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

Original poster

Anyone else got a feisty cat at the vets?

25 replies

GeorgieTK · 12/12/2025 18:40

Took my new kittens (8 months old) who I've had for a month for some jabs at the vet today. One of them was scared but ok but the other was ok for the initial checks then went crazy when they tried to do the jab- as soon as they pinched the skin to do it he hissed and started being feisty. Ended with a towel over his head and a nurse having to hold him down as he just wouldn't cooperate with multiple attempts. I'm not used to it, all my past cats have been ok at the vets so this came as a surprise- he's a lovely boy normally. I felt like I had a naughty child . So anyone else have a feisty cat at the vets and do you get used to it or dread it every time?

OP posts:
Original poster
GeorgieTK · 12/12/2025 18:41

There was supposed to be a smiley face after the naughty child comment!

OP posts:
Growlybear83 · 12/12/2025 18:53

One of my last cats was banned from two local vets and every cattery except for one which was an hour’s drive away. She was usually the sweetest cat with us, but hated everyone else with a passion. She turned into a spitting, hissing, and scratching fireball when she came out of her basket at the vets, and was notorious among the staff. One of the last times I took her, when she was almost 20, we saw a vet who was new to the practice. I warned her that the cat was very feisty and wouldn’t take kindly to having her temperature taken. The foolish vet said that she would take her through to a different room and she would be fine, because she ‘had a way with cats’. Despite me saying this was very unwise, she took poor Fizzy out of the room and I then heard blood curdling howls and then screams from the vet. She brought her back a couple of minutes later saying “good kitty” repeatedly under her breath, while holding her out at arms length, and literally leaving a trail of blood from the deep lacerations on her arms. When we went out to the reception area, the nurses and receptionists were all laughing about the new vet who had dared to stick a thermometer up Fizzy’s bum.

Original poster
GeorgieTK · 12/12/2025 19:11

Growlybear83 · 12/12/2025 18:53

One of my last cats was banned from two local vets and every cattery except for one which was an hour’s drive away. She was usually the sweetest cat with us, but hated everyone else with a passion. She turned into a spitting, hissing, and scratching fireball when she came out of her basket at the vets, and was notorious among the staff. One of the last times I took her, when she was almost 20, we saw a vet who was new to the practice. I warned her that the cat was very feisty and wouldn’t take kindly to having her temperature taken. The foolish vet said that she would take her through to a different room and she would be fine, because she ‘had a way with cats’. Despite me saying this was very unwise, she took poor Fizzy out of the room and I then heard blood curdling howls and then screams from the vet. She brought her back a couple of minutes later saying “good kitty” repeatedly under her breath, while holding her out at arms length, and literally leaving a trail of blood from the deep lacerations on her arms. When we went out to the reception area, the nurses and receptionists were all laughing about the new vet who had dared to stick a thermometer up Fizzy’s bum.

The poor vet 😀

OP posts:
SillyCecilia · 12/12/2025 19:13

Growlybear83 · 12/12/2025 18:53

One of my last cats was banned from two local vets and every cattery except for one which was an hour’s drive away. She was usually the sweetest cat with us, but hated everyone else with a passion. She turned into a spitting, hissing, and scratching fireball when she came out of her basket at the vets, and was notorious among the staff. One of the last times I took her, when she was almost 20, we saw a vet who was new to the practice. I warned her that the cat was very feisty and wouldn’t take kindly to having her temperature taken. The foolish vet said that she would take her through to a different room and she would be fine, because she ‘had a way with cats’. Despite me saying this was very unwise, she took poor Fizzy out of the room and I then heard blood curdling howls and then screams from the vet. She brought her back a couple of minutes later saying “good kitty” repeatedly under her breath, while holding her out at arms length, and literally leaving a trail of blood from the deep lacerations on her arms. When we went out to the reception area, the nurses and receptionists were all laughing about the new vet who had dared to stick a thermometer up Fizzy’s bum.

😂

BlueRidgeMountain · 12/12/2025 19:25

Our cat is notoriously feisty. Shes tiny as well, so new vets are always “aw she’s so little and cute” until they try touching her and she gives them a savaging. We tend to book her in with the senior vet who owns the practice since she knows her well now (our cat is a frequent visitor to the vet thanks to afore mentioned feistyness landing her in bother 🙄)
We’ve tried giving her gabapentin before in her food - only a loon would attempt giving her medicines orally!. It’s meant to relax cats to make them easier to handle. It did work the first couple of times but now she’s resistant to it, and just seems to be even angrier! She frequently needs to be sedated to have blood tests, stitches etc.

FarmCat01 · 12/12/2025 19:27

Yep - one previous cat who we’d taken in as a stray. Took offense at the vet taking his temp so when the vet was typing up the prescription, he jumped off the table and promptly peed all over the vets suede shoes.

user1471548941 · 12/12/2025 19:36

Growlybear83 · 12/12/2025 18:53

One of my last cats was banned from two local vets and every cattery except for one which was an hour’s drive away. She was usually the sweetest cat with us, but hated everyone else with a passion. She turned into a spitting, hissing, and scratching fireball when she came out of her basket at the vets, and was notorious among the staff. One of the last times I took her, when she was almost 20, we saw a vet who was new to the practice. I warned her that the cat was very feisty and wouldn’t take kindly to having her temperature taken. The foolish vet said that she would take her through to a different room and she would be fine, because she ‘had a way with cats’. Despite me saying this was very unwise, she took poor Fizzy out of the room and I then heard blood curdling howls and then screams from the vet. She brought her back a couple of minutes later saying “good kitty” repeatedly under her breath, while holding her out at arms length, and literally leaving a trail of blood from the deep lacerations on her arms. When we went out to the reception area, the nurses and receptionists were all laughing about the new vet who had dared to stick a thermometer up Fizzy’s bum.

What a wonderfully named cat, she sounds FAB!

My boy is an anxious one, DH has only turned up at the cattery covered in blood once though 🙈.

Gabapentin works wonders for him- we have a rolling prescription for stressful situations, vets included. He generally only likes touch on his own terms anyway but on the gaba I can cuddle him and tickle his belly as it relaxes him so much so it works well for the vets!

Bellyblueboy · 14/12/2025 22:19

My cat is an absolute monster at the vet! The nurse said she had behavioral problems - which I think seemed a bit judgmental🤣.

a new vet had a catnip spray that calmed her down a bit - but to be honest visits to the vet will always be a major trauma for my little princess

AnnaMagnani · 14/12/2025 22:36

I'm pretty firm in handling mine at the vets.

However with Byron the Mau, you have a window of about 3 minutes during which he will let the vet touch him. 4 minutes if he can eat Dreamies continuously.

After that he's a psycho.

Vet nurse tried wrapping him in a towel once, she brought something the size of a hand towel and I wondered WTF she thought she'd achieve with it. She didn't even manage to get it near him.

PurpleFlower1983 · 14/12/2025 22:51

Mine is a demon, gabapentin, towel, cat bag, mask, gauntlet gloves, the lot. To make things worse, she’s sixteen and has high blood pressure and thyroid issues meaning she needs 6 monthly blood pressure checks and blood tests. I dread it! To be fair, the last time was the best she has been.

justsaying2023 · 15/12/2025 15:20

Mine has been described as a little "spicy" and is treated with great care and from as large a distance as possible, funny because as long as she can see one of us she is all noise and presents as a hedgehog (in a very tight ball) she only becomes physically aggressive if we leave the room or the staff try to take her away for example when she was spayed.

Chemenger · 15/12/2025 15:28

My old cat used to go to the university vet clinic (because I got staff discount). She had “not to be handled by students” in red on the outside of her file. She used to have to go “through the back” for most things, I imagine they had several people in gauntlets wrestling with her there. She manages to maul me once when I was trying to close her carrier and I had to go through the whole wound protocol because she’d ripped open my finger. However, when she had to see the professor of feline medicine she was a totally different cat, all purry and cuddly. The prof could take blood from her, probe every orifice and listen to her heart etc, it was mesmerising to watch. That woman really is a cat whisperer.

Original poster
GeorgieTK · 15/12/2025 19:12

Nice to see I'm not alone and hear the stories of fellow naughty cats 😀. I'll update you after the next lot in 4 weeks!

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 15/12/2025 19:18

The nurse and vet put an eye mask on little Tennyson for his last check up so that he wasn't overstimulated by his surroundings and he was unusually well behaved as a result. He's not vicious, just naughty. He does however have very firm ideas about the thermometer up his little bottom!

AnnaMagnani · 15/12/2025 19:34

One of my old cats used to go straight in the cat restraint bag after an episode where she disgraced herself. It was honestly the best and she found it far less stressful at the vets when she went straight in the bag.

Then one day there was a different vet - I said 'she normally goes straight in the bag' and they came back with how they didn't like doing that unless they had to, didn't want to stress the cat, be kind, blah blah blah.

One injured vet later, cat was being wrestled into the bag.

CurlyKoalie · 18/12/2025 18:12

I sympathize with this. I once took a very mild mannered rescue cat to the vet who underwent a demonic change when the vet put a thermometer up his bum. I swear his head rotated 360 degrees like something out of The Omen and he howled like a spiked vampire.
My husband was in the waiting room and said that two Rottweilers heard the noise and shot under the chairs in fear.

xSideshowAuntSallyXx · 20/12/2025 06:27

The vet used to put gauntlet gloves on with my old cat, then use something to shut the door of the carrier as she drew blood so many times.

She was a lovely cat, but also quite fiesty. It was like she was possessed at the vet though.

Tamarastar · 21/12/2025 18:06

I am so relieved to hear others also have cats who try and murder the vet- mine is like @Growlybear83 's. The blood and injuries were awful! And she is so lovely at home!

in case this is useful for other cat owners, we had to change vets. And I cannot believe the difference. In stead of it taking 4 vet staff with gloves and towels to hold her down, she loves one of the vets at the new practise ( only one of them though). He seems to have a special cat understanding!

What he did was initially leave her in her travel box( which she likes) for injections til she trusted him . He also found she is allergic to the 'back of the neck' flea stuff - she used to go mad smelling that. ...He is a quiet soft spoken vet and now she climbs out of her cat box by choice to head but him in arrival !!

pambeesleyhalpert · 21/12/2025 18:15

Yep!! He’s got comments on his file to say he’s spicy. Code word for dick. He gets a gabapentin dose before his appointment now and he’s lovely and docile!

pinneddownbytabbies · 21/12/2025 18:17

Our smallest, cutest, oldest, fluffiest little sweetie pie is a lightning-fast demonic spitting fireball at the vets. I don't think she likes them all that much.😂

justasking111 · 21/12/2025 18:23

We ended up with a feral kitten who turned up pregnant 12 years ago. I just say she's feral and they take extra precautions

Bombinia · 21/12/2025 18:48

Our old car who sadly passed a few months ago was like this, he was small and looked like he was very meek, but he hated all vets and would skin them alive given any chance. He was frequently taken out the back for a long time while they tried to do things to him.

bellinisurge · 21/12/2025 18:50

During Covid I wasn’t allowed to go in with my cat a thing. Fans of Hairy Maclairey: Rumpus at the Vet will know what happened next. I could hear it all as I waited outside

LucyLoo1972 · 25/02/2026 04:24

Growlybear83 · 12/12/2025 18:53

One of my last cats was banned from two local vets and every cattery except for one which was an hour’s drive away. She was usually the sweetest cat with us, but hated everyone else with a passion. She turned into a spitting, hissing, and scratching fireball when she came out of her basket at the vets, and was notorious among the staff. One of the last times I took her, when she was almost 20, we saw a vet who was new to the practice. I warned her that the cat was very feisty and wouldn’t take kindly to having her temperature taken. The foolish vet said that she would take her through to a different room and she would be fine, because she ‘had a way with cats’. Despite me saying this was very unwise, she took poor Fizzy out of the room and I then heard blood curdling howls and then screams from the vet. She brought her back a couple of minutes later saying “good kitty” repeatedly under her breath, while holding her out at arms length, and literally leaving a trail of blood from the deep lacerations on her arms. When we went out to the reception area, the nurses and receptionists were all laughing about the new vet who had dared to stick a thermometer up Fizzy’s bum.

what is up with vets banning a cat! its their job to. be able to look after them

TroysMammy · 25/02/2026 08:59

My parents had a Siamese, he was awful at the best of times but the vet had gauntlets for him. I've had 4 cats as an adult and they have all been good as gold at the vets even Troy who had to have his lungs drained a couple of times with his illness.

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