New Carrier and our adventure to get Calcifer into it

[Alldara]

Got a 24 by 16 inch carrier today with a top door.

We have 2.5 weeks to get Cal comfortable in it and hopefully get him INTO it before the vet. We've been taking him with a harness and leash but the vet is on a busy road and I worry.

Calcifer is strong as heck and I was used to Nobel's 17 lbs of maine coon strength! But it always gets to the point where im afraid of hurting Cal by forcing his head in, even when we purrito him.

He was in a carrier once before he came to us, then again when his foster brought him and then his first two vet visits went fine, except he peed on the carrier the second time.

I am worried that he will use it once and then not again. Ive hsd difficult to crate cats, but never anything I couldn't manage before.

The plan: leave carrier disassembled for sniffing until this evening. Then set up, put blankets that smell like him and catnip.
Tonight, leave both doors open and put his kibble inside for eating. See what happens.

 

[maggie101]

I have a walk in closet that I put a huge carrier in so she can't escape. I plan on buying a different one,mesh smaller but she was rubbing her face against the steel opening and cut her face so it was bleeding

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

I leave the carrier out. She has literally hit a wall trying to get away no matter what you did at the vets. She is not mean or aggressive, just does not like anything being done to her.She gets gabapentin before I take her to make to whole thing go smoother. Makes it easier to take blood without a crisis. Last time she had her blood pressure taken, really not to fond of that.Someone told me she would not use gabapentin when her vet suggested and they refused to treat the cat without it.She said she just won't take her to the vet. Really not a good option.

 

[maggie101]

I did also give that to her which helped alot. I smashed in churu a First vet she saw wrapped her in a blanket and had an assistant hold on to her. Very bad idea. She saw someone else that was very gentle with her-2 cats of his own! I smashed it in churu then spread on her arm to lick off

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

I did also give that to her which helped alot. I smashed in churu a First vet she saw wrapped her in a blanket and had an assistant hold on to her. Very bad idea. She saw someone else that was very gentle with her-2 cats of his own! I smashed it in churu then spread on her arm to lick off

This girl gets a fair dose three hours before her appointment. By the time I leave here she is pretty chill.When she there she is still fussy but she can be wrapped and no one gets stuck with a needle except her .... all done nice and safe!

 

[DeesCats]

Alldara , does Calcifer like enclosed boxes, bags or similar items? I ask because some just don't like be in any type of enclosed space at all.

Have you considered using gabapentin to reduce his anxiety?

 

[maggie101]

At a vets my cat feels safer in an enclosed box. At home one of my cats could get her so she doesn't like feeling trapped. Of course, they're all different! Even hearing the box scares her so it needs to be out in advance

Got a 24 by 16 inch carrier today with a top door.

We have 2.5 weeks to get Cal comfortable in it and hopefully get him INTO it before the vet. We've been taking him with a harness and leash but the vet is on a busy road and I worry.

Calcifer is strong as heck and I was used to Nobel's 17 lbs of maine coon strength! But it always gets to the point where im afraid of hurting Cal by forcing his head in, even when we purrito him.

He was in a carrier once before he came to us, then again when his foster brought him and then his first two vet visits went fine, except he peed on the carrier the second time.

I am worried that he will use it once and then not again. Ive hsd difficult to crate cats, but never anything I couldn't manage before.

The plan: leave carrier disassembled for sniffing until this evening. Then set up, put blankets that smell like him and catnip.
Tonight, leave both doors open and put his kibble inside for eating. See what happens.

Sounds like a good plan!

 

[neely]

When we first adopted Carleton I thought I was fighting with a lion to get him into the carrier. I had to wear gloves for the first 6 months but little by little he acclimated to it. I realize you don't have that much time but I agree about the Gabapentin. Another thing that helped was putting him in back legs first, not head first, and holding his legs together. It didn't hurt him but gave me more control to get him into the carrier. Best of luck, please let us know how it goes at the vet.

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

When we first adopted Carleton I thought I was fighting with a lion to get him into the carrier. I had to wear gloves for the first 6 months but little by little he acclimated to it. I realize you don't have that much time but I agree about the Gabapentin. Another thing that helped was putting him in back legs first, not head first, and holding his legs together. It didn't hurt him but gave me more control to get him into the carrier. Best of luck, please let us know how it goes at the vet.

It does start to work some right away, she will go to sleep. The minute you put her in the carrier she is on high alert , but is at least manageable.That was vet recommendation. Sounded odd to me also, but it works

 

[Alldara]

D DeesCats neely Yes, we are going to discuss gabapentin with the vet. The vet didnt bring it up after last visit as he calmed down in the office and hes very handlable. He has travel anxiety I think.

He doesn't gravitate to any closed spaces. Even if hes scared of a maintence person, he goes to our small walk-in closet (its a couples closet with hanging on both sides and a small dresser in the middle. He goes on top of the dresser).

We couldn't get him in Nobel's soft carrier at all, but the vet put him in at the end of last appointment. But then Ghost escaped from the carrier in the car on the way home from the vet. So i threw it away. The small hard carrier is impossible as hes too long. They always have access to the carriers. Magnus likes to sit in them.


Last night i set it up and fed him treats inside. So he went in a little and explored it. I used catnip spray on it. They're ignoring it now so I count that as a win. It made Ghost and Calcifer nervous last night.

 

[DeesCats]

I've found that using gabapentin is a trial and error process on dosing my cat. The back story is I brought in a stray cat last May and named him Binks. He was a small, 9 lb cat that had already been TNR'd by somebody. Rather skittish but friendly. I got him into the carrier despite being thoroughly scratched by him and the vet was only able to do a cursory exam but he got his rabies and FVRCP

He was due for his booster FVRCP shot 3 weeks later but he was worse than then the 1st time so I had to cancel his appt. The vet prescribed 100mg of gaba, one capsule the evening before and one capsule 3 hours prior to the appt. I could still not get him in the carrier. This went on for 5 more times and a failure every time I tried.

I had multiple hard sided carriers of various sizes out in the house all the time. I tried tempting him with dried kibble (kitty crack), wet food, catnip, removing the tops of the carriers, every suggestion offered by members on TCS. Nothing worked. He just can't abide going into a carrier.

This past Friday he had a vet appt at 2:20 PM. Starting Wednesday evening, I gave him 1/2 dose of 100mg cap. Thursday 10 AM, another 1/2 dose, and at 10PM another full 100mg dose. Friday 7:30 AM a 1/2 dose and at 11:30 AM a 100mg full dose. He was awake but very pliable and I was able to quietly pick him up and get him into the large carrier with no issues. Covered the carrier with a towel and off to the vet.

I requested a small exam room and a vet with a quiet voice and the exam went extremely well. She was able to do a full exam, got his 3 year rabies vaccine as well as the FVRCP, got a blood draw for baseline testing as well as urine draw and all his nails trimmed. He didn't seem overly upset by the whole thing and was glad to be back home within an hour and a half.

He had a small bite of wet food and then proceeded to sleep in my arms for the next 2 hours. All in all, it went as smoothly as possible this time around.

For the record, Binks is the only cat I've ever had that has required meds to reduce his anxiety for a vet visit so this is all brand new to me. I think he is what I call an easily stimulated and active cat that is constantly on the go, talking/meowing almost non-stop to the point of driving me crazy, wanting to be in the middle of things, instigating rough play sessions with my 1st adoptee Long Legs who is much bigger than him and trying to overpower my 3rd adoptee Colly who is still confined to his own room after 3 months.

Sorry for the long post but every cat is different, some need meds, some need tweaking the meds to suit the cat, some do well with cat carriers and daily exposure and some don't.

I wish you the best on getting Calcifer comfortable in his carrier and hope his vet visit goes well.

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

I've found that using gabapentin is a trial and error process on dosing my cat. The back story is I brought in a stray cat last May and named him Binks. He was a small, 9 lb cat that had already been TNR'd by somebody. Rather skittish but friendly. I got him into the carrier despite being thoroughly scratched by him and the vet was only able to do a cursory exam but he got his rabies and FVRCP

He was due for his booster FVRCP shot 3 weeks later but he was worse than then the 1st time so I had to cancel his appt. The vet prescribed 100mg of gaba, one capsule the evening before and one capsule 3 hours prior to the appt. I could still not get him in the carrier. This went on for 5 more times and a failure every time I tried.

I had multiple hard sided carriers of various sizes out in the house all the time. I tried tempting him with dried kibble (kitty crack), wet food, catnip, removing the tops of the carriers, every suggestion offered by members on TCS. Nothing worked. He just can't abide going into a carrier.

This past Friday he had a vet appt at 2:20 PM. Starting Wednesday evening, I gave him 1/2 dose of 100mg cap. Thursday 10 AM, another 1/2 dose, and at 10PM another full 100mg dose. Friday 7:30 AM a 1/2 dose and at 11:30 AM a 100mg full dose. He was awake but very pliable and I was able to quietly pick him up and get him into the large carrier with no issues. Covered the carrier with a towel and off to the vet.

I requested a small exam room and a vet with a quiet voice and the exam went extremely well. She was able to do a full exam, got his 3 year rabies vaccine as well as the FVRCP, got a blood draw for baseline testing as well as urine draw and all his nails trimmed. He didn't seem overly upset by the whole thing and was glad to be back home within an hour and a half.

He had a small bite of wet food and then proceeded to sleep in my arms for the next 2 hours. All in all, it went as smoothly as possible this time around.

For the record, Binks is the only cat I've ever had that has required meds to reduce his anxiety for a vet visit so this is all brand new to me. I think he is what I call an easily stimulated and active cat that is constantly on the go, talking/meowing almost non-stop to the point of driving me crazy, wanting to be in the middle of things, instigating rough play sessions with my 1st adoptee Long Legs who is much bigger than him and trying to overpower my 3rd adoptee Colly who is still confined to his own room after 3 months.

Sorry for the long post but every cat is different, some need meds, some need tweaking the meds to suit the cat, some do well with cat carriers and daily exposure and some don't.

I wish you the best on getting Calcifer comfortable in his carrier and hope his vet visit goes well.

Definitely trail and error. Part of my issue was eyeballing 50 or 75% of a100 mg capsule if that's what I needed, but got better at that.She always goes to sleep the minute she is out of the vets office

 

[Alldara]

This is good to know re gabapentin. Cal really does quite well at the appointment. Not Magnus well who is exploring the room and loving up to everyone...but Magnus is a rare cat lol.

 

[Bellspurr]

Got a 24 by 16 inch carrier today with a top door.

We have 2.5 weeks to get Cal comfortable in it and hopefully get him INTO it before the vet. We've been taking him with a harness and leash but the vet is on a busy road and I worry.

Calcifer is strong as heck and I was used to Nobel's 17 lbs of maine coon strength! But it always gets to the point where im afraid of hurting Cal by forcing his head in, even when we purrito him.

He was in a carrier once before he came to us, then again when his foster brought him and then his first two vet visits went fine, except he peed on the carrier the second time.

I am worried that he will use it once and then not again. Ive hsd difficult to crate cats, but never anything I couldn't manage before.

The plan: leave carrier disassembled for sniffing until this evening. Then set up, put blankets that smell like him and catnip.
Tonight, leave both doors open and put his kibble inside for eating. See what happens.

 

[Bellspurr]

I travel around the world with my cats and other people's. You can get him in the carrier simply by holding both front paws and getting him inside zip it up and take him to the car, go for a ride and come back. The person can transmit safety to the cat, you need to be calm and in control.

 

[Alldara]

I travel around the world with my cats and other people's. You can get him in the carrier simply by holding both front paws and getting him inside zip it up and take him to the car, go for a ride and come back. The person can transmit safety to the cat, you need to be calm and in control.

Yes its important to be calm. Thanks for your suggestion. Unfortunately that does not work. If you put his front feet in, he just stiffens so you cant put more of him in.

We dont have a car to get him used to rides in general. Our neighbours, friends or family take us to the vet or theres one in walking distance in case of emergency.

Yesterday i gave treats at the carrier and picked him up a few times to put him inside and walked away. The bigger carrier he can't cling to so it went okay.

 

[Bellspurr]

I think you did great! Getting him inside is a huge step!

 

[Alldara]

I think you did great! Getting him inside is a huge step!

Thanks! I think the bigger one was really what we needed to be able to get him in. He's a large

 

[Alldara]

...we installed a ceiling fan. Cal stayed through guests, the drill, everything yesterday. Ate in the carrier again (open).

We turned the fan on, he casually left the room a bit later and then when he went to come back in, he realized it was moving and is terrified of it.

So now we are trying to desensitize him to the fan... we are using the same method as we did for the vacuum.

 

[Alldara]

Ps. He is not scared of normal rotating fans and neither of the other two are even remotely nervous of the ceiling fan.