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.