International Bad Cat Day -- cat carrier edition

[pameladean]

When we adopted Saffron, the people who had been fostering her brought her over to our house so she'd know that they thought we were okay. They were telling us about some of her quirks, and I asked if they had any tricks for getting her into the cat carrier. After a blank pause, one of the fosters said, "She usually just goes in." I assumed that this meant that if you picked the cat up and headed her into the carrier, she would feel that her dignity required going in meekly rather than struggling.

The first time we took her to the vet, I got out the carrier and put a fresh discarded T-shirt into it, and Raphael dusted it a bit. Cassie hid as soon as she heard the door squeak; Saffron came sauntering along to see what was up, and walked right into the carrier and lay down. It was much too early to go to the vet, and she eventually got out again, but when it was time to corral her, she was back in the carrier and all I had to do was to shut the door. Every time we've taken her to the vet, she's just gotten into the carrier on her own. She doesn't like the vet and is an uncooperative patient, but the carrier is awesome.

Today Cassie was due for shots, so Raphael got out her carrier and dusted it and put a nice thick sweater in the bottom. Cass tends to hide at first, but eventually get over herself -- after all, the carrier might be for Saffron. I had just gotten home from looking after Toliman when Raphael arrived in a rush from a trip to the post office, checked the time, and in a few minutes scooped up Cassie and took her to the carrier. Saffron appeared from nowhere and walked into the carrier just ahead of Raphael's attempt to put Cassie in. I ran out of my office and tried to dump her out, but she wouldn't go, instead retreating to the back of the carrier. I tried to pull her out on the sweater, but she removed herself from it. Cassie does not like to be picked up or held, does not like the carrier, and does not like the vet, so she was struggling a lot. I finally got Saffron to come out, probably because she didn't like the fuss in her place of rest; and she ran off with a kind of flounce of her shoulders, only to return ten seconds later, talking furiously and demanding treats, which we had decided to postpone til Cass was back from the vet.

She forgave us for being weird, but she certainly had no idea that she was doing anything untoward.

Once we had Cassie where she belonged, we started to laugh, and I suggested that Raphael could either have taken both cats to the vet, or taken Saffron "because this is the one I could catch."

Pamela

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Saffron didn't think she was being a bad cat.

[pameladean]

And of course she wasn't, just very inconvenient. I did give her treats after Raphael took Cassie away, which seems to have taken care of any indignation she may have felt.

P.

[aynatonal.livejournal.com]

Ha! Cute story, good punchline. I lol'd.

[pameladean]

Oh, good. I felt I'd given away the punch line in the first paragraph, but then I remembered the other one. Writing non-fiction is strange.

P.

[vass]

What a nice quirk for her to have.

Back when Beatrice and I lived with a flatmate and her cat Jerry, when Jerry needed to go to the vet, Beatrice climbed on top of the carrier and made a determined but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to unlatch it and free him.

[pameladean]

Now that's friendship! Go Beatrice!

Saffron has many lovely quirks. But it is certainly nice not to have to trick or wrestle her into the carrier.

P.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Of course the wrong cat got into the carrier. Of course!

[pameladean]

Yes! Because cats!

P.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Our cats were always happy to go into the carrier too. In fact, if one of our cats went into the carrier the other one wanted to be there too, and on a memorable occasion depicted in this userpic, we had a friend's cat visiting and by god they were ALL getting in that carrier! They stayed there for quite a while, too. If we fits, we sits. :)

There's a certain appeal to "I brought the one I could catch," isn't there? Pity it doesn't work that way. :) :) :)

[pameladean]

That's hilarious! They do look very pleased with themselves.

Yes, sadly, Saffron's getting her shots months early would not translate into Cassie's getting hers on time.

P.

[redbird]

This is delightful.

[pameladean]

She's fine funny cat.

P.

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

Awww! :) My Lydia is like that - though maybe a bit less resistant to being taken back out :) She associates the carrier with the trips we'd take to the library parking lot, where she was let free in the car while people looked at our for-sale house. She loves hanging out in the parked car, and is due for a session if it ever gets warmer!

[pameladean]

What a sensible cat. I can see that being able to explore the car would be very pleasing indeed to a curious creature.

P.

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

She's a smart girl, my Lydia! :)

(it's hard to tell, but in this user pic, she's in the back window of my car, watching a spider!)

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of a cat that likes the carrier! Saffron is unique. And I love "this is the one I could catch".

[pameladean]

She's the only cat I've ever had who would just go into the carrier, but there is a bit of testimony in the comments about others.

P.

[tanac.livejournal.com]

My orangie loves the carrier also. He will happily hang out in it all day.

[pameladean]

My old orange guy did take to hanging out in his carrier when he wasn't well. I put my hand in once to see if he was okay and could feel how much warmer it was inside there, so that might be part of the appeal. That and the enclosed feeling, which so many cats love.

P.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

When helping move the big ol' orange guy to Arizona, he'd escape the carrier soonest and find a nice dark corner for the night. We had to make sure he couldn't get under the bed first; once we left a dresser drawer open enough. One morning we couldn't find him anywhere, but it turned out that the room was actually less satisfactory than the carrier. Fortunately, that was the last hotel room of the trip.

I agree that taking both your cats to the vet would have been a fine option, at least once.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

OTOH, at the vet, we disassemble the carrier to remove the home cat. Later, she happily jumps into the carrier, as she knows it's how she'll get HOME. Clever, that one.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I honestly thought the story might end with your taking Saffron to the vet instead of Cassie. Maybe in the future you can get a monster-sized carrier and Saffron can go along for the ride. Imagine being not just neutral, but positively fond of the carrier like that!

Edit: reading the comments and what do you know! Other cats like their carriers too! How convenient for their humans!

[pameladean]

Sadly, Saffron didn't need to go to the vet, whereas Cass was due for some shots. Well, I guess they could have clipped Saffron's claws as long as she was there, but Cassie would still have to have gone at some point.

They both more or less fit in the carrier they were in, at least for a short trip, but while Saffron likes Cassie, she can sometimes get fussy about her space.

I wonder if you can train a cat to like the carrier or they just have to decide they do.

P.