For putting Betty into a carrier, what was required was not power, but
precision.  If you lowered her carefully into the carrier without
touching the sides, she went in without a hitch.  But if any part of
her paws or thighs brushed the sides, she would shift a foot over and
block the entrance.  Then, I'd have to lift her back up a few inches
and start over.  It was sort of like threading a needle.

For such small animals, they can certainly make their desires felt!

Another possible reason - there are often cats passing through the back
yard, where there is not only a door at ground level, but three windows,
one of which opens and used to have a screen (now I open it about 2"/1cm
which frustrates the cats horribly) nearly at ground level. One evening I
saw one with a pretty white face with butterscotch spots sniffing at the
window. He was back yesterday during daylight, so I got a good look, and
I'm willing to bet - *another* unneutered young tom! I guess it's that
time of year - male kittens hit puberty, start roaming and looking for
females and annoying their original owners by spraying, unhindered by cold
winter weather.

Oh, well, at least territorial marking and rivalry may be reduced by
neutering.

On another subject, I read an article today (in a paper magasine, not
online!) about Finnish WW II vets, of whom there are apparently a large
number in Canada, who get their health care paid for by Finland. As some
of them are getting to an age and state of health now that makes travel to
Finland rather difficult, some Canadian spas and clinics have been
inspected by the Finnish govenment and pronounced acceptable sources for
treatment like therapeutic massage for arthritis. I was quite impressed by
the extent of Finnish health care for its war vets!

On the same page there's a short article about someone who's bred a
hypoallergenic tabby cat. They'll eventually be on sale for US$3,950 +
US$1,000 for transportation.

By that standard, Sam's a deep discount cat! Of course, I doubt he's
hypoallergenic.