How to Get a Wild Cat Into a Carrier

When I say wild cat, I'm not talking about a tiger or a cougar, I'm talking about a nice little housecat with multiple personalities. Years ago, I had a kitten delivered from a NC farm to my apartment. She was a runt, she was a spitfire, and she was intent on running my life. The ticket from the farm was one-way and so we learned to cohabitate despite her best efforts.

Rayna can be sweet, docile and even submissive at times. If you happen to miss the flick of her tail just so, or the spark in her eye that signifies she's switching to her alternate personality, then you are in for a beating of great proportions. If you do happen to notice that flick or that spark, then you have about 3 seconds before the purring and rubbing gives way to thrashing and growling.

To get Rayna into a cat carrier is a great and dangerous feat. Many methods have been tried, and very few have been true. The worst experiments have ended with me trapped in the kitchen, my arms bleeding and stinging, and Rayna pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen doorway, refusing my escape. She is nowhere near her carrier. Less disastrous experiments have entailed my throwing Q-tips (one of Rayna's favorite treats) into the carrier to get her to chase them, which she did not. In the morning, all the Q-tips had been retrieved from the carrier and chewed up and strewn about the house. This proved to me that she was aware that the "danger" was in the carrier with the human, and that the carrier was okay without the human component.

Here is the best way to try to get a wild kitty to go in the cat carrier:
Tools needed:
Long pot-holder mittens
2 thick bath towels
first aid kit
bowl of warm soapy water (or a sink if available)
cat carrier
cosmic catnip
cat's favorite treats

Most of these tools will not be necessary if Plan A proceeds as intended. If not, the additional tools will facilitate a Plan B or C if needed. It should be obvious that several of the tools are for the protection of humans involved, or for the medical treatment of that human when/if the need arises.

Try to remember that cats in this situation are scared and no matter how skilled their posturing may be, they just want to get away, and are not going to kill you. Unless they hit a major artery.

***Plan A***
Bring the carrier from storage into a corner of the central living space quietly and without the cat noticing. Leave it there. Pay no attention to it until the cat notices it. You can wake the cat up and bring it into the room with treats, but sit in your usual space and do not look at the carrier.

When the cat notices the carrier, he/she will most likely smell and rub the corners and the sides. If the door is not ajar, then calmly approach and prop the door open. If the cat gets scared as you approach, do not touch it and go back to ignoring it. When the cat has left it alone again, go and prop the door open, using a towel or piece of paper that is easy to remove later.

The cat will most likely go in to check out the carrier when you open it. She/he will be cautious, but you must resist the desire to squish the cat in because the tail will get caught and the scene that will ensue will be ugly. Instead, wait patiently. Once the cat has entered, he/she will probably turn around, which will pull the tail into the carrier, and you can simply shut the door and secure it.

Plan A takes planning ahead, patience, and manipulation on your part, to make sure the cat does not link you to the carrier when it arrives, to make sure there's no event surrounding the entry of the carrier, and that you do not show that you care one way or the other that the cat enters the carrier.

***Use the soapy water for cleaning scratch or bite wounds if a sink is not nearby. Do not throw soapy water on your cat or you will be paying the price in more ways than one for years to come...

Good luck!