According to King Mango –
King Mango is a “formidable foe”. He is eight pounds of orange domestic shorthair that transforms into a Tasmanian devil without notice or regret. King Mango can turn a seasoned Technician who has always alleged to love the profession into someone acutely wondering if veterinary medicine is really for them in mere seconds. He brings his owner to tears at the thought of bringing him into the veterinarian and all the DVM’s seem to whisper words of gratitude to the powers that be if he shows up on their day off. So according to the King, it is highly disrespectful to even consider asking him to cooperate with any veterinary nonsense.
All that being said, The King still needs to be cared for and to do that the owner needs to get him in the door (we actually offer house calls, which is a whole other blog story). Given the profession wide decrease in feline visits (the King Mango’s are partly to blame) what can we do to assist owners and our feline friends to make the transport as stress free as possible?
Here are some suggestions we have begun to embrace, train, review and promote;
Counsel feline owners in advance of an appointment to try these tricks;
- Give yourself plenty of time in case kitty is not as cooperative as you had hoped.
- Leave the carrier out in the living space days before the appointment, even longer if the owner can tolerate the décor. Top load carriers are ideal.
- Offer the feline treats, catnip or toys in the carrier.
- Do not feed the kitty several hours prior to travel to help avoid car sickness.
- Try spraying a pheromone in the carrier prior to the pet being transported.
- Try placing the piece of clothing from kitty’s favorite person in the carrier.
- Cover the carrier during transport.
- Driving slowly without music or radio can help kitty avoid getting over stimulated.
It is worth reviewing with the owner that upon returning kitty home there can sometimes be a bit of drama with the other felines in the house. So we recommend keeping the recent traveler segregated until they seem calm and also spraying a bit of pheromone on a towel and brushing the towel over all the cats in the household several times in an effort to get the scent of each cat accustomed to one another.
We do have a last resort for clients and essentially it is the “scoop and plop”. Gently but efficiently scoop the precious purr-ball into a pillowcase and then deposit the squirming sack directly into the carrier and leave the rest to us. We do treat this as a last resort as we don’t want anyone harmed in the process.
We also have specific procedures, equipment, handling techniques and when nothing else works, we hold hands and sing Kumbaya in order to make our feline patients as comfortable as possible. I'll gladly posts them if you like.
What have you and your team members discovered as the secret to feline nirvana in your practice?