How to get scaredy cat in carrier for vet?

[WhereAreWeNow]

We've got a really nervous cat. She's 1 year old and has been like this since we fostered her. She'll let us stroke her if we're completely still and she comes to us but she won't sit on a lap and she panics and runs away if you so much as think about picking her up.

She's got an infection and I need to get her to the vet but I have no idea how I'm going to get her in the cat carrier!

Do any of you have any tips for coaxing/tricking/wrestling a jumpy cat into a cat carrier?

Upend the carrier so the door is at the top. Lower cat in feet first. Lock and the place carrier right way up.

You can sort of do it with a blanket inside without it slipping too much.

I have the carrier ready and open in the hall - out of sight, and the door shut to the room the cats are in. I do this a little bit beforehand so as not to arouse suspicion.

If the cats are lying down, I pick a cat up and carry them out to the basket. I put them in backwards, and shut door.

I they are roaming, I go to the treat drawer, and take out some dreamies. They guzzle a few, as I stand above them and I then pick cat up and proceed as before.

As we have two, I synchronise with OH. We lift at the same time (roughly) and put in waiting carriers.

If I am alone, I bring one cat each day for their vaccinations. There is no way to catch the second (and be on time) if they have been alerted by the first incarceration.

If they scratch, a towel may be useful to wrap around the cat. Firm hold is best. Not hard, but firm.

I have found a miracle spray! I only discovered it at the vets last week, it was in the waiting area and I sprayed some to calm my cat Spooky down! It's called Pet Remedy. You can spray it on bedding etc or on your fingers then stroke their muzzle and chest. I bought a little bottle from Pets At Home at the beginning of the week, to use when she gave birth yesterday. And she was chilled out, but not sedated.
It doesn't smell pleasant, but it works a treat. I've sprayed some on the blanket in her cat carrier and she wanders in now, no problem!
I'd give that a try first. Let me know if you do and how you get on? 🌷

Prepare cat carrier in another room and have it upwards so you can lower the cat inside it.

Get the cat, burrito them in a blanket and lower them (feet first) into carrier. Once they're over halfway in you should be able to release the blanket and just drop them inside. Then shut the door as you remove the blanket.

Is she wised up to the carrier or do you think if you left it in a room for a few days, keeping it topped up with treats, she’d associate it more positively? Then when you need to go to the vet, you put some high value treats in there and she’ll go in of her own accord?

Get a top opening carrier. It's a game changer. We just drop put cat in, close it very quickly and job done. It takes 3 seconds whereas it used to take me 45 minutes to get my cat in a standard carrier.

I do it in the downstairs loo so if there is a struggle there's no where for him to hide.

This might be helpful:

Along with a top loading carrier:

MDC Cat Carrying Basket, White,... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DYNN9BQ?ref=ppxpoppmobappshare

Get the carrier out and leave it in the living room for a few days beforehand - so she doesn't vanish as soon as she hears it rattle.

Then try to catch her by surprise by appearing to stroll casually in her general direction, and scooping her up before she knows what's happening.

Doesn't always work, in which case you are back to chasing her round the house until she admits defeat!

I’m afraid with an anxious cat there is no nice way. Just grab it in a towel or blanket and shove it in

Has she been seen at the vet before? Are they able to prescribe her something to give at home to relax her on the morning of her appointment?

I put cat carrier in the bathroom on it’s end the day before. Pick up cat, wrap her in a towel as she will bite and shove her in feet first. It’s never easy, never pleasant but it does work.

Thanks everyone. We did it in the end but it was super stressful. Chasing her round the room trying to grab her. I got scratched to shreds.
I'm back from the vet now and she's run off to hide. Not sure how long it will take for her to forgive/forget!

I saw this on sale in the vets. Is it really good?

I was going to suggest this, it's what I have to do. Last time she was having none of it so had to wrap her in a blanket first then drop her in to the carrier feet first

@WhereAreWeNow Absolutely brilliant! Spooky was totally chilled out, but not sedated at all! She even wandered back into the carrier when the vet had finished examining her, laid down and I just shut the door! 🤣🤣🤣

Pet Remedy definitely doesn't work for all cats. I've never seen it have any effect, and certainly not an immediate dramatic one. Worth a try but don't rely on it.

You can ask your vet for some gabapentin to calm her down before an appointment.

Some people find this helpful: Zylkene Calming Supplements for... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K06MAK2?ref=ppxpoppmobappshare

😁😁😁😁😁

We have a carrier that opens from the top. Much easier.

Now start preparing for next time by leaving high value treats in there every day, ones she can smell & that take a bit of time to eat. Once she gets the idea, start hiding them under a blanket in there so that she needs to hunt for them first.

This worked for a nervous foster I had who, like you said, scratched me to shreds the first time I had to put him in a carrier.