We went for the annual vet visit last week. Our orange cat was already asleep in his carrier, so I just put the door on and carried him to the car. He hasn't slept in there since though!
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
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The best cat I ever had accepted going into the carrier with the aplomb of someone with no brain.
New kitten accepts it because I do it quickly.
Mother's cat is grumpy and shouts but also accepts it because I'm quick.
All cats will yodle while inside though. The song of their people. A truly...lovely...song.
Our little lady had some trauma in her youth and was extremely resistant to being picked up and would absolutly not take direction to go into a crate. After a few years of her getting more comfortable I knew I could probably get her in again one time by tricking her, but I should save that for an emergency and nothing else. Eventually that was needed when we had to move. Of course, knowing I had to make the most of that I scheduled a vet appointment for that day.
It was somehow much worse than I had anticipated, starting as soon as I shut her in. She was so scared, throwing her full body with as much force as she could against the walls of the crate over and over and over, keeping that up while I was carrying her to the car and the first few minutes of the drive before she finally started to calm down. Watching that shook me, emotionally painful and just building anxiety about the appointment.
She actually was very submissive for the vet, who seemed to think I was crazy because at that point I was visibly a lot more terrified and upset than the cat.
Awful day in general, I have never seen an animal more depressed than she was after finishing that appointment and getting to the new place, it was horrific. She was normally extremely skittish about potentially being touched, but would invite pets sometimes. In that first day though, she was just do whatever you want I don't care. I had to pick her up body basically limp out of the crate, she had never let me pick her up. She didn't move from where I had placed her for hours, zero reaction to any action from me. She got back to her old self after a few weeks, but that day is still very painful to think back to I feel like I'm about to cry just from writing this.
Shouldn't have doubled up. Crate is stressful, vet is stressful, car ride is stressful. One thing at a time. Cats are way more scheduled than people could ever think about being. If you wanna test it, move your cats box 6 inches in any direction. You gotta take it slow.
That said, don't beat yourself up. At the end of the day, kitty went limp because although it was stressed, it trusted you.
People make mistakes cats make mistakes, it's gonna be alright. But if you wanna maximize your kitty's comfort, take it slow and ease in, with every tiny thing. But most of all, keep being empathetic, your empathy is the most beautiful part of this story.
I felt like I had to double up because she was already late on vaccines and it was very unlikely I'd have another opportunity soon to get her to the vet.
Knew we were moving months in advance so about six months before the move I was trying to get her comfortable going in the cage by giving her wet food in there. I thought after a couple months I would try shutting the door quietly and opening it right back up and then gradually get her used to the door being closed for longer durations, but the very first time she was very unhappy and the next couple months she basically said fuck you I'm eating the dry food in protest right in front of you when you're doing this. When she finally started going back in I felt like I can't play with getting her accustomed again, I've got to just do it on the day, and I was pretty confident that if I didn't get her vaccines then it would be a very long time.
We don't let our cats graze and instead have an automated feeder. Way easier to portion and they don't wake you up at 6 yelling for food.
The other benefit to this is that by pausing the food dispenser we can substitute one meal perfectly on time with something else. The cats have an excellent internal clock and will usually hang around when it's time for food. So if that food were to come in the form of wet food in a crate then it would probably be enough to make even the most hesitant cat take the risk.
And the other upside is that by keeping the food paused while the cat refuses to eat in the crate it will be forced to give in eventually. And cats given their food motivation will quickly learn that hey, the crate isn't that bad if I get food.
Its all about making sure to have the right incentives and taking it slow. Sticking a familiar scented item (usually a blanket the cat lies on) into the crate helps it feel less daunting. And from there it's just baby steps ensuring that at every point the food reward is connected with the crate.
This is also how one introduces two cats btw, lots of meals shared on either side of a door. The cats don't get fed unless they smell each other. And eventually they build the link between the yummy food and the other cat and stop hissing.
Their hatred of carriers shall continue unabated until we make movies for cats at 50-55 FPS minimum unlike our minimum of 24.
Just put the opening at the top of the crate. Make it a box.