Look no further than the Katsak. It even has a cat drawn on the bag.

You pick up the cat by the scruff of the neck. With immobilizing force. The cat goes into a fetal curl. Drop him in butt first. Zip or otherwise secure top before the cat recovers.

My cat recently had an upper respiratory infection. Bloody snot. Doxycycline solution, prepared by Doc Woodman, by mouth 2x a day, for 21 days. She eventually understood resistance was futile and would not even stir from her comfy spot. Skull gripped at an upward angle, jaw pinched open, syringe in mouth, a reminder to "swallow", and it is over in a flash.

What I do is put the cat carrier so the door is facing up towards the ceiling, grab the cat and drop it in there. It’s usually over before they even realize what just happened. If the cat happens to act quickly and grab an edge as it’s going down just knock the paw off the edge and it’ll drop in. I haven’t had an issue with doing it this way for a couple decades now, at least.

Well, it's not over. DAMN!

Mrs. V-Tail got the cat corralled yesterday after a major battle, got her to the vet. Exam, three-year shot of whatever, etc., all seemed to go well.

This morning, Cat could barely walk. Limped along like she was older than I am. Cried in pain if my wife touched her hip very gently.

No resistance at all this time, totally passive while being inserted in FTD, and back to the vet who gave her a shot of Buprenorphine. Cat is home and resting in the closet, where she goes when she wants a quiet, out of the way, place.

Vet charged thirty-five bucks today, to fix what they charged $270 to fuck up yesterday. Not so much the money, we have never begrudged money spent on medical care for our pets, but really annoyed that this all happened the way it did.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
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.

Coat the inside with Super Glue.

A thousand and one uses. Now a thousand and two. And a thousand and three. And a thousand and four.

But be very careful or else you end up with one, two, or three very pissed off cats super glued to you.

Velcro might be better idea.

The way we do it: Wife holds CTD in place. I have cat suspended by middle with both hands (I have large hands, btw). I firmly insert front end of cat into CTD, remove one hand, place on back end of cat, and stuff.

The CTD sits out for a minimum of 24 hours before scheduled departure time.

I have a Sherpa CTD which stays out all the time, with its top and side unzipped, and one of Simba's favorite towels is always in it for him to lay on. It's more of a play tunnel set up that way, and he does hang out there now and then.
That gets the 'panic-I'm-trapped' smell from being the only smell in the CTD. (If cats are only in the carrier on 'vet' days, and always panic, then the smell triggers the memory of feeling trapped and it's self-fulfilling.)

If he's complaining once I have him in the car, I will pat him through a slightly-unzipped top when traffic permits. I let him get his head out of the carrier, so he can see, if that doesn't work. Makes the ride (we're about 15 minutes from the vet) a bit less traumatic.

Also, to avoid the 'trapped' feeling, I got a medium dog-sized CTD so he has room to move around.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Whatever happened to the time honored burlap sack?

Most of us are too big to get into one.

I have 5 indoor cats. There is no way I could manage to corral all 5 for a simultaneous visit to the Vet. A carrier big enough to hold them all would be impossible to pick up or put in the car (I don't have a truck or SUV). The best I can do is one at a time. I have had the Vet do a house call--I usually manage to get 3 or 4 of them serviced that way. Bottom line: we don't do many Vet visits.

flashguy

i leave the carrier out for 2 days before the journey, except emergencies.

both cats usually walk/snif/sit in the carrier before the actual journey.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
You pick up the cat by the scruff of the neck. With immobilizing force. The cat goes into a fetal curl.

Oh. Yours does that? Mine gives me a warning yowl, and if I don’t let go fast enough, he cranes around in his skin and sinks his teeth into my wrist at a speed I always find surprising. We’ve been playing this game for thirteen years and he just keeps getting better at it.

If you don't have a "top load" pet carrier, might I recommend this one...



Amazon Link

I’m not that brave. 3 separate crates.