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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Trips to the vet in the cat box and car - major drama

27 replies

wobblywinelover · 09/01/2020 17:03

Hi cat lovers! just wondering if anyone had any tips to make the whole experience more manageable? I took my cat to the vets today and it was the usual drama but she's getting worse and worse

First of all, I manage to get her into the carrier by picking her up and just putting her in it by suprise - if I got the cat box out prior she'd go away and hide. I put a used towel into the box as a lining so she has scents from home. Doesn't help. Anyway, so as soon as she's in it's major vocals, paws through the grill, even trying to head butt it a few times. I get her in the car and it's major wailing. The time before this she turned around, put her arse to the grate of the box and peed all over the car - took me weeks to get the smell to go. Today I was prepared and put inco sheets on the seat and footwell of the car but she proceeded to pee in the box in the vet waiting room which I had to mop up with tissue roll I asked the receptionist for. Its a full on cat counselling session for the 7 minute drive to the vet where I talk to her in a gentle voice and try every friendly cat thing I could possibly say. She won't come out of the box at the vet so we have to take the box apart and the vet examines her in the box. She is so frightened and the whole thing is totally stressful. Are all cats like this or am I just unlucky? Did anyone find anything to help?

OP posts:

thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter · 09/01/2020 17:10

Honestly, I’ve found there's very little you can do, have you tried Feliway spray although it doesn't work for us it supposedly helps to calm your cat. For the cat wee I use the Simple Solution spray.

Couchpotato3 · 09/01/2020 17:13

One of my cats used to find vet visits incredibly difficult and was more and more aggressive until it took three of us to restrain him on one occasion. He now has a Gabapentin tablet an hour before we set off, and he's as quiet as a lamb and completely chilled out. Talk to your vet - they should be able to give you something to calm your cat down - you don't have to put yourself and your pet through such a stressful experience!

Vinorosso74 · 09/01/2020 17:23

Put those puppy training pads in the bottom of the carrier then a towel. Spray some Pet Remedy spray on the towel to reduce stress (well that's the idea). Do you cover the carrier as that can help?
We used to have a cat who was terrible going to the vet. He used to poo in the carrier. He once scared a dog with his meowing-the posh owner wasn't impressed.

T0tallyFuckedUpFamily · 09/01/2020 17:26

Feliway can take up to a month to start being effective in certain cats. Some if my cats took longer than others to benefit from it, but it does work. I found that it was better to leave the cat box out, with the door off, and a nice comfy blanket inside. Spray it once a day when kitty is elsewhere, because it takes around 10mins for alcohol smell to go and cats don’t like that.

When feeding kitty or giving her treats, you can put the food in the far end of the box and leave her to it. Don’t hang around the box because she’ll think you’re going to close her in it. Eventually she should stop associating the appearance of it entirely with vet visits. Don’t worry about taking it apart for the examination. That’s not a big deal and will actually help her feel more secure and less likely to have a half mauled vet and you trying to chase a terrified cat around the examination room! 😁

T0tallyFuckedUpFamily · 09/01/2020 17:28

Oh yes, I forgot about covering the box, so she doesn’t get distressed by seeing the other animals and surroundings.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 09/01/2020 17:30

Spray the blanket covering the box with feliway. Try a small trip in the car and home without going to the vet

iknowimcoming · 09/01/2020 17:39

Mine turns totally savage at the vets and is a nightmare to get in the basket, on her computer notes at the vet it actually flashes a warning about her anyway following a trip early last year where she bit me and I needed antibiotics I asked about sedating her and they were happy to prescribe a tablet, she has it one hour before she goes and I can put her in the basket easily and by the time we get there she's wide-eyed and totally stoned, then about another hour on she can barely walk which was scary first time but she recovers fine. I don't really like doing it but I think it's better than how stressed and terrified she gets without it

iknowimcoming · 09/01/2020 17:40

Also she HATES feliway with a passion

Original poster

wobblywinelover · 09/01/2020 17:41

Thanks so much for the replies so far! I have a feliway plug in at home, but i'm not sure if it makes any difference, perhaps it's worth trying a spray too. I hadn't thought of covering the box either, so perhaps that's worth a try. I'm not sure if I can face taking her out for a general trip in the car as I think it would stress her unnecessarily but I get the idea.

Perhaps I should add my cat is 13 years old and I rescued her at 6 months, she's often been nervous and picky about who she interacts with, however now she is older she's become so loving and dependent on me and very needy - not sure if that makes a difference. I will also talk to the vet about how to calm her down beforehand so thanks for the suggestion @Couchpotato3

Thanks too @T0tallyFuckedUpFamily perhaps I will try leaving the box out in a non threatening way so she can get used to it a bit more, see what her reaction is.

OP posts:

T0tallyFuckedUpFamily · 09/01/2020 18:04

Also she HATES feliway with a passion did you spray it while she’s in the room? You’re advised to keep the cat out of the room until the smell goes, @20 mins.

Mind you, OP, I have teeny weeny dog that the vets are genuinely frightened of. He had an horrific first few years and although he’s great at home, the vets is a completely different story. I’m the only person that can lift him and out him in the crush cage so they can inject him, so it’s a case of do as I say, not as I do. 😁

Fluffycloudland77 · 09/01/2020 18:08

You could try cystease capsules a couple of days before. I’d stop doing the reassuring voice though, it tells them their right to be concerned when really they know that although they go to a vet they also come home again.

You can buy waterproof seat covers.

IncrediblySadToo · 09/01/2020 18:15

Is it the box or the car she hates?!

You could try a harness and holding her - while someone else drives, obviously!!

But don’t do it without a harness and a very short lead or she could get under the pedals.

My boy cat wasn’t toooo bad once he was in the cage but we had to confine him to a small room in the house then get him in the cage...but he would do that cartoon cat-starfish thing, including trying to brave himself against anything he could.

Couldn’t get tablets down any of them
Without it being a complete fucking nightmare so any sedatives were definitely not an option.

Find a vet that does house calls?!

Original poster

wobblywinelover · 09/01/2020 18:52

@IncrediblySadToo I think it's both the box and the car she hates. Unfortunately I don't have the option of trying to hold her as i'm a lone parent with no help from anybody who would be interested in me taking my cat to the vets and even then she doesn't like being picked up anyway really. Good idea though. I also can't get tablets down her either. Had to try recently to get antibiotic liquid into her and it was a struggle with three people, so tablets are a no go. Wish I could afford house calls too, it would cost me a fortune. Today it cost me £60 just for one booster injection, I dread to think what a home visit would cost. I'm a single parent.

@Fluffycloudland77 i'm not bothered about the seats now as I have got incontinence sheets to put down. However i'm not sure I could quit trying to reassure with my voice, feels a bit mean. Don't think my cat has the ability to understand that she is going to the vets, she is frightened and probably has the memory of a goldfish where these things are concerned but thanks for your input

OP posts:

Toddlerteaplease · 09/01/2020 19:56

Try a to entry box. It makes if far easier to get them in and out!

Fluffycloudland77 · 09/01/2020 20:25

A much wiser woman than me gave me the “business as usual” approach years ago. It worked on my highly strung Bengal boy, who also hated feliway spray. I think dog owners are advised to do the same on fireworks night.

Cats have really good memories!.

slipperywhensparticus · 09/01/2020 20:31

Different box? One of mine had a fabric bag type he was happier in that

I have one who hates the vets he talks to me and stares the entire way

Look up cat wrapping for administration of medicines

Myneighboursnorlax · 09/01/2020 20:34

Wish I could afford house calls too, it would cost me a fortune. Today it cost me £60 just for one booster injection, I dread to think what a home visit would cost. I'm a single parent.

It sounds like you haven’t actually enquired about the cost of a home visit. Its definitely worth asking. I used to work at a vets, and if anyone needed an emergency home visit then yes, it was expensive, as we had to cancel appointments to allow the vet to leave. But we also used to offer routine, pre-booked home visits, one day a month, for the same price as a visit to the practice would have been. This was mostly put in place for elderly or disabled people, but we would also allow the visits for people with animals who were too stressed by coming in. Worth asking if a similar scheme is available.

iknowimcoming · 09/01/2020 23:17

Oh forgot to add earlier the vet also cat me some cat putty for her tablets it's like play dough you break a bit off squidge it up a bit then mould it round the tablet and give it to the cat like a treat, my baby is well savvy when it comes to crushing tablets in food but scoffed this stuff down twice a day for 10 days it was bliss!

MiniMum97 · 09/01/2020 23:31

Yes nothing works with our car either. We had to sedate her too. Speak to your vet about it.

Potentialmadcatlady · 09/01/2020 23:34

Ask your vet for a gabapentin tablet..... happy chilled spaced out cat and happy vet

IncrediblySadToo · 09/01/2020 23:39

@wobblywinelover- when I lived elsewhere, the local vets would do house calls on the way to and from the surgery and didn’t charge extra. As @Myneighboursnorlax said it was predominately aimed at the elderly or disabled, but also for people like you (single parents with distressed animals) it’s always worth asking...

@slipperywhensparticus cat wrapping works fur some animals, but I’m not sure it would be a great idea for a cat that doesn’t like being picked up anyway. My girls were ‘on’ with it, the boy would have shredded anyone daft enough to even think about it 🤣

undercoveraessedai · 09/01/2020 23:54

Hugs OP, this is always stressful! I leave one carrier out and covered at all times so they can snooze in it and get used to it - has definitely helped. Also puppy pads because one of my silly pair poos or wees every time she gets in a carrier 🙄

And bringing them home from my Mum's via the vets earlier this week, I played the Relaxmycat playlist on Spotify in the car as it worked so well on NYE - by the time I reached the vet they were both lying quietly in their carriers, good as gold - normally they alternate between yowling and small sad noises, so I'll be using that again!

QuantumWeatherButterfly · 10/01/2020 10:34

We had exactly this - QuantumCat would piss all over the floor and whoever was holding her as soon as she saw the box. Once in the box, she would usually wee again, poo and stand in it, and sometimes vomit too, to accompany the constant wailing sound from the moment she was in the box until the moment we got home.

The time that she had full on diarrhea, where the towel, the box, and the whole back half of the cat was caked in it was the point at which I called time - if she was so stressed that that was her physical reaction, I just wasn't going to put her (or me) though it again.

Instead, I found a mobile vet service, whose whole business is based around coming to your house. Perhaps I have just been lucky, but he isn't any more expensive than the surgery we used to go to. I understand cost is an issue, but it is definitely worth looking around and enquiring about pricing.

HardAsSnails · 10/01/2020 11:49

Top entry box makes it much easier for getting them in and out. Mine is an Amazon Basics one and it's fab.

Our vets have a pile of Feliway infused blankets to drape over cats in boxes in the waiting room. A marketing gimmick obviously, but quite a nice idea.

MaudesMum · 12/01/2020 16:01

Another alternative for hiding medicine is this wonderful/horrible stuff called lickety lix - basically chicken/salmon flavoured yoghurt which comes in little sachets. I sneak my cat's liquid painkiller in there every morning and she laps it up - I suspect it would work equally well if you ground up a pill?

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