Cat vs Vet tips?

[yawning801]

OK, being brutally honest, my cat bullies the vet. When she had to have two anti-sickness jabs in August, she got so stressed out that she ended up screaming all sorts of profanity in cat-language! She's going for her annual boosters on Tuesday, so does anyone have any tips on keeping her calm? Even tipping her out of the carrier warrants a hiss and/or growl.

TIA

I wasn’t impressed when my parents told me their vet had failed to cut their boy’s claws. Turns out he went ballistic and scratched him really badly, then proceeded to walk all over his computer and drink the vets tea. Apparently he’s been pretty good since then!

Put her in one of those old fashioned wicker baskets that open from the top. Much easier to get her in and out of. Tell the vet she's likely to be tricky. They will manage.

Don't tip her out the basket this is really bad practice as it makes the cat immediately defensive.
Take the lid off the box, use a towel for cat to hide beneath whilst examination occurs and limit handling as much as possible. Ideally vet should stand behind cat and not look directly at the cat. This is all standard stuff for international cat care cat friendly vet practices.

Definitely a top opening cat carrier. Imagine being tipped out or dragged out of a place you feel safe. A top opener often means the vet/nurse can do most of what they need to do whilst the cat sits in the basket.

Ask if there are "cat friendly" nurses to assist. Someone with patience and a firm and kind demeanour makes all the difference. All to often the vets are terrfied hesitant and this actually makes things worse.

I often need to restrain angry cats and the key is time. It is knowing just how firm to be. Some cats will freak if you restrain too tightly and others respond well to me holding quite tightly and close to my ample cat appeasing bosom.

If your vet is getting bullied they are getting it wrong!

Mostly it is about keeping restraint to a minimum