My cat is limping....

[luzianne]

If your cat lets you pick it up and cuddle it, just pick it up and swaddle it in a towel and put it in the carrier. That way its fine are confined and you don't get clawed/scratched trying to get it in.

[QuilterChick]

Originally Posted by luzianne

If your cat lets you pick it up and cuddle it, just pick it up and swaddle it in a towel and put it in the carrier. That way its fine are confined and you don't get clawed/scratched trying to get it in.

Problem: loss of trust of the kitty for you. I can't understand 'tricking' the cat. If you have to go to the doctor's, does someone put a hood over your head and shove you in the car?

Think.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by QuilterChick

Problem: loss of trust of the kitty for you. I can't understand 'tricking' the cat. If you have to go to the doctor's, does someone put a hood over your head and shove you in the car?

Think.

Not tricking it. Cuddling it but in a way that it can't scratch you. If you have to get it to the vet, you have to get it to the vet. I wrapped my cat in a towel many times, swaddled her to put her in her carrier. She didn't stop trusting me or loving me. That cat LOVED me and it was mutual.

[Naturen]

If it is the hard carrier with a grated door, take the top off and put the cat in and then secure it with the plastic screw-in bolts. If you are quick, you may be able to stick the door back in place. If not, I have found that my carrier bends enough with a little force to place the door back in the holes at the top and bottom.

I keep the carrier open. Over the years, my cats have learned that the carrier doesn't always mean a trip to the vet - one cat sleeps in it all the time. If you decide to leave it out in the open and available, try putting some treats in there from time to time.

[TerraDown]

Well, I am going to offer a completely diffferent opinion.

I think it is all a "connectability" with the cat. On a mental line of thinking. I talk to my cats, they are free to do as they wish. I think the calming influence is based on trust. Eye to eye contact, a calm mind as they are spoken to, trust.

We take care of several outdoor ferals. They cannot come inside. We have housecats with different personalities who would not agree with the others. So the heirarchy is set up, according to them and how we are able to read them as humans.

Our ability to understand our feline friends depends on us to read them. But I have been sucessful through observation, of getting each and every one into a carrier to the vet. Even the ferals.

Nothing wrong with the Feliway scents, etc. But I think being able to connect on an animal (we are animals) level with them will make the difference. I only have one cat who refuses this...she heard the trap door slam when I caught her to have her spayed...She has never forgiven me. This is the only relationship I have not yet been able to rebuild. But she does accept food and safety.


I learned from her, as we learn from each of our cat brothers. Never again have I used a cat trap on a feral. I talk to them first, and pick them up by my hands after the trust is formed, and take them to be spayed or neutered.

Cats are a unique species and very intelligent. Try to learn to communicate on their level, and loading them into a carrier has been fairly easy for us. Take your time, don't rush the relationship, talk to your cat, and allow a trustful relationship ship to build.

Observe their ways first. Learn the ways of the cat. Eye contact. Calm speech. Trust. And you can pick them up and they will trust you.

I could go on about an incident that happened a few weeks back....but I needed to help a feral who had been lost for 4 days. Calling him back with the voice of the cat, returned him to my house and safety. He heard me cat-call and his name I had given him. He came home. And now he is safe, forever. Would he have walked into a carrier? Yes. He trusts me.