OT how do u make it easier for the cat to go to the vet ??
 

For the cat owners around here, any tip?

Dolce is more outgoing and friendlier to strangers, she gets nervous but not that much.

Gabanna is very nervous and starts trembling :( even if I leave the door open she won't venture out, or only if she sees her sister wandering around... aww I really feel bad for her when she is so scared crying in the car.

She doesn't get aggressive or maniac, she just rolls in a ball and trembles and doesn't even cry, when she is in that vet table...

Any tips welcome!!

Do you have a carrier? It's much easier if you put them inside a carrier and then drape a towel or something over it so they can't see what is happening. Also, ask your vet about calming pills that you can give to the cats a little before you are ready to take them out.

I have a carrier. Ohh I had never thought about putting a towel over it. Will do!!

Pills to Gabbana?? how do you give a pill to a cat.. ?? that sounds like a Mission Impossible!!

Thanks I will take Dolce first then ask the vet for those... I believe giving the cat pills is now making ME nervous...

Thanks suki, you fix my life, next I will ask you about issues at work, lol. Have you thought about being a "life coach" ?

Here the kitty in question:
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7669/0810101615.jpg

My mother and I have both started using mobile vets and vets who make house calls (many do if you just ask). The pet gets seen in the privacy of it's home and doesn't have to undergo the anxiety of being taken from the house and riding in the car. The worst that they've endured is being carried or walked out to the mobile exam room in the driveway when needed.

I have one cat in particular who is an absolute wreck with anyone else in the house, even frequent guests and family. Where he used to stay hidden and upset all day after someone left, these days he's back out of hiding as soon as the door closes behind them and back to his chatty self. I wonder if he has learned that the scary bit is only temporary and his home remains his no matter who drops by.

Some vets add an extra fee for the house calls, but I find that is more than made up for when I consider the gas, trauma, time missed from work to go and wait at an office, and the anxiety I have when other pets are there waiting and mine get rowdy or even more upset. Since I work at home, visits are easy to fit in and routine stuff usually takes less than 20 minutes to have done.

Hope this helps!!

Alice

Some of my cats do better than others at going to the vet's.

I use a cat carrier in the car, with a soft blanket in it.

As for medicating a cat beforehand, I don't believe in using medication unless it's an extreme situation.

Thanks a lot Alice! that's another option!! Gabanna also hides and gets upset... and waits for hours... until she gets hungry lol. Definitely better to pay more to alleviate stress.

Yes, also other animals being sick, or huge dogs, or lots of barking.. that is stressful for me also! the poor cat that doesn't know what's going on....aw :(

Thanks for your ideas :) !! my cats have been so loving lately, sometimes BOTH hug me at the same time, and line up their toys on my entrance or my bed. I only want the best for them and want them to be healthy and clean moving to their new house :)

Thanks Freedom, hopefully none of it will be needed...!!

Very cute kitty!

One of my cats would also get upset going to the vet (sweaty paw prints and tons of fur shedded on the table). But most vet visits are fairly short so I would not medicate her. She yowled all the way to the vet and stayed in her cat carrier. Once the exam was over the carrier door was open so she could just hop back in.

It's hard to see our furry critters in distress but I'm not sure if medicating her in advance is a great idea. I also had to be sneaky about getting my cat into the carrier. If she saw it she knew it meant a car ride and she would find a nice place to hide!

If you can afford house calls that works. The only time I have ever done house calls was when my elderly dogs needed to be put to sleep. I always felt it was worth the extra money for them to die in their own home on their own bed. But I could never afford house calls for other things.

Something that I learned and observed over the years while I was working for my old vet is that our pets are very in tune to our emotions. If you are stressed out and nervous at the vet's, your cat will pick up on that. If your cat is already nervous, it just compounds the situation for her.

When I moved house, I used a feliway phermone spray in the car and cat carrier. I think it helped a little.

I forgot about the Feliway! We sometimes used that for cats who were boarding and stressed. It does often help. :)