Can you teach an adult cat new things?

[Mer.kitten]

I got Honeybunny a few years ago, her age now is about 4. She doesnt like car rides, she does the pitiful meowing thing, ect. Luckily my vet is literalky 4 minutes from my house so its usually not a problem.

BUT.

Im moving in six months or so, which is going to entail flying from san francisco to houston. More than that tho, id like to take her for walks but the area by my house isnt suitable-id need to drive a couple miles away... but she doesnt like the car.

A friend has a young cat and from day one theyve taken her places-they took a 9 hr road trip to visit family-and took the cat along with their dog! To me thats unheard of. The cat did fine tho.

So my thing is this-id like to start taking HB in the car (in her carrier) maybe every few days, just a ten minute trip at first, gradually extending it. Driving 10 minutes and coming back, or driving 10 then getting out & taking her for a walk....with the goal eventually being a cat whos fine with car rides and the carrier and will be much easier to travel with when i fly to another state in six months.

My worry, tho, is that it wont work and ill be stressing her out for nothing. :/

Has anyone successfully gptten a cat who dislikes car rides and the carrier to like or at least tolerate it? Is it a bad idea to start taking her for rides trying to get her used to it?

 

[cataholic07]

You can for sure try. If she's not easy to get into the carrier you want to first start with that. Feed her treats in, in front and around it. Have it always out in open completely open. Then you can start by just having her in the carrier and then start with the driving small amounts and ensure she gets lots of treats and love afterwards.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think you have a good plan, but if you can manage a very short trip daily, with a treat of some sort at the end, I think that you'll progress faster!

 

[FeebysOwner]

You might want to try some of the calming sprays just to see if that would help. You could spray the carrier before you put her in it. There are also other calming products, such as Bach Rescue Remedy which are drops you rub into a cat's ear. There are member who use these kinds of items before vet visits just to help calm their cats. Not all of them work on all cats, so you may have to experiment with a few of them before finding one that works for HB. Just do an internet search on 'cat calming products'.

 

[meowpassion]

agree with FeebysOwner, you might try calming sprays e.g Feliway Travel. If you plan to have your kitty in the carrier, leave it in the room where your cat is and let him/her to feel comfortable with the carrier. Once she/he is not afraid being inside, close the door and walk with the carrier in the room, and see how your kitty will react. The next step is short trips using calming sprays and/or fav toys.