Cat won't go in cat basket - was meant to be at the vet this morning

[xSideshowAuntSallyXx]

Cat was meant to go to the vet today for some dental treatment. I couldn't get her in the basket. She's so stressed, she peed on me and the floor. She's now firmly wedged herself as small as possible under the radiator in my study, she is rigid with fear.

The first time she was fine (previous times have been fine too). Last time I had the same problem but she didn't pee everywhere. The first time was rescheduled as the vet had an emergency. The second time I cancelled as I just couldn't get her in the basket.

Each time she is getting more and more stressed. She just has to hear the basket being moved and she's off.

Was meant to be there at 8am but they don't officially open until 8.30 so I can't even call them to let them know we won't be in. She's way too stressed and it can't be good for her getting so stressed. She's also now just had breakfast so can't have it done as she was meant to be starved.

My old cat was a stressed cat, she would have panic attacks once in the basket but I could at least get her in the basket. She had to have drugs!

My other cat is massive drama queen but at least I can get him in the basket.

I don't know what to do. I'm wondering if she now realises she's being starved and that's what is causing the issues. As she knows it's a vet trip coming up.

I'm so stressed as it's costing me a fortune(and I'll probably being charged this time), but it's also putting my precious cat under stress and I can't keep doing that to her!

When this happened with my cat, the vet gave me a supply of mild sedative to calm him down before the appointment. It worked really well and better for him all round.

The vet will understand, they are used to cats like this.

Oh dear. A sedative might help. Also technique. I hide the open cat basket behind a door , pick the cat up under the armpits with her paws immobilised and drop the kicking back legs into the basket then slam the lid. It’s easier with two people. Poor moggie.

Why did you give her breakfast? She definitely can't have the surgery now.
Anyway, ask your vet to prescribe gabapentin. You can give a dose the night before and another 2 hours before the appointment. This will make make her nice and relaxed for the journey.
Getting her into a basket.
Firstly it will depend on the type of basket. Forget those soft bag types, they are awful and cats feel very insecure in them, a solid plastic one or wire basket is best. Top opening baskets are easier but if it's one with a door put it up on it's end so the opening is facing the ceiling. Get your cat into a small room like the bathroom, big bath towel over the cat, scoop swiftly and drop into the basket.
The secret is to do all this very quickly so your cat doesn't get too stressed.
Pet remedy sprayed in the basket will help calm her too.
Big apologies to your vet as they will have a gap where they could have had another surgery in now, but they are used to this scenario so hopefully they'll be understanding.

I’ve had this. To the extent that when I brought the cat carrier in he smelled it and disappeared under a bed for the day. You have to catch them by surprise and you have one shot!
I bought a new large hard carrier in the end with a top loader door. Just waiting for him to recognise it next time it comes out!

Oh dear, I feel your pain. I foster for a local cat rescue centre and we get some nightmares in that need to go to the vets! It's a bit late now, but a few tips for another time that may (or may not, we are talking cats here!😂).

Try to keep calm yourself. Act casual as you pick your cat up, kiss their head, speak the usual words you would use, try to not pass your anticipation of a problem onto them. Cats are incedibly intuitive.

Keep the carrier in the room for days before the actual visit, put a favourite or cosy blanket in it and ignore it so it becomes part of the furniture. Throw a few treats in and leave them to investigate over a few days. Make sure you have given it a really good clean with bio washing powder. (Take it in the shower with you or dunk it in the bath) as the smell of previous fear lingers.

Have you got a top loader basket? (like this one: Top loader ). If not, they are really worth the money as it is easier to lower a cat into a basket than try and shove it face first into an enclosed space. Or one of the white, wire baskets are really good too as they aren't as enclosed and whilst they look basic they are often less frightening for those that feel less trapped. So better for some cats. (like this: wire carrier )

If that's not an option. Place your basket on it's end with the door open at the top and lower your cat into it, for the same result, albeit with a smaller opening to lower cat through but does work. The top loader is just easier.

Failing that, perhaps in an emergency, get some gardening gauntlets and and do a really, really quick grab and in. The gauntlets will mean you can be quicker and have a better grip as you won't be trying to avoid teeth and claws. Seems really mean, but if you are really quick, it's the least stressful way to deal with a cat that really needs to go to the vet but reall doesn't want to.

If the carrier tricks don't work and you have the time, resort to drugs from the vets in advance!

Good luck for the next time you try!

We found it a lot easier when we bought the top loading wire basket that you see on animal rescue programmes. Also ask your vet for a sedative to be given the night before so they are too sleepy and relaxed to fight you.

The only time I wish I had a dog instead of a cat is at vet time, it must be lovely being able to just walk in.

I was going to make a load of suggestions then saw @TwinklyWrinkly had said almost all of them.

The one other suggestion I would make is to try to close the cat in to a room where there aren't many hiding places, so if you do end up having to do a cat rodeo they can't escape & get somewhere you can't reach.

I have 2 cats, one of whom is not too bad at all about crating for the vets but Tobias is a complete nightmare. Tobias is uncatchable at the best of times so pilling him with Gabapentin is out of the question - would take him to be sedated for us to give him the sedative! Both cats are grazers who swap bowls so we can't put it in his wet food as Girlcat may get some, and he would eat all the unadulterated bowl and ignore the dosed food. We've ended up having to shut him in their bedroom (has water & litter tray in there anyway) before supper time the night before with no supper just strong flavoured treats with crushed Gabapentin sparingly sprinkled on in them. In the morning carefully go in with more drugged up treats a good 2 hours before his appointment, then DSis comes round armed with thick gardening gloves a good half hour before we are due to leave in case he hasn't had enough meds.

Bloody pain, especially when you consider he has FiV plus digestive issues (probably related) and needs to be checked at least every 6 months.

Thanks all!

Will try all of these next time. She's currently sat on my bed but the moment I go near her she moves (today will be painful 😒).

Think I also need a new carrier(I need a second one anyway). I have one of those wicker ones that look nice but are shit for getting them in and out. It lives under the hall table, and bizarrely they've all slept in it over the years.

Called the vet and apologised profusely, they were very understanding. They're going to call back later to rebook and get the vet to prescribe some drugs for next time (I think a tranquiliser dart would be best!).

We had a good technique for lifting cats at home to put them in the carrier.

We would go to the cat and stroke it for a while and talk to it. Then while stroking along it's back with the right hand, reach the left hand under its chest so the chest is lying on the palm of the hand with the finger reaching up in the right hand side of the cat. While the cat's chest is lying on your left palm, continue to stroke down its back with the right hand but keep going when you reach the rail and then down the tail. When you get half way down the tail, use your right hand to push the tail down until it is against the back legs, and then take hold of the tail and both back legs with your right hand, so they are all pinned together.

At that point you are kind of holding the cat by it's back legs and tail as if they were a handle, and you have the left hand under the cat's chest. You can then lift the cat off the ground with your left hand under the chest, while still holding the cat firmly by the handle with your right hand.

If you have a top loading white wire basket, you can then lower the cat into the basket and you only have its front paws to contend with when getting it through the opening.

It sounds like OP's cat me not be up for this, but I just wanted to write it down in case it helps anyone.

OPs cat doesn't sound as though it is keen to have it's teeth cleaned.

OP, how old is your cat?

Respect due, @Allergictoironing , that's a serious regime you've got for wee Tobias! 😅

@TwinklyWrinkly is right, you need to get in a Zen state of calm where you hardly realise yourself that you're about to box them... the little sods are masters of observation... I learnt to do it from growing up with animals but my DH can't - the moment I mention flea drops, Madam looks at him and scarpers - I can't see any change in him, but she can - maybe she smells his adrenaline... I have to surprise them both... ('Nexgard! NOW!')

Anyway, good luck @xSideshowAuntSallyXx , sounds like the vet understands. Someone gave us a wicker basket once and the cat methodically unravelled it into pile of straw... 🤷‍♀️

I remember sitting in a vet waiting room once when a cat was carefully making its way out of a soft carrier. It had one paw out when someone noticed & told the owner.

We just have the carrier out all the time in the bathroom, where there are the fewest hiding places.

@AutumnLeavesAgain2 she's just turned 6. She's an ex rescue, think she's had enough of vets this year.

This will be her 4th visit, 1st was after she was caught after being missing for 6 weeks and that was a doddle but I think she didn't have the energy to fight back. Then her annual vaccinations and now this lot.

@EmpressaurusKitty my old cat was like Houdini, she managed to escape every cat basket😂.

The quickest way I’ve found of doing this is to very decisively scoop up the cat in a towel so only her face is poking out then lower/push her into the carrier, which has been waiting in another room on its end with the door open.

This only works if I can pick her up while she’s either asleep or eating. If she sees the basket or the towel it’s game over.

Apparently some cats have worked out how to open the zips with a judiciously placed claw! I was warned about that when I got my first pair.

I put the carrier vertically hidden behind the end of the sofa, hold him a bit, then drop him in like a noodle, slam top shut.

Mine is like this, tried all the things such as feeding her in there but she just refuses to go in it point blank, even voluntarily if you put nice things in there. The sight of it she just flips out.

What I have to do is put it upended and open in a room, go find her (luckily she loves a snuggle so unsure if this will be pleasant with yours but may be worth a go). I carry her in looking over my shoulder as we go and then drop her into it bottom first and just slam it closed. I pick her up and carry her a fair bit though so she doesn’t question it, although she is bloody LIVID after I slam the door closed but it’s gotta be done and the least stressful way for all parties.

good luck!

Op what sort of basket do you have? Top loading ones are so much easier in my opinion with nervous cats. I leave my cat carrier (wire one) out with lid open for a couple of days in my living room before the vet visit. My blind cat can hear me moving the basket or opening the lid silently from 100 feet away. He then goes into a panic and will run around and pee etc. I ignore him on morning of vet visit then I have even asked my DH or DS to pop him into the basket occasionally as he seems to know what I'm about to do. Cats can be very wily. My boy will now also poo/pee on way to vets and cry the while journey. I now have gloves/kitchen roll/bin bag/poo bags/litter spray cleaner & an old cat carrier in my boot just in case he needs sorting out upon arrival.

We conditioned our cat so she isn't scared of the carrier. We left it out in the lounge without the lid with a small blanket in it and some kibble. Repeated once a week for ages. Then had the lid on, and some kibble, repeat for ages. She now doesn't mind it. Our vet is awesome too, that helps

Took me three attempts and two cat flaps to get my dear old boy to the vets for his late in life neuter. I understand.

For some reason, as a pet free person, my mind immediately had a flashback of the A team trying to get Mr T on a plane by spiking his milk lol 😅

Hope the tips from PP work for you OP, sounds v stressful indeed given vets are an ongoing part of your cats life.

We now have drugs! 😂

not sure what has traumatised her with the basket but we have a month to try and overcome it and my sister has said I can borrow hers(which is bigger and has a top opening) to see if it works before I buy a new one.

The cat has taken herself to her spot in the garden, where she patrols the fence and makes sure no one invades her garden. I've been in the dog house all day.

My cat has history for scratching vets so before any planned appointments I pick up some gabapentin from the vet. It is off licence for cats but a small dose two hours before means she is so spaced out that I can take her to the vets with ease. I even mange to give her a good comb without being attacked!

It took us 2 years to get our cat to the vet, we had to pay for them to come round. But when she needed dental treatment we had to do it.

We put her box in the warm place that she likes to sleep with blankets in it and after a couple
of weeks she started sleeping in there (may not work for you, as we had never actually managed to get her in there before).

Then got Gabapentin from the vet, and put it in a tiny bit of tuna early in the morning. She staggered back in the box and zonked out for long enough for us to get the door on and get in the car.

Ask the vet if they can give you some gabapentin for her, it just makes them a wee bit dozey and chilled out for a few hours.

This!!!

With our tetchy rescues we went a step further. Basket in the middle of the living room for a while so ready to load and go, nice wet food in there sometimes as well as usual treats.

Then not every trip was to the vets. Lots of pop in the carrier, drive to my mum's, come out for lots of treats, then home. Carrier home was easier because home was with me and whilst they liked visiting they didn't want to be left.