The Biggest Mistake Cat Owners Make with Their Pet’s Carrier.
Every cat owner has been there - you need to get your cat into their carrier so that you can take them to the vet, or the boarding cattery, or to be cared for by a friend or simply because you are moving home - and guess what? Your highly affectionate and super-clingy cat is nowhere to be seen!
And even when you finally manage to locate the fur-covered little devil after wasting time you can ill-afford, you have to battle claws, teeth, rudely hissed words and ears flattened so close to your cat’s head you’d think that they’s disappeared altogether. Your cat is less than co-operative as you struggle to force their rigid body into their carrier.
So how come your affectionate, compliant and normal pet has suddenly turned into a feral wildcat as soon as you get their carrier out of storage?
Well, prepare yourself for a shock - it’s your fault - and you probably have no idea at all that you are responsible for making The Big Mistake.
And the mistake is..
You tidy your cat’s carrier away when you’ve finished with it.
We all do it. As soon as the trauma of transporting your cat from A to B is over, the carrier gets put in the garage, in a shed or in a cupboard out of sight and out of mind. And that is where the mistake is made. The hated carrier is hidden away.
So, as the guilty party, how can you correct your error? Can you change the situation for the better? Is it possible for your cat to ever accept their carrier and remain calm and serene around it? Without doubt they can - and you can start to correct your mistake the very second you’ve finished reading this!
Bring the carrier out of storage and place it in a cat-friendly place.
Place it where it is cosy and quiet.
Make it comfortable inside with a blanket or cushion.
Make it interesting by placing a favourite toy inside
Place a few tasty morsels inside.
Leave the door open for free access at all times.
Keep it a part of your cat’s everyday world.
And that’s it. By following the above steps, you can begin to remove the negative associations of seeing the carrier from your cat’s mind. These associations are triggered each and every time the carrier comes into view. This situation has arisen because in the past, your pet has experienced very strong and unpleasant emotions whenever their carrier has appeared and it’s no wonder that they equate their carrier with being forcefully subjected to unpleasant things. Your job, as an owner, is to work at removing those negative associations and replace them with good ones.
Over a period of time, the carrier will become accepted as a normal part of your cat’s daily life and experience. When this happens, their resistence to seeing it and being put in it will have disappeared. By actively making their carrier an inviting place for a snooze, surrounded by their favorite toy and cat-snack, your cat will soon realise that the bad associations have been chased away by good ones.
Unfortunately, any trip to see the vet will inevitably cause those bad memories to be recalled but the only way to cure that particular problem is to make your vet part of your cat’s everyday, normal experience. And that is just not going to be possible, is it?
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