My Cat Is Super Afraid Of Her Carrier

I have a tuxedo cat. She's almost one. We adopted her at 3 months.

She hates her carrier cage. It's the original carrier we brought her home in. We took her back to the vet twice. First time when something fell on her (nothing happened, she was just bruised) she was fine.

The second time she went BANANAS. She started meowing loud, long and scared when I brought it to her. Inside the cage she went NUTS. Then she got super quiet and wrapped herself in the blanket. For now in I'll just clip her nails. Lol

Ever since I leave the carrier in the same room as her litter box. I leave toys on it and in it. Just recently i threw a treat towards it and when I walked over to it she stared meow crying and went in her litter.


How can I warm her up to deal with the carrier? Any tips? Or she's just petrified of it forever lol

How about a soft carrier?

Yea idk lol help

Interesting. I've not had a cat that wouldn't forget if you left the carrier out for a bit. Either yours is smarter than average...or maybe she marked a bit and it still smells like fear? There isn't a blanket in there from the last vet trip? Maybe cleaning the carrier would help?

What if you mark the carrier with her scent?

Does she have a blanket she sleeps on? You can try rubbing that on the carrier so it smells like her?

Just my 2cents worth lol

Yes, I would definitely put a worn T shirt of yours inside when you have to transport her for vet visits. I have several cats who absolutely hate the carrier and always will. Calming treats help, given about a half hour before, I got mine on Amazon and only give a half dose. I bring my carriers out early, the day before, the cats seem fine, they even walk into them and lay down. But when put in to one and the door locked, they freak out. I have found it is MUCH easier to get them inside by standing the carrier on it's end with the door up in the air and open. Take the cat and holding it's front legs together, lower him into the carrier instead of trying to push them in like you normally do. Works much easier. Cats don't like confinement and some never will. Just keep telling yourself it's not forever and everything will be back to normal in a short while. While you are tending your scratches and trying to find the earplugs for heh car ride!

di and bob said:

. I have found it is MUCH easier to get them inside by standing the carrier on it's end with the door up in the air and open.

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A double door carrier works best. You can just open the top door and put the cat right in. Some soft carriers also have a top entry.

JoeAnthony said:

The second time she went BANANAS. She started meowing loud, long and scared when I brought it to her. Inside the cage she went NUTS.

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Your cat has associated the carrier with a negative experience aka the vet. Most cats hate the carrier because they know that they are going somewhere bad. You can try some Feliway or other calming product in the carrier.

You can try a soft carrier but some cat are able to claw their way out. I had a brand new soft carrier that my then 3 month old Aby clawed a hole big enough to fit his entire head through. Not good because I was taking him home from the airport via public transportation (subway)

Yes, I started buying those top door carriers as I replace my old ones. My cats are getting too big for the small ones I have!

It depends on your cat if a soft carrier will work or not. Some cats except that they are caught, others will claw and chew their way out or a soft carrier. I think a new carrier in general might help though, if fully washing the carrier you have doesn't help. Maybe try slowly getting her use to the carrier as a new thing. Start by having the carrier taken apart so it's just basically an open topped box, put a blanket or something soft in it to make it feel like a bed. Once she is use to that you can try putting the top back on the carrier, no door though. If you have one that the door can be put on later (I have one that the whole door can be removed without disassembling the carrier), don't bother putting the door back on until you need it. If it's one that you have to put in when assembling the carrier then the next step is to take the carrier apart and put it back on, once she is comfortable with the carrier put together.

I would also move the carrier to a room she would normally nap in, if the room with the litter box is not.

Petco has very nice, affordable two-door carriers that load top or side. I would also suggest spraying the inside of the carrier with Feliway, which mimics friendly feline pheromones and helps cats to be calm. We used it when we had to airlift cats. They didn't make a peep on the 100-mile journey to the airport and arrived calm, so I was told.

Start having her associate the carrier with good things.
Take it apart but the bottom part down not he ground, start feeding her close to it, get closer and closer until she is eating her food or treats right inside of it. put the top on, no door, and do the same, start farther, get closer until she is comfortably eating in and on the carrier, then put the door on. do the same thing again.
When she is easily going in and out, on top, etc.. close the door for a split second, then immediately open it and give her food/ treats, have her on on top, then back in again and call it quits for the day, do that for a few days and slowly start leaving the door closed for longer periods of time and give her treats through the bars, very very slowly add time, make sure she is 100% comfortable before you move on. once she can be in for a few minutes with you giving food, getting up and walking away for a few seconds, going back and giving food, start picking up the carrier, then put it right back down, give food, open door and call it a day. then again slowly slowly add how long the carrier is held in the air, once she is comfortable, do a little walking around. Obviously this would only really help well if the cat is a bit of a food lover, you do it for meals, or use high value food the cat can't refuse. it may take a while but its worth it to have a cat that isn't completely stressed in the carrier all the time, make sure the carrier is large enough of course. I also agree that you should clean the carrier and add things that smell familiar. I did something very similar with my cat when she was afraid of a new cat tree I got her and it really helped and she now loves the tree

I use an old hardshell carrier that can be broken into parts.

This is how I got my kits adjusted to their carrier.

Two weeks prior to any use, I break it down into individual pieces and clean it so there are no odors or scent markings then leave the bottom part laying in the living room with one of the cat's blankets laying in it. This lets the kits become familiar with the shell in a safe and comfortable manner at their pace.

The week prior to the use I assemble it and leave it in the living room with the door open and the blanket in it. This lets my kits adjust to it becoming a cave like hidey hole. During this time, I toss treats into it or get them to chase something into it like a toy. Occasionally I will swing the door close but not latch so they can push it open.

A few days prior to the use, I slip them into the carrier then carry them into another room where I release the door and give them a treat. I expanded the distance to the car then back into the house where they got treats and play time.

The day before I took them on a short trip around the block and rewarded them when I took them back into the house.

The trip to the vet, I did the same routine but they only got one little treat when we got to the vet and afterwards when we got home, they got a small amount of treats.

Now adays my two kits actually enjoy or at least not get upset about going to the vet as they get treats (just like a kid getting a lolipop) afterwards.

Father of furbabies said:

I use an old hardshell carrier that can be broken into parts.

This is how I got my kits adjusted to their carrier.

Two weeks prior to any use, I break it down into individual pieces and clean it so there are no odors or scent markings then leave the bottom part laying in the living room with one of the cat's blankets laying in it. This lets the kits become familiar with the shell in a safe and comfortable manner at their pace.

The week prior to the use I assemble it and leave it in the living room with the door open and the blanket in it. This lets my kits adjust to it becoming a cave like hidey hole. During this time, I toss treats into it or get them to chase something into it like a toy. Occasionally I will swing the door close but not latch so they can push it open.

A few days prior to the use, I slip them into the carrier then carry them into another room where I release the door and give them a treat. I expanded the distance to the car then back into the house where they got treats and play time.

The day before I took them on a short trip around the block and rewarded them when I took them back into the house.

The trip to the vet, I did the same routine but they only got one little treat when we got to the vet and afterwards when we got home, they got a small amount of treats.

Now adays my two kits actually enjoy or at least not get upset about going to the vet as they get treats (just like a kid getting a lolipop) afterwards.

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Now THAT's what I call due diligence in cat-carrying!

tarasgirl06 said:

Now THAT's what I call due diligence in cat-carrying!

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It is from hands on learning experience with my wife's first cat (she would scream and freak out in the carrier) and our first cat (kallie tolerated the carrier but did not enjoy it's use) so I took the approach of letting them learn and explore the carrier prior to any use.

The next time I need to use the carrier, I will only have to let it lay out for a day or two as they are familiar with it now. It just gives them time to mull over the fact they are going to see their doc but will get some treats afterwards.

Think of telling a kid about a doctor's visit and how they are going to get a treat afterwards which is how I treat the kits. They recognize the carrier but do not fear it nor going to the vet as they have the positive memory of treats afterwards.

Father of furbabies said:

It is from hands on learning experience with my wife's first cat (she would scream and freak out in the carrier) and our first cat (kallie tolerated the carrier but did not enjoy it's use) so I took the approach of letting them learn and explore the carrier prior to any use.

The next time I need to use the carrier, I will only have to let it lay out for a day or two as they are familiar with it now. It just gives them time to mull over the fact they are going to see their doc but will get some treats afterwards.

Think of telling a kid about a doctor's visit and how they are going to get a treat afterwards which is how I treat the kits. They recognize the carrier but do not fear it nor going to the vet as they have the positive memory of treats afterwards.

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Thinking of THEM first and putting yourself in their position regarding how they might feel is genius! It should be simple for anyone, but it isn't actually. I hope your post will help others to see this in a different way -- their cats' way!

I have found that my “cave kitties” become quite comfortable with utilizing their carriers as caves. I have hard carriers that the doors may be completely removed from; I keep the doors off of them (in a safe and easily retrievable place, when they aren’t being used), and put the carriers in beloved napping spots. For additional comfort and to allure the fuzzies even more, I will cut up an old throw blanket (fleece has been the preferred fabric in my home), or a t-shirt that I have left on the bed for a few days (because we all know that the kitties WILL curl up on these things if left on our beds). This, and a few cat treats (nip optional), seem to work well; considering of course “cat time” for individual adjustment. My 5y.o. Spangled sleeps in his carrier on a regular basis.

Ailuros said:

I have found that my “cave kitties” become quite comfortable with utilizing their carriers as caves. I have hard carriers that the doors may be completely removed from; I keep the doors off of them (in a safe and easily retrievable place, when they aren’t being used), and put the carriers in beloved napping spots. For additional comfort and to allure the fuzzies even more, I will cut up an old throw blanket (fleece has been the preferred fabric in my home), or a t-shirt that I have left on the bed for a few days (because we all know that the kitties WILL curl up on these things if left on our beds). This, and a few cat treats (nip optional), seem to work well; considering of course “cat time” for individual adjustment. My 5y.o. Spangled sleeps in his carrier on a regular basis.

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We love fleece here, too -- so affordable, versatile, easily cleaned, and soft and warm! I would think it would be a powerful draw to a carrier -- especially with the addition of those treats, and maybe sprayed with Feliway.

Look up Cat in the Bag. My vet loves mine, always complimenting it.

Hmmmm... try putting the carrier near her food dishes.. or put her favorite treats in it. Maybe you can get her favorite towel or bed or even one of your shirts and put it in the carrier. Use positive reinforcement, place her near the carrier and give her a treat. Give her treats when she goes near the carrier. Pet and praise her when she goes near, on, or in the carrier.
Hope this helped!