One of my wife's duties (self-assigned, I know better than to get involved), is to take the cat to the vet.

It is a royal battle to get Ms. Cat into the FTD (Feline Transport Device). Kind of like playing whack-a-mole, and my wife loses the battle as often as she wins it. More than one vet appointment had to be canceled because Cat was absolutely determined that this was not going to happen.

The trauma hits my wife as hard as it hits the cat.

Question: Is there a reasonable way to accomplish this? Tranquilizer, maybe (in a liquid form, for mixing with food)?

It's a two person job. Person 1 (your lovely wife) acquires the cat where it can't see the CTD. You manage the CTD, swoop in under the lovely wife's arms, she stuffs the cat into the CTD and you zip/slam that sucker shut.

That's how we do it.

Oh, and you're both wearing welder's gloves, safety goggles, a football helmet, chainsaw chaps and a cup.

What he said. Somehow we ended up with 3 cats. We have to take them together because if you take only one they come home smelling like the vet’s office and the other two act like they’ve never seen this cat before. Catmageddon until they realize, “oh that’s just Nigel”. Cats are all kinds of fucked up. Lol

Pedro -- how in the world do you get three cats into an FTD? Seems to me like every time you get one in, the other two would jail break.

Also put the CTD in a small room like a bathroom where IF the cat does escape it cannot run off and hide. You simply pick the cat up and try again.

Our indoors only cats have the front claws declawed so it makes it easier to pick them up and hold both back feet together while one inserts kitty and the other team member closes the CTD door.

Many of the above have been tried and failed.

Cat in bathroom? Surely, you jest (and I'm not calling you Shirley).

Cat will follow my wife around all the time. Almost. But cats being cats, on vet day, cat will decide that she is not going into the bathroom. Anywhere but there.

On non-vet days, cat will wander into the FTD and go to sleep. Vet days? Not a chance!

Spanish phrase: "Terco como mula" -- stubborn like a mule. Mule has much to learn from cat.

I"m not a veternarian, but I am a veteran of getting two cats to the vet simultaneously for 13 years and then one cat to the vet the next 7 years.

My Splash fought going in the carrier, fought coming out of the carrier, and fought to get back in the carrier.

The key to getting her in was speed and stealth. I used to schedule the appointment at prime napping time (late morning or in the afternoon). I'd sneak the carrier out nearby while she was sleeping, and then snatch her and stuff her in it quickly.

If the above failed, she still went to the vet 100% of the time, but sometimes it involved overturning couches, moving beds, etc.

Whatever happened to the time honored burlap sack?

Call your vet. Ask about “fear free” visits. It’s becoming quite the rage (no pun intended). A little trazadone for my anxious boy makes him a piece of cake to manage (but he’s a dog). Ymmv. Best of luck.

Well if all else fails I can tap on a can of wet cat food three times and they will follow me anywhere!

Actually I don't even have to tap. I can not have feed them wet can food for a month and just go to the cabinet where they are stored and open it up and get the can out and they are lined up in a row waiting for me to open it up.

I'm not a veterinarian, though I was raised with several hundred cats, and my brother is a vet.

I find that to get a skittish animal into a carrier, it's easiest to wrap the animal in a warm towel while petting the animal, and then move the covered animal into the carrier.

It reduces anxiety to keep something familiar to the animal (such as a pet bed); animals, especially cats and dogs, judge familiarity not by appearance, but by smell. Got a blanket with their hair on it; put that in there. Also, keep the container covered; it reduces anxiety.

HMMMM. Perhaps someone needs to invent a Feline Transportation Device with a rather larger funnel.

Just pick up kitty, place in funnel.

Kitty drops into FTD. One Way Trap Door closes.

Let gravity do the rest.

Detach funnel. Go.


I keed, I keed. Or not.
.

Alternately, I hear spraying fur with gorilla glue is fairly effective...

I can relate. My cat fights so hard that I often end up bloodied. I shopped online for a larger than necessary carrier with a big opening. It actually helps because the cat cannot spread her legs far enough apart to prevent me from jamming her into the carrier.

Try treating the carrier, a blanket or something with Feliway fifteen minutes before introducing the cat to the problem. It might take a couple dry runs to acclimate and calm the cat. There are YouTubes about Feliway.

Oversize CTD is a must. Mine will transport a cow. My current cat is treat addicted. I leave the CTD out under the kitchen table for a couple of days prior to the appointment and from time to time, toss a treat into it. On the day of the vet visit, toss in a treat. When he goes in, close the door. Done.
Then I just have to put up with the bitching on the trip.

I'm not a veterinarian either but I do have quite a bit of experience getting our little A-Holes in a pet taxi. Open the door of the pet taxi in another room where they can't see it. Pick the cat up and have it positioned where it can't see what's about to happen. Once you are at the pet taxi, pull the front legs together lightly and rotate as you shove them in. Works every time.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
It's a two person job. Person 1 (your lovely wife) acquires the cat where it can't see the CTD. You manage the CTD, swoop in under the lovely wife's arms, she stuffs the cat into the CTD and you zip/slam that sucker shut.

That's how we do it.

Oh, and you're both wearing welder's gloves, safety goggles, a football helmet, chainsaw chaps and a cup.

haha

Note: I am not a veterinarian, I just have a major crush on my cat's veterinarian.

Leave the FTD out long before you have to leave and go about your buisness in the house normally. If cat doesn't quite figure out when it's approaching time to go, you have a fighting chance. Grab cat with both hands around shoulders and tops of front legs (upper arms, if the cat were a human) at a time when the cat thinks it is or may be safe to not be on guard. Sweep hind legs out from under it with one forearm if necessary. Insert cat's head and shoulders far into FTD. Keep forward end of cat deep in FTD with one hand while shutting the door with the other. You may have to shove the tail in when the door is almost fully shut.

Oh, and learn far ahead of time where cat likes to disappear to. Start the dance early, in the sense of shutting doors so cat can't get into favorite hiding/hard to remove spot.

I am the new slave to a cat that was given to me by a friend who moved to a place that had a no pet clause. Lucy hates going to the vet and when she sees the pet carrier forget about it. So what I started to do was put the pet carrier next to the food bowl to let her get acquainted and after a week stuck it next to where she sleeps. Day of the vet and while she is napping i throw a dish towel over her head, pick her up and toss her in. You have to be fast.