Greenbriar Animal Hospital

For their safety, cats should always travel in a carrier. Even very experienced veterinary professionals cannot hold onto a cat that wants to run! Cats get stressed, excited, and/or upset when taken away from home. If not in a carrier, they can get lost/injured (if they run), cause injury to their owners (if trying to get away), or cause an accident (if loose in a car and they distract the driver or get under the gas/brake pedal).

Major tips for your cat(s) carrier:

Carriers should have a sturdy construction. The best ones have a large opening in one end (and perhaps a second opening at the top), lots of visibility, and are big enough so your cat can sit up, lie down, and, if used for car or plane trips of more than an hour, stretch out.

Have a carrier for each cat. Don’t try to put more than one adult cat in one carrier (you can usually put 2 or 3 kittens into one carrier). But it is hard to keep one from popping out as you try to add the next one!

Cats will baulk at going into a carrier that smells (and they have great noses). If the carrier was last used for other animals, scrub the carrier thoroughly with hot soapy water and a brush, and rinse with hot water, then let it air dry (in the sun if possible). Ditto if there’s been urine, stool, or vomit in the carrier!

Put a folded up towel, bed, or small piece of blanket in the carrier. If possible, it helps to have something that smells like the cat – perhaps the covering or bed from his/her favorite sleeping spot.

Some cats will run at sight of the carrier. Have one person grab the carrier and another person get the cat, and meet in a designated spot. If you are by yourself, get the carrier ready and then go get the cat and bring it to the carrier, or see additional tips below.

Most cats will be better about going into the carrier if it is always out and open, and the cat can go in and out at will. Put a nice comfy bed in it; you might even remove the door (in some carrier types, this is very easy to do).

Miscellaneous helpful things to know about getting your cat into a safe carrier:

If your cat does not like the carrier, try these tips. Don’t try to entice with food or catnip. For solid carriers, tip the carrier on end so the side door is up, and lower the cat inside, back feet first. It helps to hold both back feet in one hand. Don’t do this if you think your cat may bite or scratch you! This streamlines the cat and they will go in easier. Or, put your cat in a sturdy pillowcase first. Then lower pillowcase and cat into the (tipped up) solid carrier, or into the (wide open) soft carrier. Leave the pillowcase with the cat. If you have another person to help, take the top off a solid carrier, pop the cat inside, then re-assemble the carrier around the cat. The difficult part for most cats is going into the carrier’s door, and this gets around the door issue! If this works well for your cat, look for a carrier that assembles easily.

In a pinch, or if you cannot find your carrier, use 2 sturdy pillowcases (one inside the other), put your cat inside the pillowcases, and bring him/her in like that. Make sure you close the pillowcase opening with a rubber band or sturdy piece of string. Your cat will be able to breathe right through the fabric (claws will come right through, too, so be careful when carrying). Your cat will be safer than if loose (in the car and also when being carried outside). Some cats can claw through a single pillowcase.

A few cats will tolerate a collar/harness and leash. Using this rather than a carrier is better than carrying a loose cat, but most cats will break out of a collar or harness if upset enough. And it provides no in-vehicle safety as the cat will not be protected in case of an accident (he/she could go flying into the windshield, be crushed by an air bag, get thrown from the car, etc.). And, without the carrier, your cat could still cause an accident by distracting the driver or getting in the driver’s way. Cat carriers should always go in the back seat or in the back of the car (front seat air bags will injure or kill something as small as a cat, even in a sturdy carrier).