The Cat Thread

Cats and owls are the same thing.

The top photo, in my mind, has the end by the doors...

Just trying to do my business and then this starts happening. https://youtu.be/Ahlcwh1pbh4

You always video yourself doing your bsnss?

So my cat (the mother) is very distressed at the minute. I took them both in to the vet yesterday for a vaccination, and since then she has developed a limp, stopped eating and does not like being petted or touched. She's also stopped using the litter tray.

I had a really hard time getting her in to the carrier box. I ended up having throw a towel over her and bundling her up tightly before putting her in.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? Could it be a reaction to the vaccination? Or my manhandling has upset her? Kitten is business as usual, running around with no issues.

I’d take her back in for an exam, sounds like she’s in pain and cats forget about manhandling fairly quickly in my experience.

Get on the blower to the vet.

How am I supposed to get her to the vet without repeating the same disaster as last time!? I can't even lure her with food, she wont eat.

Call the vet first definitely but in physical term: Grab by scruff, wrap in towel, put in carrier. It’s not very nice but better than alternative.

Her health is more important than her hurt feelings over being handled. Wrapping her in a towel and shoving her in the carrier is absolutely fine, do whatever you need to.

My old cat was so afraid of being approached that he'd lose control of his bladder and his bowels as soon as he saw me coming. Still had to catch him and get him in the carrier.

One thing I did do with him was use a home visit vet wherever possible. I used this company for that: https://www.pawsquad.com/ - much less stressful than wrestling a cat into a carrier. But bear in mind that if the cat needs blood tests or x-rays or surgery or anything like that, you'll need to go to a clinic anyway, so the home visits are best for consultations that you're sure can be handled at home. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I just pinned her to the ground and then put the towel over her and wrapped it tight. I think I may have hurt her the first time when I didn't use a towel and just tried to push her in. She obviously just clawed the sides of the carrier and used all her might to stop me pushing her all the way, so I may have hurt her then. She never made a sound though.

I've never tried lifting her by the scuff, does it stop them from wriggling around / claws of death?

Gave a vet a call and she reckoned to give it a few days to see if she improves and if not to bring her in. She can put weight on the leg though so I'm hoping its just a sprain or something.

Arrgghh. My first experience of being responsible for another create and I've screwed up within days.

Cats are physically pretty robust and it's unlikely you'll have hurt her by pushing her into the carrier without knowing about it; she would have yelped or hissed etc.

More than likely that she's misjudged a jump exploring her new home or something.

If she's not eating and struggling with movement, though, I'd get her to the vets ASAP. Cats can mask issues and deteriorate quickly if it's something serious. I'm sure it's nothing but it's always better to be safe than sorry...

Cats are funny with the scruff, they go kind of limp and (mostly) give up struggling. I would be reluctant to actually lift a big adult cat off the ground without supporting the back legs but it’s fine for kittens/smaller cats.

Hold her by the scruff only, never lift her by it. Holding won't hurt her, but lifting will, and it can injure her.

(ETA): fwiw i don't scruff adult cats as I've never found it necessary and it can scare them. If you can catch her without doing it, you should - it's a bit of a grabby manoeuvre.

I agree with Soul - you should get her seen to now. Cats can't store reserves like we can, and if they stop eating they can very rapidly develop hepatic lipidosis which is a legit medical emergency.

You've not screwed up! You're doing the right things. Next time when you wrap her in the towel, try to get her into a purrito configuration, which should stop her scrabbling at the sides of the carrier as you're putting her in ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QanBYpoh-0

You can do this!

Purrito

:D

Jesus they make they look so easy, I wish I watched that video the first time.

The first time I tried to wrap my frightened old stray in a towel, he hid from me behind a curtain and expelled everything that was in his bladder and his bowels there, and when I got the towel sort of around him, he sunk his claws into the curtain.

So I had this writhing ball of needles in my arms, half-wrapped in a towel and tangled in a floor length curtain, smeared with shit and piss, and a hire car driver beeping his horn outside. I thought I was going to have to tear the fucking curtain off the wall to get the cat in the carrier.

I did eventually, with practice, figure out a relatively painless method for catching him, but JFC.

Wow, that sounds utterly horrendous. My much much milder version of the same process just involved the kitten which I had put in a separate carrier first yelling in distress and clawing the carrier grill trying to get out. Made my very soft heart sink.

I also lamented our choice of size for our new bed. A cat sat at the center point of the underside of a super king cannot be reached by normal length limbs. Had to poke her out with a broom.

I'm so glad I had no pee/poo/curtain blend to contend with.

Can also help to put the carrier on the floor with the hatch facing up, then lower the car into it backward so said mog can't see what's happening.

Rather than post them in sideways, face first, if you see what I mean.

Wow, that sounds utterly horrendous. My much much milder version of the same process just involved the kitten which I had put in a separate carrier first yelling in distress and clawing the carrier grill trying to get out. Made my very soft heart sink.

Haha, bless! They'll be ok, I promise. The first few times are always the worst.

Longer-term, it might help to leave the carrier out all the time, so they can use it as a den. You might need to lure them in with treats at first, and you can gradually work up to shutting the door while they're inside, briefly. Just get them used to the idea of the carrier being a safe place instead of a tiny death box where scary things happen. Feliway make a spray that you can squirt in the carrier to help calm them down, too (give it 10 mins for the alcohol to evaporate before putting them in): https://www.feliway.com/uk/Products/feliway-classic-spray

Had to poke her out with a broom

Vacuum cleaner ftw. My neighbour's cats used to sneak into my house and hide under the bed - terrified me as I was often away for weeks at a time and didn't want to come back to a mummified cat. The knowledge that, if they hid there, the big roaring monster was coming after them (with a hoover), made a big difference.

We leave our cat carrier out few days before we take them to the vets which seems to work for us. Not ideal if you need it for an emergency granted.

So I had this writhing ball of needles in my arms, half-wrapped in a towel and tangled in a floor length curtain, smeared with shit and piss, and a hire car driver beeping his horn outside. I thought I was going to have to tear the fucking curtain off the wall to get the cat in the carrier

sorry I know it's not funny but this had me wiping tears from my eyes

@Hovis - any news?