Any "tricks" for getting my cat into his carrier? Update post #25

[minniecarousel]

I need to take the cats to the Vet tomorrow for a check-up. Poor Tigger (should have named him Eeyore!) is such a scaredy-cat. It'll be difficult to corner him to get him into his carrier. He still won't let me pick him up and I've had him for 4 years! His brother, Simba, is better and isn't pleased when I pick him up, but he's OK with it.

Am I missing something? It took me a while to corner them last month when I had the carpets cleaned and wanted them in a bathroom.

It's really a shame, too. Tigger is just letting me pet him more now. Back to square one (way to shatter the trust!)

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Is there a particular food that he really likes? Perhaps you can put it in the back of the carrier to lure him in?

 

[minniecarousel]

They eat only dry food and it's available anytime for them. So food isn't a big lure for him.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

My cat Chuggy sleeps with a green Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket that I brought back from Disney. All I do is wrap her in that and put her in. She fights but she seems much more relaxed going in the carrier with the blanket than with a towel.
Despite using the blanket for when she goes in the carrier she still sleeps with it at home too.

 

[NAB]

Sounds like you are going to have to pet him then grab him by the extra skin behind his head so he can't bite and stick him in. That is what I have to do with Buddy, first I can't let him see the carrier at all or he goes into hiding we stick it in another room and carry him there. I don't mean carry by that part just grab him and hold him there.

We have no problem getting in back in at the vet he goes in when we are there. He won't go in his carrier for food either. Some one told me to leave the carrier out and let him get used to it but that never worked either.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

My BFF's father has the opinion that cats are hiding multiple limbs in alternate dimensions and this is the reason they are almost impossible to forcibly compress into carriers.

I know that doesn't really help, but it usually puts a smile on my face when I'm trying to jam a cat into a carrier.

FWIW, NAB had the best advice. Also, the next time you're in the market for a pet carrier - buy the kind that has a top loader and a front loader. Makes life ever so much easier. Or buy a carrier 3x bigger than what you really need for the cat - much easier to shove them in when they can't starfish quite as effectively.

 

[SunshineOR]

No advice for cat-catching, but my cats are remarkable at blocking the opening and not going into the carrier. I turn it so the opening is on the top. Then, I grab the cat with the back paws in one hand and front paws in the other, stretch him out and ease him in back legs first. It works well for me with mine. My cats have no problem being caught or picked up though, they just despise the carriers. Good luck!

 

[LargoLori]

When we had our cats I would take the carriers down a few days before so they could get used to them. Most of the time they would go in to sleep. When it was time for the vets I would just shut the door and off we'd go. They would always fall for this. I guess they had a poor memory like their owner.LOL

 

[MnMomtoboys]

I think this thread is proof that cats are smarter than us.

 

[Imzadi]

My cat LOATHES being put into a carrier. There was no way of pushing her into a front loading one. There were sounds that came out of her that no earthly creature could possibly make. She turned into Cujo, the cat.

My vet finally told me to get a top loading one like this one, (where the grey cover comes completely off) and you can place her inside. They have them cheap at Walmart.

Luckily, the carrier I got, does both. So I can grab her, put her in, then place the cover over her.

Once you get one, try to grab her and pick her up from behind. That's how the Vet taught me to do it.

She had no problem being put back in the carrier to go home. I think she knew it was time to go home.

Now, I'm kind of "crate training" my kitty with it. I leave it out for her, with the cover & door off. She actually likes to lay in it. So when it comes time to really put her in, she's not afraid of it. It reminds her of something from home that's safe & familiar.


For this trip, try cornering her and throwing a huge towel over her, and place her inside.

Or something else I tried was cornering my kitty with big sheets of cardboard, pushing her forward, so that the ONLY place she could go was IN the carrier.

 

[ShesAPirate]

I saw the post saying they only eat dry food, but this might be a situation that calls for cracking open a can of Bumble Bee tuna -- always works for my cats! They hate the carrier, too, but cannot resist tuna fish under any circumstances.

 

[shortbun]

I saw the post saying they only eat dry food, but this might be a situation that calls for cracking open a can of Bumble Bee tuna -- always works for my cats! They hate the carrier, too, but cannot resist tuna fish under any circumstances.

yep, this situation is what rare treats are for.

 

[JoShan1719]

I think this thread is proof that cats are smarter than us.

I have to agree

 

[Disneylover79]

The way I do it is...stand the carrier on end and then put them in backwards....good luck to you and for you and I hope your kitty is OK

 

[disneygals]

I have a side loader that I put on it's end and one year my cat, April, when put in feet first, projectiled herself back out and ran away, tried again and she did the same.

Now I put the carrier in the bathroom, go get her, close the door, put a towel over her head and pop her in.

 

[KJ Luvs Pluto]

Thankfully my cat has only had to go to the vet once or twice a year so far - we've had him nine years. He HATES the cat carrier. We've tried leaving it out for him to get used to, putting soft blankets in there. We put treats that he liked - it worked ONCE - then he never ate those treats again, he associated them with the carrier (yes cats are smart). Now he only eats dry food, not even tuna because at one time or another we used them to lure him into his carrier. And he is fully loaded so putting him into the carrier can be painful - for me, not him. He is the sweetest cat, loves tummy rubs and just wants to be petted, until it's time to be put into the carrier. We have just the front load kind so I have to get a large towel, wrap him completely in it and put him back end first (I have the carrier standing on end). Do this as quickly as possible - this cannot be stressed enough or one of us will get hurt and it will not be him

 

[Magpie]

We had one cat who really hated the carrier. We'd wrap kitty up like a mummy inside a towel, turn the carrier on its back, so the opening is at the top, and just stuff her in real quick. Then I'd lock the door before she got free of the towel.

Then I went and got some earplugs for myself, because she was going to howl all the way to the vet!

My current cats are comparatively mellow about carriers.

 

[moburg]

With the worst cat, I put him in front of the cat carrier, butt towards the carrier. I lightly grab his face, which instinctively causes him to back up, right into the carrier.

The more difficult part is getting him OUT of the carrier at the vet. I literally have to pour him out of it.

On the bright side, he will run back into the carrier on his own after a vet visit.

 

[minniecarousel]

Now I put the carrier in the bathroom, go get her, close the door, put a towel over her head and pop her in.

I think this is how I'll do it. I hate to traumatize him further, but it's been 3 years since he's seen the Vet! (thank heavens, they have 3 year immunizations). Once I get him in his carrier, I can get Simba without too much trouble. I have soft-sided, top-opening carriers for each of them.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[sunnyday123]

We use "happy pills." I have an 8 pound cat, and when it's time to get her nails done, it takes two grown adults to hold her down and another to cut her nails-and all of them are wearing shoulder length leather gloves.

I tried butt-first like they do on the animal police shows-if they can get a feral cat in there, surely I can get a spoiled house cat in! Nope. She windmills, sticks all 4 legs straight out, and bends herself in half so she doesn't fit. And in between all of this, I have to constantly fish the other two out of it. She is so stressed out over it we've had to cancel appointments.


Now, we give her treats, slip her a happy pill, take the top off the carrier ( because you still can't get her in all doped up) and drop her in. It's a two person job and you have to be quick, and have a hard plastic carrier.