Cat Carriers For Vicious Cats

[wolf63]

I have two cat carriers - they are both holdall type bags. Taking Frankie to the vet is usually okay as he goes into the carrier with minimal fuss.

Today Princess Merlin had to go to the vet. I put a fleece in the bag and sprayed Feliway on it, I caught her and managed to get her in the bag. I went to get my rucksack and when I walked back into the hall she innocently walked past me. As all the zips were still fastened I have no idea how she got out.

Being an idiot I tried to get the spitting, growling furball back into the bag. I ended up with several bites, a few scratches and a sulking cat. I gave up and cancelled the appointment.

I am going to try again in a week or so and have decided to buy a heavy duty carrier that is designed for wild animals. Or to put the carrier bag inside another carrier. Anybody got any ideas on how to keep her in the bag?

Last time I took her to the vet she had to be muzzled. My hands and arms are sore - feel like throttling the 'darling' little girl.

https://postimg.cc/image/us3jq3sxb/

[murraymints]

lol... mine would leave home if he could even smell his basket !

[wolf63]

So would Frankie but he puts up only a half-hearted fight. She was so bad that I left her and went to Oxfam to calm down - some of the bites are starting to really hurt.

When I got home she wandered up to me and asked when lunch was - totally innocent.

Cats!

[ummmm]

My cat is fine with his cat carrier. He's a little rararara with other things though.

[pastafreak]

Sorry, I can't offer any advice...caspar is quite happy to go in his carrier. He's even gone in it to sleep.
Please get your scratches, bites and wounds looked at if they get very red/sore. Cat bites are notorious for causing humans trouble.

[wolf63]

Merlin is stroppy if I try to pick a bit of fluff off her back - you can only imagine how irate she was about getting placed in a carrier.

The first day that they arrived she bit my right hand nine times. I was hoping that she had mellowed with age. She hasn't. She walked past me a couple of minutes ago and growled at me. :-(

[mushroom25]

we use plastic carriers with mesh gates and unclippable lids. bit like this Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

we've managed to get several semi-ferals into them, with the odd scratch or bite injury but oddly enough, they're like lambs with the vet.
our cats don't bite when it's vet time, but they do make themselves scarce if they detect the carrier being retrieved from the store.

[Toorak]

We have a plastic front loading carrier that we put on the settee but with the entrance overhanging so that when we put them in head first there is nothing for their back feet to get A grip of to wriggle out. By the time they have turned round in the basket the catches have been secured.

[wolf63]

Thanks, everyone. I will have a think about how to approach this problem in the next couple of weeks.

Pasta - a valid point - it is too easy to be complacent about these things. I am diabetic and that doesn't help. I am off to the nurse tomorrow to get more blood tests done and I am sure that the nurse will have a look and see if all is okay.

It hurts and it hurts even more when I think that we will have to try again as she needs to go to the vet to get her inoculations and, ironically, her teeth checked. Frankie has just had four removed.

[jakep]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Premium-Wire-Carrier-Basket-White/dp/B004VKSTGW

This type is usually very secure. Once you have deposited cat into basket, slam lid down (with a flat hand) and insert locking pin. No zips or fiddly fasteners.

[mccfluff]

https://www.viovet.co.uk/MP-Bergamo-Vision-Free-55-Plastic-Pet-Carrier/c17231/

this is what murph has, its contained her...

[Helewel]

We have a plastic one with a metal gate and really struggled to get Mr Z into it. Once the vet had finished with him she put the carrier behind him and put her hand gently on his chest. He just reversed in. Made us feel like complete amateurs!
Ever since then we have done the same thing and it has worked every time.

[Toorak]

That sounds worth a try Helewel though I suspect that Merlin might not be so biddable :-(

[dunnitall]

Too late now .... But, I believe in prevention for everything not cure. So....when you get your young cat or kitten start training it to go into a cat carrier, before you take it to the vet! Several times a week shut it I the carrier...feed it some treats between the 'bars' and make it feel secure.

It should then as it grows older be accustomed to the carrier and see it not as a threat or something nasty but something it can accept and know it's safe.

As I say,too late when they reach adult stage but summat to bear I mind for those who want cats and put a lot of thought into their well being.

[Buenchico]

I've got loads of 'proper' containers for transporting cats to the vets but, having repeatedly had to postpone appointments (and bathe my wounds) when trying to get Chequers there earlier this year, I've now hit upon an alternative:

I've got a nice, big cardboard box that a printer came in years ago. I simply pop Chequers inside, slam the flaps down before he can jump out and reach for a roll of strong cloth tape (which I then have to remember to take to the vets with me, so I can repeat the task for the return journey). Both the nurses and the vet at the surgery approved of my way of doing things, pointing out that there's actually more space inside the box than there is in a 'proper' cat carrier anyway.

Problem solved!

[dunnitall]

Chris...brill but why not acclimatise the poor moggy to a carrier long before it needs it in reality? Easy when younger and gains trust from its owner and acts blasé ...in my opinion of course....x

[Old_Geezer]

Ketamine ?

[wolf63]

O-G, that wouldn't be strong enough. It is only meant for horses.

Their carriers are out all the time - Frankie feels safe in his carrier, but going to the vet freaks him out.

The vet suggested that Merlin wasn't working with a full set of brain cells.

She has just demanded a treat, ate it and walked off.

[Barmaid]

Hmmmm, they are naughty. Seriously Wolf, cat bites are nasty. At least make sure they are well cleaned and apply some antiseptic spray.

I have yet to advise Mr BM that ASBO has a tick and that his services with the kevlar gloves and a towel will be required sometime between now and kick off. That's always fun...........