Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi---
    
    I had the same thing happen with my Billie (including my Mom and
    Dad wanting her to "visit"!), and I'll tell you what I did.  For
    us, going to the vet is no problem because it's only 5 min. away
    from my house, and you can put up with most anything for 5 min...
    For the long trips, get some ACE from your vet.  The whole name
    is, I think, ACE-Promazone, which is a sedative.  No, I'll agree
    it's not the best thing to do to our pets, but it does help.
    
    For Billie's age and weight, I give her 1/2 pill about 15 min. before
    I plan to leave.  PLEASE NOTE:  It is important that you do NOT
    feed the cat for at least 8 hours before you plan to administer
    the ACE!!  Otherwise it makes them ill.  Even though Billie actually
    likes her carrier, and will sleep in it, she always got nervous
    and yowl-y on long trips.  Another thing I do is to prop a rolled
    magazine under the carrier when its on the front seat, so that the
    carrier is level.
    
    The ACE doesn't knock them out completely--unless you give them
    1 & 1/2 or two--I'd advise checking with the vet on proper dosage.
    The whole point is to calm them down, and hopefully sleep.
    
    See your vet--this method works for me and most importantly, for
    Billie.  Once you get to where you're going, expect your cat to
    be groggy, and wobbly in the legs.  Put down food and water about
    2 hours after you let the cat out of the carrier.  Usually they
    won't want food right away, but if they do, eating too soon can
    make them vomit.
    
    Best of luck to you and Ninny!
    
    Jane

    My late cat Snoopy always "sang" the entire time he was in the car
    in his "taxi".  He hated it!  So, one day, we started put a tape
    in the player and started singing.  He shut up and listened!  Every
    time after that whenever we had to take him somewhere, we would
    either turn on the radio (he also liked classical music) or put
    a tape (preferably John Denver) in the player.  Hardly a peep out
    of him until we turned off the radio!
    
    Try it.  It's safer than a sedative.
    
    Ande, Serena and Sherlock

    Thanks, maybe I'll give the music a try.  We've already noticed
    she seems to have a preference for Gershwin ;-)
    
    The crying doesn't bother me so much as the thought that she might
    get so riled up that she'll hurt herself.  I can understand her
    reluctance, I doubt much I'd like it in there either!!
    
    However, if the music doesn't work I'd rather a sedative than bloody
    little claws or holes in my front seat!
    
    Ninny's mom

    I just took both kitties to the vet this morning in their (cheap
    waterproofed cardboard) cat carriers, well padded with newspapers
    and a couple of old towels, since it is very cold out today and
    they don't go out very often, especially in cold weather, and so
    are not used to the temperature.  They both hate the carriers, and
    scrunch down as small as they can get once I manage to insert kitty
    into carrier (Nebula, especially, has learned that she won't fit
    inside if she splays her legs out sideways when I am putting her
    in there!).  They keep up a running dialog on the unfairness of
    life and nasty humans who sneak up on sleepy kitties and haul them
    off for their shots, but they do seem to be quieter when I play the
    radio (they are classical lovers) and talk to them.  It sure does
    save wear and tear on the car.  Nebula decided to deliver a "present"
    in her box after the vet visit - she often does that, sometimes
    right on the vet's counter, as soon as her stool sample is taken,
    which she hates.   That's why I got the boxes!

    My sister's cat, Samantha gets in and out of her carrier quite
    frequently.  We think she knows that most of the time when my sister
    puts her in there, she goes and sees her best friend, Tabbatha (my
    kitten).  They love each other so much that as soon as we let Samantha
    out of the box at my house, she starts searching the room for Tabbatha
    and once they find each other, they immediately start to play! 
    They look so funny, they look like they just run and hug as soon
    as they see each other.
    
    As for your problem with your cat taxi, the music used to work quite
    well for one of my former cats, buttons.  She would sing quite loudly
    until I turned on the music so that she could hear it (I put on
    the back speakers).  I also would talk to her and assure her that
    she will be all right (although that didn't work quite as well as
    the music).
    
    Good luck!
    
    Holly

    Please be very careful if you decide to try tranquilizers.  I have
    been successful with some of my kitties, but some others had terrible
    opposite reactions!
    
    You might want to try some catnip in the pet taxi or some treats
    when you're home to try to accustom your cat to some positive
    experiences in the carrier.  Otherwise, I don't believe they will
    hurt themselves, just make life miserable with their howling and
    your guilt!  Maybe you can use the pet taxi only for transporting
    between the car and house, and let the cat have run of the car by
    using one of those animal car dividers to restrict the cat to the
    rear of the car out of harm's way?

    I once had an automobile yowler.  Unlike the kittys in the previous
    replys, Missy seemed to shriek lowder when I would turn on the radio.
    Sort of like she was afraid that I might not hear her well enough,
    so she turns up her volume.  As for the tranks, I go along with Doris
    in cautioning you.  My Missy was a real terror the one time I did
    sedate her.  It seemed that the altered state frightened her and
    made her super paranoid about her safety.  Add to that the fright
    of a pet taxi and an automobile and she would just *freak*.  I found
    she traveled very well without the tranks.  I had a job at the time
    that put me on the road about 3/4 of the time, and I always took
    Missy with me.  She was *SO* good at traveling!  I could go to work
    in the morning and leave her in the hotel room and not worry one
    bit about her.  She would even walk on a leash and stay right beside
    me in spite of the fact that we were in a noisy and hectic airport
    terminal.  What a cat!
    
    Marion

    Even just for short trips to the vet I grab a towel that
    I have used and put it in the taxi. Seems the smell of the
    cats pet human helps.
    

    Both Yurii & Lara hated the closed carriers -
    they yowled all the way to anywhere - 
    
    Solution:  I started using wire cages in the car rather than the
               closed crates.  They could see where they were going
               and they could see me and I could touch them.  Made
               an amazing difference.  
               Music also helped - Yurii liked John Denver and the
                                   Kingston Trio - (don't judge a
                                   person for their taste in music)!!
               I started with a guinea pig crate - not expensive, and
               bought a cage from Hadleigh House - Yurii is white -
               he would rub his head on the wire and turn his fur
               black - a little bit of a problem to clean him up
               before his first ring especially if I was running
               late to the show to start with!  I have used the
               open crate with many of my 12 - they all like it
               very much - I do have one guy that does require
               sedation - he hates to go anywhere and is very timid.
               Alex spends most of his time hiding from nothing and
               only shows up when I am home alone. One out of 12 isn't
               too bad.  It's funny because everyone said that cats
               don't like to see where they are going, but I found
               that not to be true - they love to look out of the
               truck windows and see the trees and cars go by.  I
               have two open crate - I pile one on the other when
               we are off to a show - the kids on the top like to
               look at the people in the next car when we stop for
               a light - kids usually wave to them - it's fun for
               them and now it's more fun for me to travel with them.
    
    Good luck - hope this helps!
    
    E.E.

    re: .10 and kitties watching where they are going...
    
    Elaine, Frosty Man says you are *absolutely, positively correct*
    about cats enjoying the view.  He flew up from Amarillo TX via
    Dallas to Boston for the holidays.  Well, okay, he actually flew
    up to join his new family (us), but it was just in time for
    the holidays!  Fortunately, all seemed to go well, and he was
    in fine spirits.
    
    I had heard that male cats often make especially nice pets, and
    if he is any indication, then it is true!  He has been a real
    sweetheart after about 5 minutes of adjusting.
    
    But the cutest thing was the way his previous owner had shipped
    him:  he was in a Vari-Kennel with a zippered blanket cover around
    the carrier.  But in the very front, where the wire mesh door is,
    she had sewn in a piece of thick plastic, about 4 inches tall by
    6 inches wide so he could look out!
    
    And look out he did:  When the airline attendant handed the carrier
    to me, there were these two big eyes and furry face staring out
    at me!  He never budged from his little window!
    
    	Penelope

    Aja, a miserable beast who in four years has *never* junped up on
    my lap, absolutely insists on sitting on my shoulder in the car
    and screaming in my ear.
    
    Once, while on the way to the vets, I rolled the window down an
    inch or so to allow cigarette smoke to escape from the car. (See
    personal_name above!!!) Anyhow, while sitting on my shoulder she
    stuck as much of her head as possible out the window and started
    screaming at the passers-by!! I could all but hear the people
    saying "Look at that terrible man!!! He rolled his cat's head up
    in the window!!! Just listen to the poor thing yell!!!"
        
    Edd

    Lightning has alway been an angel when it comes to getting into
    her cat carrier (except for the splay back legs). She never cries
    or makes a fuss.  In fact, at home she loves to use it as a `cave'.
    
    Deja on the other hand is a real BRAT.  She is determined to get
    out of it and will cry with her loudest voice (half-Siamese) until
    I go crazy.  Turning on the radio doesn't help, she just drowns
    it out.  At home she also loves to play in it with Lightning.
    BRAT, BRAT, BRAT (but I love her).
    
    Sandi
    

    Honey can often be found snoozing in his Kennel Kab, but close the
    door and take him to the vet....geeezzzeee, you'd think I was murdering
    him!  While he likes Bach, no amount of music calms him in the car;
    he just screams the entire way to the vets.  Oddly enough, he's
    very quiet on the way home.  I take safety one step further, though.
    I take the safety belts and thread them thru the handle on top of
    the Kab and buckle him in (I tried getting him to sit still in the
    baby seat, but he wouldn't do it...).
    
    Re: .12...Last summer, I had Honey in the car going off to the vets.
    Since it was nice out, the windows were rolled down.  Someone pulled
    up beside me and gave me the dirtiest look.  All you could hear,
    above all the radio and traffic noise, was Honey screaming at the
    top of his lungs.  We're so cruel...
    
    Also, re: .12...congrats on giving up smoking.  Maybe Aja doesn't
    like the smell of cigarette smoke; Honey crunches up his face and
    backs away from anyone who smokes.  He's such a snob....
    
    Mary

    
    >Also, re: .12...congrats on giving up smoking.  Maybe Aja doesn't
    >like the smell of cigarette smoke; Honey crunches up his face and
    >backs away from anyone who smokes.  He's such a snob....
    
    Maybe Honey is trying to trying to them them that SMOKING STINKS!!!
    
    Deb