JENSIZED LAST ACTIVITY IN MEMPHIS TOWN

How do you get a difficlut cat in her carrier

By Jen

I would rather get a mammogram in front of a live studio audience than take our cat Trish to the vet.

First I have to open the front door of the house and unlock my car doors so I can get her in the car quickly. Then I have to shut her in the living room (it has the fewest hiding places) and get the carrier out of the closet.

Buddy trots over to the carrier and starts sniffing it. He’s the easy one. For Trish, though, the carrier foretells such horrors as baths and shots and lion cuts. She darts under the sofa.

I try to lure her out with catnip or kibbles. Then I move the couch and chase her around the living room. Despite her girth she’s a lithe little sprinter. I use my size advantage to grab her by the scruff. I’m lucky to escape without scratches. (Eerrrr, many scratches.) Brian holds the carrier open while I stuff her into it and quickly zip the top so she can’t jump back out.

Then I power-walk to the car, strap the carrier to my passenger-side seatbelt and unzip it just enough to put my hand in there. I drive the four minutes to McGehee Clinic with one hand on the wheel, the other stroking Trish’s head while she cries.

About half the time she pees in the carrier. She’s pooped in it twice (only once because she was actually sick). It seems like there’s always a dog being checked in at the front desk when we arrive. Trish’s cries then become growls and hisses.

And that is why her fur is always so matted when I finally summon the courage to make an appointment. I know the mats are painful. We get a lecture every time. But the process of getting her to the vet is always so harrowing and heartbreaking, not to mention dangerous. I’m not sure if it’s more traumatizing for me or for her.

It’s always been this way, no matter what I do. I’ve tried leaving the carrier out for her to nap in so she doesn’t associate it solely with the vet. Buddy slept in it instead … until Trish peed in it. I tried to skip the carrier and put a harness and leash on her. She lodged herself between the pedals and floorboards in my car so I couldn’t drive. I don’t want to sedate her. Besides, if there’s anything more difficult than stuffing a cat into a carrier, it’s getting a cat to swallow medicine.

So, fellow cat people, how do you deal with this? Is there ANY way to make getting in the car less of a nightmare?