so we don't take them very often, but several of my cats have grown to look forward to outings.  Two of them often go to PetCo or PetSmart with us, and one of them likes to just go with me when I put gas in the car... Regardless of whether its something you want to do all the time or not, having a couple practice sessions before the next visit should ease the stress for both of you.  LOL... Puffy Cat is the one who sleeps in her carrier - and the one who will go with me just to do little things like put gas in the car,  but before we started leaving it out for her, whenever we would get it out, she would come running and get in it because she knew it meant she was going somewhere.  Have faith, it can happen!
 
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