Getting anxious cat into basket

[Idontknowhatnametochoose]

Any quick tips on getting a very anxious cat into her basket? She's 14 but I've only had her two years and she views her basket as a torture device. I just need to take her to the vet to get her booster jab. It's always a fight to get her inside and we both end up stressed and upset. A taxi will be waiting. I absolutely hate doing this to her but it needs to be done. I wear gloves but she doesn't normally attempt to hurt me, she does fight me though and constantly leap out the basket before I can shut her in.

I ended up getting a carrier that you can load the cat into from the top, instead of through a door. Made life much easier!

I have one of those soft zip ones so it opens at the top and both ends but my cat is agile and leaps out as I'm trying to zip it down!

If it won't frighten her to do so,put her in a pillowcase first. She'll get out of it easily enough once in the carrier but you'll be able to close it without her escaping.

Honestly at 14, and if she really hates being transported, I wouldn't bother going to the vets for injections. I no longer take Arthur as he gets so upset and stressed, and we have stopped putting him in catteries, as he hates those too.

Try reversing her in to it?

Ask your vet about prescribing gabapentin for use when travelling.
My girl needs this as she gets hugely stressed and starts panting.
My vet gives us a couple of tablets to keep at home and I give one 90 minutes before I need to get her in the basket.
Helps a lot.

I used to foster so have a lot of experience with this. Most successful method I've found is being quick. You have one chance.

Time the vet appointment when your cat will be relaxed or sleeping. At 14 I'd expect she does this a lot. Put her in the basket 15-30 minutes before the taxi is due then it's done before they arrive or you have time to cancel the taxi and vets appointment if you can't do it.

Get the basket ready somewhere accessible but not in the same room. Make sure only the top is open. If if doesn't stay open by itself, but needs lifting up, get another one, honestly.

When the basket is ready, go and pick up your cat. If you can just pick her up, great. If not, grab her by the scruff of the neck and under her bum so her weight is supported. Quickly put her in the basket, bum first so she can't stretch her legs out to stop you and quickly zip up.

Throw some Dreamies in by way of apology and remind yourself it's for her own good that she has a regular health check. If she's a shouter, leave her in the basket and out of earshot until the taxi arrives.

People have said you can leave the basket out so she gets used to it and uses it as a bed, and you just shut her in when she has a vet appointment but I've never tried that because cats are psychic, know when they're going to the vets so won't fall for that trick.

Wrap her in a towel and put her in i know you have the zip to contend with but if you keep her wrapped it should help, a hard carrier with a lid is probably best for dropping cats in,

Does she really need her boosters at 14?

I wouldn't bother but her insurance is void if she isn't vaccinated.

I have the door of the cat carrier open in another room and then go and pick up the cat, give her a cuddle and walk back to the other room with my hand over her eyes. I put her in, including a soft blanket still with my hand over her eyes. Seems to work and keeps her calm.

Only to keep insurers happy!

Thanks everyone. I forgot about using a towel. That is better than a pillow case especially as she's a large cat.

Here's one thing which I have found works well: put the basket on a table, with the door right at the edge of the table. That way, there's less for the cat to push against, and you can "insert" the cat in. Also, get a basket that's as large as possible, especially the door: if the door is small, they can splay their legs to block their own entry. Also, close the doors of the room, so the cat cannot run out, and if possible, make sure the cat cannot hide under the furniture.

I've found the wrong way is to put the basket on the floor, especially a carpeted floor, because the cat can then push against the carpet to resist being put inside. Also, cats are more anxious on the floor, with a human towering over them, trying to pick them up.

Fair, we used to get them for catteries but our elderly cat stopped going so we never bothered .

Matilda has been to a cattery twice but now that both she and my dog are old, I only use Rover to book a house sitter. It's much better for them. Unfortunately i realised that Matilda'a insurers require her to be fully vac which is a real pain.

It sounds a total pain hopefully you can get her in without to much bother.

Practice with getting an octopus into a string bag? 😆

They are psychic about the vet’s though. My cat can be fast asleep but if I go and get the carrier, as quietly as possible, ( it is a soft one so it doesn’t rattle, and is in a cupboard that I often get things out of) when I go back to where he was sleeping, he will be gone and will be hiding under my bed or the sofa, glaring and yowling at me.

I might try some gabapentin as he is always sick on the way to the vets and clearly stressed.

You all have very amenable cats! Arthur is a 5Kg half Bengal who will attack you if he displeased. He is really strong too, and it's just not worth the stress to him or my skin, to get him in a basket. Bizarrely he's really calm at the vet, and you can do anything with medically. I treat his wounds at home, cut his nails etc ..... But the basket..... Is a big no, as is the car. I think he might be claustrophobic!

Otherwise he is a lovely cat 🐈

I will post a pic if I manage to get her in the basket! It will late morning. She's almost 5kg so not a small cat..

Good luck! Hope you’ve got plenty of Dreamies

I have to get 2 in at the same time (different baskets) and go for the bum tuck into the basket. It usually works

Sounds like you wrestle an actual wildcat 😀

It’s hell. I’ve got the soft basket which is top opening and I shove her furry blanket in. I don’t let her see the basket at all till the last second before I grab her. I think gabapentin sounds like a good idea.

I’ve got a hard-sided front opening carrier & I leave it out all the time, in the bathroom where there are no convenient hiding places.
Every so often I put treats in it, right at the back so my cat has to go all the way in to get them. It means that when she needs to go to the vet I can usually just lure her in & close the door on her.

I do think that after this year I will find some insurers who aren't fussed sbout vaccinations and not take her anymore. She goes outside but is never far from the front door so she rarely sees other cats anyway.

Do it in the bathroom so there are less placed to hide if she escapes!

I usually put the carrier in the downstairs loo then go get the victim. Started doing this after a previous cat escaped and ran under the bed and i had to cancel the appointment.