The Dreaded Cat Carrier

something that all 4 of our cats have in common is their dislike of being inside a carrier.  the one we use the most fits perfectly under one side of my desk, but for the past several months, it’s been stored underneath the weight bench in the bedroom.  a larger one is in the basement, but doesn’t get used as much because it’s rare that we ever take more than 2 cats anywhere at a time.  anyway, like you might expect, Angelo doesn’t go anywhere near the carrier.  on the other hand, Hopper, Basil, and Hee Seop love to sleep inside it.

when i first got Hopper, i read that in order to train your cats to be placed inside a carrier without any fuss, you should leave it out instead of storing it in a closet and only taking it out a couple of times a year.  once they’ve been confined in a carrier and taken to the scary bad man/lady vet, they never forget the experience and will associate the carrier with that horrible trip.  so when they see you take it out of storage, they’ll disappear and you’ll have to reschedule the appointment because the cats have successfully managed to wedge themselves behind the fridge and nothing–not even tuna–will coax them out.

however, if you leave the carrier out to blend with its surroundings, it becomes less of a threat and just another piece of cat furniture, like the printer, or your head.  they’ll grow accustomed to the sight and will either ignore it or use it.

every once in a while, Basil and Hopper will spend several days in the carrier, only coming out to use the litterbox, to eat, and to let us know when they want to eat.  it isn’t very large–just a medium–yet they manage to squeeze themselves inside of it and lie there all day, 2 peas in a pod.  Hee Seop is larger, and no one cuddles with him except for Basil, and even that’s rare (though hopefully the situation will change).  so lately, Hee Seop has had the carrier to himself.

the weird thing is that after bringing Basil to the vet, or to the old folks’ home we used to visit once a month, as soon as we’d return home, he’d go back into the carrier he’d so avoided getting into before leaving, and stay there the rest of the day.  go figure.  crazy cats.