An example of the Petmate 2 door deluxe carrier with Cat Chi designs carrier bed and carrier handle. Both are available at Paws Whiskers & Claws
Many cats dislike car rides and the cat carrier alike. Desensitizing them at an early age or using positive reinforcement later in life can be helpful at making both of these experiences less stressful. The following are recommendations and suggestions that in our experience have been helpful; cat carrier dos and don’ts, if you will.
A hard sided carrier with many options for getting your cat in and out is what we find to be the most helpful in the veterinary setting. The Petmate 2 door deluxe is a great carrier that allows your cat to be placed in through a grate type door on the top, the typical side door, or the entire top half of the carrier can be removed. This last option is especially nice if your cat is particularly shy or aggressive at the vet. This allows us to examine your cat in their “safe place,” with their bedding and familiar smells around them. We always recommend having bedding in the carrier. It is clearly just a nice thing to do, but it can also be quite helpful if your cat urinates, defecates or tends to vomit due to stress or motion sickness. We find that cats are quite good at staying out of their own mess if they have some absorbable material provided, if not, they tend to be covered from head to toe which just adds to an already unpleasant experience.
Soft sided cat carriers can be extremely inconvenient for the veterinary staff and owners alike. If your cat urinates or vomits in their carrier, you or your vehicle can often become soiled from the material leaking out. Additionally, if your cat is aggressive during vet visits they can hold onto the mesh sides of the carrier with their nails and it can make it extremely difficult to remove them from their carrier to examine them. This process tends to frustrate them and they may escalate due to stress and fear, so soft sided carriers have many cons and we do not recommend them.
One of the best ways to get your cat used to their carrier would be to leave it out in the home 365 days a year. Pick a spot you can live with; for example, under the desk in the home office or on the sun porch. Then the carrier becomes no different then the armchair and the cats desensitize to it quite well. One can understand why cats would associate their cat carriers with fear; after all it only comes out of the crawlspace once a year. Then, for most cats, they get chased around the house, taken to the vet, given shots, pills and other unpleasant things, and they learn to realize that the carrier is the common denominator in that scenario. Take desensitizing a step further and use positive reinforcement as well. Place soft fuzzy bedding in the carrier so that your cat can enjoy it as a cozy place to sleep, add an old t-shirt with your scent on it, put treats and catnip in the carrier for your kitty to discover, and even feed them their canned food treat in there.
To get your cat accustomed to riding in the car, start slow and build to longer trips. Place your cat in the carrier and take them out to the car for 5 minutes and then come back inside. Next time drive around the block, then a short trip to fill your gas tank and so on. (Of course, never leave your cat unattended in the car and be careful about using techniques such as these during extreme temperatures). Your cat will slowly get used to short trips and you reinforce that you always come back home. If one kitty has an appointment you may bring another along for the ride, a simple nail trim could be given and then they go right back into their safe place to go home. This way nothing scary happens. They could even come along and not come out of their carrier at all. All of this reinforces that travel is not a bad thing and their cat carrier is not a scary place.
Another suggestion to help calm your cat during travel would be to use Feliway. Feliway is a synthetic feline facial pheromone that helps cats feel calm in a strange and stressful environment and makes them feel as if they have been to that new place before and already marked it. It is available in a spray form that could be used to spray the carrier itself as well as the car and we carry it here at Paws Whiskers and Claws. Lavender oil, and honeysuckle are two scents that cats find soothing and calming (and it helps stressed humans too!). We use a combination of all of these products in our exam rooms to help make your cats visit as stress-free as possible. Remember that your cat feeds off of your stress level, so it is important for whoever is bringing your cat to the vet to be as calm as possible. Lastly, we recommend playing calm classical music in the car. Following these easy suggestions can help make trips to the doctor less stressful for you and your cat.
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