Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
I’m currently struggling with Beau and his carrier. I’m sure this is a common problem for a lot of pet parents, but Beau is absolutely traumatized by his carrier. He never used to be fussy about it, but a few months back we had an emergency where we had to take Beau to the vet. Since our regular vet didn’t have the facilities to take care of him we went to the Emergency Vet Clinic that was about 30-minutes away from our house. That being the case, my significant other and I took Beau underground in the subway. Beau ended up peeing all over himself due to how loud the subway was. Ever since, it’s been very hard to get Beau in his carrier.
This is extremely scary for me as I live in an apartment and for some reason there are a number of fire scares in my building. Within the first week of us living here there were about 6 fire-evacuation alarms. That being the case, I want to be able to get Beau in his carrier quickly so I can walk him down to safety.
Depicted above is Beau looking all cranky. (I don’t blame him.) He does what any typical cat does. He tries to escape and refuses to eat anything… even treats. Even if Beau is completely in the carrier he pouts and refuses to eat.
Now, due to the fact that Beau refuses to eat in his carrier I can’t try to trick him in with treats. So, I need to come up with another way for him to feel safe inside of it.
Recently I came across cat calming treats as well as water additives. Thing is… I’m not too sure that they are going to work. I understand the science behind it and I understand the fact that the cat will begin to relate the feeling of calmness, but does this ever fail?
I also want to be able to travel with Beau, especially when my significant other and I go on longer trips. This year we went to Ottawa, and it would be nice to be able to take Beau with us the next time we travel. I hate leaving him behind, even though I know my mother will take good care of him.
So on that note. Do any of you have advice? I’m definitely going to try to invest in some calming treats or a water additive. I’m leaning towards the treats rather than the additive. I don’t really want Beau to feel “calm” all the time. I’m sure that would feel weird for him.
Martin says
October 18, 2017 at 7:41 amI think you need to change the carrier. Beau is traumatized from when he peed all over himself and the reason why it happened and when he sees his carrier I’m sure it’s all he thinks about. I think I would also leave him home with your Mom, she is someone he knows and will be relaxed with her and will be in his own space. You can relax knowing he’s being looked after by someone you trust and won’t be traumatized by the journey your taking. Hope you find the right answers for you and Beau.
Johnny Salib says
October 18, 2017 at 11:28 amSince this post was published we have gotten Beau a new carrier, although he hasn’t needed to use it just yet. WE will keep you updated to tell you if it helps him. We’ve also found him a baby sitter who stays over at our house when we’re away and he absolutely loves her!
Martin says
October 18, 2017 at 1:42 pmThat’s great news. I always regretted the time we left our Oliver with someone who he didn’t know too well and could tell when we came back that he was so pleased to see us but kinda upset that we left him in the first place. My partner Alice went back to England the next time on her own as I just could not face leaving him again. We lost him 2 years ago to FIP and he is missed every day.
@catmanblue2014
Johnny Salib says
October 19, 2017 at 12:22 pmI’m sorry to hear about your loss Martin, and I completely understand that. Beau used to have seperation anxiety, so we used to find ways to keep him occupied when we weren’t in the house. (Automatic toys, complex feeders, the television) and it really helped. We also noticed how social he was and how quickly he warmed up to people, so we got our baby sitter to sleep over a couple times and surprise, surprise he ended up sleeping with her those nights because she was a new person he had to protect! Luckily, we haven’t had so much to worry about RE: travel, but I definitely don’t like not being with him longer than a week or two.