Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
So I am looking for help about my one year old male cat. He is an absolute sweetheart at home. He gets along well with my two other cats. He is very gentle while playing. He is okay with strangers visiting the house. He doesn’t get stressed with changing environments and is very friendly. The problem is at the vet he is the complete opposite. He attacks both us and the vet. He also gets so scared of the vet he refuses to leave his carrier. I adopted him and little is known about his past but he appears to have been a house cat because of his friendly nature, because of this I do not know is he had previous trauma in a vet. Last time we took him to the vet was 5 months ago. We barely got him microchipped, and that left scars on both the vet and me. While sedating is an option, many of the vets I’ve visited will not sedate him for simple things like a checkup and I myself do not want him sedated for every checkup as I’ve heard there are health risks for sedating a cat too much. I need advice for calming him down at the vet.
~ Aisha
Thomas: Thanks for bringing this up, Aisha. Fear and aggression are the primary reasons cats see the vet a lot less often than dogs do. But fortunately, there are some things you and the vet can do to help keep your kitty calmer.
Bella: First of all, you’ll need to get your kitty less afraid of the carrier. You can do that by leaving the carrier out for several days and putting treats in it. When you have to go to the vet, use a pheromone spray or pheromone wipes to help kitty feel calmer while he’s actually in the carrier.
Thomas: Another important thing is to go to a veterinary clinic where they know how to handle stressed and fearful cats.
Bella: A cat-only veterinary clinic is a very good choice, if there’s one in your area.
Thomas: We go to a cat-only vet clinic, and it’s been a miracle for me. I used to be terrified of the vet, but now I love going because there are no dog smells to make me stressed and scared.
Bella: Also, all the vets and techs there are passionate about knowing everything there is to know about handling cats and giving them the best possible medical care.
Thomas: And all the veterinarians are so nice! Why did you have to cry and hiss and carry on the last time you were there, Bella?
Bella: I don’t know. I just didn’t want to be there, and I miss Doctor Sarah!
Thomas: You know the other vets are very kind and sweet, too. You should try to be nicer to them.
Bella: But that mean old vet wrenched open my mouth and pulled my tongue around!
Thomas: That was because you were eating funny and Mama wanted to make sure your mouth wasn’t bothering you.
Bella: I still didn’t like it. *pout*
Thomas: Well, if you wouldn’t eat cardboard and chew on straws, you wouldn’t get cuts in your mouth that make Mama worry.
Bella: I’m not eating cardboard. I’m making art! I’m so misunderstood.
Thomas: You silly little kitten. I love you! *purrrr*
Bella: I love you too, Thomas. Can I snuggle with you?
Thomas: Of course you can!
Bella: Anyway … if you can’t find a cat-only veterinarian, you should look for a clinic that’s recognized by the American Association of Feline Practitioners as a Cat-Friendly Practice.
Thomas: AAFP-designated cat-friendly practices have gone through a process that allows them to understand the unique needs of cats and handle even aggressive cats in a gentle, empathetic and caring manner.
Bella: You can even use the AAFP’s site to search for a cat-friendly veterinarian in your area.
Thomas: Another option would be to find a vet that makes house calls.
Bella: Cats will certainly be less stressed about veterinary exams if the exam is done in their own territory.
Thomas: Mama had a house-call vet come to us, and she was very nice.
Bella: Siouxsie said she liked it because she didn’t have to get in the carrier and get her creaky knees all sore.
Thomas: We certainly understand your concern about having your cat sedated for exams! The cool thing is that there are certain restraint techniques that can be used so that aggressive cats do not need to be sedated for examinations, and people who work at cat-only clinics and cat-friendly practices will know about these techniques.
Bella: Don’t feel bad about your inability to get your little fractious fighter to enjoy the vet, but trust us — there are ways you and your vet can help.
Thomas: What about you other readers? Do you have some advice for Aisha on helping her get her cat to chill out at the vet’s office? If you do, please share them in the comments.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Poor kitty – I wonder what traumatised him so…
It is possible to train this out of your cat; it will take a long time though, depending on how bad the reaction is. All you have to do is make them change the association from a negative one to a positive one. You’ll need a whole lot of patience, treats and the cooperation of your animal clinic – and the willingness to see it through.
If you have a chance to do so, and the vet isn’t too far away, go to your vet for no reason at all with your cat. First, make sure they do not hate the carrier, by turning it into a sleeping spot and giving it a permanent spot in your living room – add some treats to really get them interested in checking it out. Once they’re comfortable in the carrier and actually enjoy sleeping it it, take your kitty to the vet just to say ‘hello!’ – provided they’re not stressed out by the car or mode of transportation (otherwise, build it up step-wise as with the cat carrier and the following routine at the vet’s). Keep a towel in the carrier that can absorb their scent, so that it will be something soothing and familiar when they go to the vet. It can make such a huge difference.
Have them feed him some treats once he gets there – he may refuse the first few times, due to the fact that cats who are stressed do not eat. In fact, once they eat, you’re pretty much golden. The idea is to get a positive association going. Build up the amount of time you spend there, and see if you can go when they’re not too busy, like in the early afternoon, so they can actually help you out and make it a pleasant petting experience. Slowly build it up from just being there and getting treats, to opening the carrier, to being touched, petted, and eventually examined – all within the carrier! There are carriers that facilitate the cat staying in the carrier by opening from the top, and most vets will be just fine with doing the examination that way.
See if you can start in the waiting room with this stuff, and eventually move to a patient room that isn’t being occupied – play the part of the doctor by pretending to examine him, as you’re more likely to be trusted to do so at first. Then have one of the receptionists or the vet do it quickly, if they’re willing to accommodate you. Similarly, if it is important to you to have them out of the crate ( and for some medical issues, it is necessary), start in the waiting room (preferably empty of dogs) – most vets have a weighing scale there. Use that thing to put your cat on and feed them some treats, or use the countertop of the receptionists desk, to get them to be comfortable leaving the crate.
In all of this, the important part is to keep an eye on the cat. If it signals that it is not ready for this step, back up a few. Don’t worry about how fast it goes, how much progress you made, focus on your cat. How are THEY feeling in all this? They’ll let you know when they’re comfortable (tail up and purring, wanting to be pet, not cringed down and awkward, with their tail firmly locked against their body) and ready for the next step. Easy and steady wins the race.
Or, have a vet come to the house. Just keep an eye out for any triggers during the examination so you can identify what it is that sets of the aggression during examination (if it’s not the actual clinic location).
These are wonderful tips :) So many cats are fractious at the vet’s office, so Aisha shouldn’t feel like her cat is the only one.
Really great advice. We don’t have any cats at home (yet), but we see many cats when we visit our vet and many of them appear to be afraid or stressed out. Definitely bookmarking this advice for future use. Thanks!
These are indeed great tips. I would be very interested to know what trauma this cat went through as a kitten.Sometimes you one has to observe the cat and try to fit the pieces together as a jigsaw puzzle. I am not a doctor,however I have worked with cats and kittens well over 20 years rescuing and adopting out.
I typically don’t like to make suggestions unless I have met the cat or been around the cat however your situation souds so surreal to a cat I rescued many years ago.
It sounds as if in the beginning the cat had NO reason to trust anyone. Until she found her forever family with you. I feel sure she assesed the energy and felt no harm with you. You and your home are her safe haven.
Whew…going crazy at the vet. These folkes listed some really good advice. Some I think I will even try. I might add a few more if you don’t mind. I found with my cat that in kind at home and reverts to feral on trips. I bought a kennel that opens from the top so kitty can be lifted out. Also just by chance we learned on one trip, when mommy stepped out of the room, it confused kitty a little bit and she did MUCH better without me in the room or close enought to even smell me.
I wish you the best with all your trips.Sometimes its a process and you just have to find that right niche that works.
I love all these solutions, but would add one more: Once your cat gets used to the carrier, take him on drives in it also. My cat is pretty good in hers, but starts howling when the car gets going. She’s calmed down some after traveling without going to the vet!
Great tips and advice for kitties! My cats hated vet time. They did not have cat only vets then, not here anyway. Never got them to think otherwise — they just wanted to stay home where all the smells were known, and food was fed on time =/
Oh gosh, that’s not fun. I’d be dreading the vet right along with the poor kitty. It does sound like there’s something in the memory regarding a vet’s office, but the instinct to fight outside the carrier is somethin I’ve not dealt with personally. (I have a former feral who goes NUTS at home when I need to get him IN the carrier, but once he’s at the vet, he freezes and goes nearly limp from fear. :(
I like the idea of an all cat vet (if not tried already). Then try the at home option. Not sure anything but sedation will help kitty at the current vet.
i saw once (a long time ago) a video of a vet handling a ‘stroppy cat’ and they put a clothes peg on the scruff of the cats neck which calmed it down a bit … apparently, it reminded the cat of when it was a kitten and its mum would carry it around by the scruff of the neck….
i dont know if it works or not…
Really helpful post! Would love to re-post this to my blog, with proper attribution of course :)
I have a cat, who, in his younger days, was notorious for not liking the vet. This is what finally what worked for us: A vet clinic switch (go in and interview the vet with kitty before making a visit for shots, or what have you) and just plain time (my non-vet-liking cat has mellowed with age, thank goodness).
I actually have a very antisocial cat who has to go in for i131 therapy in a couple of weeks and I’m terrified of what that whole experience is going to do to her and our relationship with her. She hates the vet, has to be sedated to even go and is still aggressive. Obviously, sedating her for the entire 4 days she’s at RadioCat is out of the question. Any advice or reassurances, or do we all need to just “be tough” for the greater goal? What do we do when we get her home finally and she hates us (hissing, hiding and swatting…even food strikes have been the norm after a vet visit).