Abyssinian kitten cries in the car

by Danielle St. Georges
(Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Charlie our cat, is happy pretty much all the time. He loves to be taken on a walk in his pet sling, but the car is another thing. As soon as we get under way, he starts to cry/whine and nothing seems to calm him down.

If we put him in his pet carrier, he literally tries to claw and bite his way out. We have tried to tether him to the back seat head rest giving him enough leash without interfering with the driver hoping he would settle on a cushion or blanket and get over his 'distress' but to no avail... any ideas?
Really appreciate your feedback, I have found your responses very helpful on many other questions posted in your website. Thank-you for this!

Reply
Hi
Yes this is a common problem for some cats and your cats breed in particular would find it a challenge as they are fiercely independent.
One of the best ways to try and help your cat get over their fear and frustration of using a cat carrier is to keep it out all the time so that they get used to seeing it , they get used to its smell and they may even start to get in it now and again to sleep. This way when you do have to take him somewhere he won’t find the carrier such a strange and frightening place.

You’ll find more information about this and other aspects of traveling with a cat on my page here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/travel-cat-training.html

If your cat gets particularly stressed with vet visits you can try some cat calming sprays etc a few hours before you have to go, this can help some cats relax enough not to get so upset at the trip.

Please see this page for more on this here
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/scared-cat.html

best wishes kate

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