It can be simple to get cats into cat carriers. Ideally any cat owner has prepared their cat long before the time arrives to put them in it. A strong safe cat carrier is essential for transporting precious pets. Avoid the ones with the flimsy plastic doors which an average strength cat can easily knock out if they are fighting to escape.
Naturally if your cat hasn’t seen his carrier before and all of a sudden you produce it and try and push him into it he is going to resist. Wouldn’t you do the same? Very few cats or people are that trusting. In fact in a world where survival of the smartest reigns we really would want our cats to be a bit smarter than that, and question it. Another situation may arise that isn’t going to be to your cat’s benefit.
Charlie Enjoys Treats And Attention
If he is too trusting it may be a situation that he should have avoided! So the idea is to have their cat carriers as part of their daily lifestyle. Leave it positioned somewhere that it is part of their furniture. Leave treats in their carrier for them to find. Once he is comfortable sitting in his carrier then practice closing the door and leave him in there for a minute. Sit with him while he is in there. Then make a big fuss of him when you open the door. Make sure there is a nice cosy blanket for him to sleep on. Stretch the time to longer periods of leaving him sleeping in there and pick the carrier up and move around the room. Slowly and surely do these things and your cat will have no fear of his cat carrier.
If you think this is all too much work then hopefully you have a cat that is going to oblige and hop in to his carrier for you without any preamble. However if you haven’t prepared your cat and he doesn’t want to get into his carrier well then there is going to be a fight. The options aren’t all that good. Vet staff in clinical situations will demonstrate how easy it is to scruff a cat and supporting it by the haunches slide it in to the carrier. By tipping the carrier up with the door open this is a relatively simple exercise with a cat that isn’t tearing and clawing. If your cat is fighting firstly you need to put garden gloves on so you don’t get shredded. A thick heavy blanket is then needed and wrap puss firmly in it and pour him into the carrier. This loses you a lot of trust with your cat but if you need your cat transported there are no options. Two people are usually needed for a non compliant fighting cat.
Another way of getting a cat into a carrier is to corner him in a small area such as a passage and gradually herd him into one end and with some luck he may go into the carrier if it has some nice food in it. Most important is that throughout the whole process you must remain calm. If you become agitated then your cat will pick up straight away that there is a problem.
These Cat Carriers Are Okay
Warm chicken or strong smelling sardines (with tomato sauce is even better) are generally attractive to most cats. Once your cat is inside the carrier than shut the door quickly and don’t try and retrieve any food, It doesn’t matter if your cat is wearing some chicken as long as he is in his carrier. Cats can be retrained to trust and do certain things. If you have had difficulty previously with putting your cat into a carrier then start today and make the carrier part of his life and something he associates pleasant things with. If you are prepared to spend five or so minutes every day for however long it takes then life is going to be a lot simpler for all concerned.
The pics on this page are of Charlie and his cat carrier. This cat was found as a homeless unsterilized, unsocialised Tomcat. That was twelve months ago. We would not have enjoyed trying to put him in cat carriers back then. Have you ever noticed how big tomcats are in the head and shoulders. This is to give them strength when fighting for territory. Also strength when fighting cat lovers who take it upon themselves to give these homeless cats another chance at life…..
