| | I have a cat - a black/brown tabby - that's lived with me for about 15 years. Since I'll be leaving home in the near future, we had to make a decision about what to do with him. Taking him with me isn't practical. Getting rid of him is out of question. So after much begging and eye-lash batting, we reached a mutual consensus of sending him to mom's place.
Mom lives in Cambridge, MA which is an 8 hour cross border drive from where I'm at. It isn't a simple move by any means, but the long-drive isn't even the biggest of our problems. In order to cross the border, the cat needs paper to prove his disease free status. And that means a trip to the vet.
In the 15 years of that I've had him, he's been to the vet at most twice because it takes SUCH an effort to catch and transport him anywhere. He's very suspicious of (1) people (2) boxes or cages, and (3) people trapping him in small boxes or cages. My past calculated efforts has yielded a low success ratio and a very frustrated owner. After each attempt, I always mentally make a note to not to attempt this ever again.
However, like many uncomfortable aspects of life, such things are not to be avoided. In order to ship his sorry furry ass to the states, he needs his papers. So trap him I must.
In preparation I had his favorite treats ready, a green bean and some potted grass. I avoided feeding him all morning, so that I'll be able to get his attention with the said treated. My first attempt was with the grass: the planter goes into the carrier. Cat enters carriers to get grass. Door shuts and cat is trapped. Except it didn't quite work out as I planned since his hindquarters remained out of the cage, and when I tried to shove him in there, he quickly snapped out.
Second attempt: catch his eyes with the beans, swish the beans from side to side to gain his attention. Shot the bean into the carrier, and as the cat pounces after it, quickly shut the door. This time the hindlegs went in, too; however, the door shuts on his tail that was still hanging out. He doesn't complain about it much as he quickly realized that this is a trap(!!), and struggles to turn him self around so to make a break for it. But unfortunately it is too late. I have already latched the door shut.
The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. In side the security and luxury of his carrier, he howled and scratched like mad, but once he's in the vet's he settled down due to all the powerful all emcompassing fear of strangers - which basically paralyzed him. After it was over, I brought him home, and surprisingly he was a lot calmer than I expected (maybe the Rabies shot has this side-effect? I don't know). The whole thing turned out to be stressful and but nonetheless repeatable.
I hope that maybe, just maybe, mom's life with the cat will be easier than mine.
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| | Posted 6/20/2009 10:12 AM - 11 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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