Cat Carriers
When it comes to transporting your cat around, you can’t just let kitty roam around the car or bus on the way to the vets or on holiday. For safety and peace of mind, you’ll need a good cat carrier; cats can often end up associating these with visits to the vet, making them nervous and stressed, so how can you avoid making your cat feel threatened whenever you get the carrier out?
What to look for
Carriers will need to be of a comfortable size for your cat; too small and the cat will not feel comfortable, becoming stressed and possibly will claw or spit at you, however if the carrier is too large the cat can cause it to roll or collapse and will be less safe whilst driving. Many carriers can be used with a seatbelt, ensuring maximum safety. Should you wish to take the cat on an aeroplane, you will need a carrier that allows for aircraft travel. It is worth checking with the supplier and the airline for what types of carrier are best suited for this.
If you only use the carrier for travelling to the vets, your cat will associate the carrier with the trauma and stress of vet visits and will be unwilling to enter the carrier. In order to prevent this kind of behaviour, you should get your cat accustomed to the carrier before it is even used. Fill the carrier with familiar bedding, toys and scents and allow the cat to rest and play in the carrier, allowing the cat to associate the enclosure as a good place. Then do some test runs with the carrier. Travel to a friends or family member’s house – making sure that person is someone the cat is acquainted to and likes – and giving your cat a treat once you have arrived. Through this means, both the carrier and travelling in the carrier become less stressful and will be seen in a positive light.
When it is finally time to visit the vets, make sure your preparation routine is just the same as when you’ve gone out with the cat before. Keep the cat calm and happy, with the same familiar scents, and the cat will simply see a trip to the vets as another time out of the house (possibly a little upsetting and stressful, but if the cat has been prepared properly, the vets will not be associated with every trip out of the house). If you continue to make trips out of the house after any vet trips to reinforce the idea that going out is not necessarily the same as going to the vets, then your cat will be a much calmer and well behaved cat whenever you leave the house.
You can find a great deal of quality cat carriers online as well as in pet stores; you may wish to check with your vet, and ask for advice on the size and type of carrier that will be relevant to your cat in terms of size and suitability.
