Speed!  Sometimes the only option is a sneak attack.  Position the carrier in a
place your cat sleeps.  While she's sleeping, walk in and close the door to
thar room.  Scoop her up (a towel may be helpful) and put her in the carrier as
fast as you can, before she wakes up entirely.  Close door.  It helps if you
have a top loader with a large opening, and the carrier is bigger than you
actually need.  I have a Nylabone one that can fit a very large cat.  Front and
top opening.

If she's a really skittish cat, grooming is going to be hard as well though.
RR works well for some animals, not as well for others.  You may need to up the
ante on that one, in order to get those mats out.  After they're out, getting
her used to more gentle grooming, everyday, is better than only addressing the
problem once the mats are in place.

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

I've never met a cat who would willingly enter a carrier!  Force is
required!

First, if you have a carrier whose top can be removed, this may help.  But
it will require at least 2 people to keep her from scooting out the openings
while you reassemble the carrier.

I stand my carriers on end and lower the cat into it hind end first.

Sometimes wrapping kitty in a towel (including covering the head) and
inserting kitty into the carrier very quickly works.

Some cats will allow you to shove them in head first with a minimum of
resistance.  I haven't had one of these in years.

P.S.  be sure you are up on your tetanus shots and be sure to clip kitty's
claws before you do any of this!

Get a pillow case. Put it in the bathroom.

Close all portions of the cat carrier except one (top or side, but it
should easily face up) to put kitty in. Leave carrier in another room,
close to bathroom.

Go get kitty. Hopefully, she hasn't seen any of this. Bring to bathroom
and close door.

Plop kitty into pillow case. Close top with hand. Bring kitty to
carrier. Plop kitty into carrier, pillow case opening down, then quickly
remove pillowcase and close door.

A bit mean, but efficient and less likely to result in bloodshed than
just trying to shove her in.

Oh, they make kitty "muzzles" that cover the mouth and eyes so the cat
stays calm if she is one of those that completely freaks in the carrier
and might hurt herself.

Also, they make cloth carriers that are more like purses than carriers.
Your cat may prefer one of these, as it wouldn't have the same
associations as the hard top.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

wow you sure having problems there :-(
My cats love being groomed, one of them is very long haired too, I do them
daily the brush and comb is left by my chair,  all my cats sleep in their
carriers,  as well as everywhere else, sometimes I shut the doors for half
an hour and move them to a different room, so they don't mind going in them
one bit.  I can take them in the car with no problems,  I have done this
since they were kittens.

Have you tried spraying catnip in the carrier?  or spraying it on who ever
grooms her.... try grooming her everyday but avoid the matts to start with
so she feels its a pleasure rather than *pain*! do this for a week or so
then hopefully you bit by bit will be able to get to the matts.  If she is
groomed daily she should not get matted hopefully....
never put the comb away ;-)  if its left where you sit you will just get
into the habit of using it :-)

best of luck

It is a good idea to leave the carrier out all the time so the cat
gets used to seeing it in a non-threatening way.   I did this with my
Siamese (RB 16) and she started using it as a bed.  I had it placed
close to the floor vent so it would be a warm cozy place.  She used it
as a bed for many years.

This has not worked with TuTu-- she wouldn't go near that carrier.
So, recently I bought a new, larger carrier and have it opened by the
TV set.  Last night I was surprised to see her playing in the carrier.

It's worth a try!   MLB

The only real solution to may turn out to be a long term one. The idea
being to make the carrier one of those places your cat wants to go.

To achieve this leave the carrier door open, put a nice comfy blanket
that your cat has used before inside it the place the carrier in a
little out of the way corner in your home. You may find eventually your
cat starting to explore this new little place quite a bit.

If that doesn't work, try placing a small bowl of her food in the back
of the carrier to add some interest.

The whole idea here is to get them used to the carrier as being a safe
place for them. I have 2 carriers here, one large and one small. The
large one is big enough for 2 cats... the small one is barely big enough
for one cat.

But, my 17 pound cat goes into the small carrier by herself and somehow
manages to get turned around. She seems to enjoy it. I've left the
carrier out for her to play in since she was a kitten.

Where I do have trouble, is getting her out of it at the vet. I can open
the door and hang the carrier upside down... she is stuck like glue
inside. I've found the best approach is to open the door and entice her
out with my hands... no not pull or force... just reach for her as
though I was going to pet or pick her up. If that ever doesn't work,
there is the option of taking the whole top half off the carrier.

Getting her back in for the trip home isn't a problem at all, she will
scoot right in since she views the carrier as a safe place and perhaps
knows we will be heading back home at that point.

BTW, in case anyone is wondering my cat is definitely not obese or in
the least overweight at 17 lbs.  :-)

I never let my cat see the carrier until the moment I put her in it,
because if she sees it, she will run and hide and I will have to chase
her down, and this upsets her. I get it all ready to go out on the
porch (I keep it in a storage area off the porch) with her little
blanket and favorite toy. I bring it into the house when she is in
another room. I turn it on its end with the door open.

Then I wait until she is relaxed, just hanging out somewhere, and I
pet her and love on her, gently pick her up, talk to her, then quick
as lightening load her into the carrier butt first. If I am not quick
enough I have to hold her little front feet together and back feet
together or her legs suddenly grow to be about two feet long and
sticky, and she gets purchase on the sides of the carrier and that's
the end of that. :-) Granted, this is a 7-pound cat. With larger cats
it might not work at all.

I like the idea of having the carrier be a part of their every day
life. I just hadn't thought of it.

<snip>

I'm not sure what kind of carrier you have--does it have a door on top and
in front, or just the one in front?  Mine only has the door in the front, so
I put the carrier with the door facing up (so it's standing on its small
end).  Then I pick her up (around her armpit area) and quickly try to put
her in the carrier legs first.  It's sort of like dropping her in, without
the drop part.  It's even easier if you have another person to help control
your cat's rear legs when you put her in, so she can't use them to propel
herself away from the carrier.

rona

HMC,

   Wait until the cat is settled, then toss a large towel over the top of
the cat and wrap her up. I have had to do this too many times! It works and
yes, force is needed. There really isn't an easy way to do this, unless you
make the cat use to being put in the carrier. Good luck.

(posted & e-mailed)

My suggestion: a carrier that is also top-loading.  Makes it easier to get
the cat into the carrier pre-vet, & also a whole lot easier to get the cat
out of the carrier once at the vet's, when it's examining table time.  Drs.
Foster & Smith carries them (catalog & internet).

I put the open carrier in a room not in the cat's sight (& not in a bedroom,
since cats hide under beds, smack in the center where one can't reach from
either side) & then close the doors of that room.  Then go & calmly go & get
the cat, picking him/her up calmly & walk calmly into the room with the
ready carrier.  (Room's door shut again)  Cat does not see the carrier until
the last second or two, when I put the cat into the carrier through the top
opening & quickly shut it - making sure the tail is not going to get caught!

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble")  Paul Simon

Brute force.  Stand the carrier on end, with the open end up.  Sneak
up on the cat, grab her and plop her into the carrier hind feet-first.
When you grab her, she will start to back out of the hold - let her
back right down into the carrier.  Pop the top shut quickly.  Voila!

The other method is to grab her in a towel (with her head covered) and
just shove her in.

The element of surprise is essential.

These methods, BTW, are what are used at vets.

-L.

hmc <ciaochou2@blah.yahoo.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav:

Pickup cat, open carrier, stuff cat inside... keep stuffing... keep
stuffing, push, gather all 20 legs together, push, close door, bandage
arms.

My cat also refused to go in the carrier I took to the shelter when I went
to collect her.  The one I had was the type that is a plastic box with a
wire door that I use for my other cat. The volunteers at the shelter tried
EVERYTHING to get her in but to no avail.  They even tried disinfecting the
whole thing so the smell of my other cat would not deter her from going in
but nothing worked.

Finally, they gave me a big plastic cat carrier (the type where the  whole
top of the carrier comes off and then refixes back on when the cat is
sitting in the bottom part of the box) and Lily (my cat) got in that with no
problems at all.  Maybe you should invest in something of that type (if you
can understand my description of it, I'd never come across them before).
You could just wait until she is in the bottom part of the box (get her in
using treats or toys) and then quickly put the lid on.

Hope this helps

Jeannie

First, place the cat carrier with its door open somewhere near the main door
(where you want it) against a solid wall, a couple of days in advance, so
the cat doesn't feel threatened of it.
Next, pick up the cat and hold it facing you.
When putting it into the box, make sure it faces you and gets into the box
backwards. It will back away from you into the box.....that's exactly where
you want it!
I had mighty problems getting Xena in there, but this tip always works!
Regards,
Andr0