What is the easiest way to get a cat into a cat carrier for a vet visit?

I have a hard time getting my cat into the carrier for trips. Any advice?|||If your kitty likes treats, train the cat to go into the carrier on its own. I used to live miles out of town. Because we lived so far from help if there was a fire, I trained my cats by shaking the treat box and tossing a few pieces into the carriers. We practiced fire drills more or less regularly and we could get the whole crew out in less than a minute and a half. The bonus was and is that anytime I need to load a cat in a carrier, I generally have more volunteers than I want. Before I learned that little trick, I found the easiest way to load an uncooperative cat was to put it in tail first. Even then, I would give them a treat for going into the carrier. Good luck |||put a towel in there with catnip on it|||Set it up on end and put the cat in head first. Hold his legs in close to his body and firmly push him in. Don't be a sissy and let him wiggle out. Be firm and in he goes. Once he's in, quickly close and lock the door and sit it down in place. Good luck. You might also want to try putting some cat nip in there.|||Wrap your cat in a towel and put your cat in head first with the carrier tipped on it's side. If it is one with the metal caging lid on top, then just wrapping the cat in a towel should do!|||Put a blanket and some toys in there or just pick him up and put him in it.|||Antigone's answer is good but fine tune it a little by wrapping a large towel around the cat to contain legs %26amp; tail ,further reducing chance of injury to you %26amp; kitty|||antigone is right on the money there. No need for a towel really unless your cat goes insane and scratches you. What's worked for me is I used to leave the cat carrier in the house a lot so they got used to it. Now when I bring it out, my cats curiously wander inside. Sometimes they just sit in there, waiting to go somewhere and its not a big deal at all. Leaving it out doesn't ONLY associate it with going to the vet, but they see it as an every day object. not "uh oh, its vet time..."|||Is it a kitten under a year old? Or a cat over a year old? If it is a kitten take out a dry wash cloth and put some tissues on it. Fold it. This is to make it extra cozy. Put a small clock that ticks inside in the corner. Take her or his favorite toy in the carrier. Gently pick her up and put her in. close it and go on your way to the vet. She or he may meow put just talk to her or give her a treat. For an older cat put a dry washcloth in with tissues folded in. My cat does not like catnip but if yours does put it in the carrier. Put a few treats in their and her or his favorite toy in. The cat may also meow put say that its okay.|||Shut your cat in another room before taking the carrier out of its storage space to avoid too much pre-anxiety. If your cat already "hates" the carrier due to prior bad associations...e.g. vet, etc., you will have to do as has been suggested and gently wrap him/her in a towel and lower into the carrier, being sure not to pinch any parts when you close the door.


Cats are, as we all know, very environment-oriented and once they know "the carrier", do tend to hate it, especially if they associate it with unpleasant trips to the vet. There's not much you can do except help your kitty get through it as quickly as possible. |||As the owner of an angry cat, I say quickly!





I don't bring the cat cage down before I put her in it (or she would suspect). I get my husband to open it up and put it on a 45-degree angle, while I grab her by the back of the neck and ease her in.





Once she's in there, I think we're all a little relieved. Even her.


|||Put the carrier on end with the open end facing up. Pick the cat up like a baby with a stinky diaper, and put him in tail end first.


Have the cat's legs towards the roof of the carrier as you put him in (because most carriers have ventilation slots on the side that he could use to climb up, and may also have padding in the bottom that he could sink his claws into).


Most importantly, put the cat in quickly, and close the carrier door quickly.


It may help to do this in a small room with a closed door and few or no places for a cat to hide. That way, if the cat does get away from you, it'll be easier to recapture him.