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-   -   Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier? (http://www.catbanter.com/showthread.php?t=88470)

Newbie[_2_] May 6th 08 05:22 AM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
[A very sweet stray or runaway cat has adopted us and we, ignorant of
all cat issues, are in panic. That's why I have a few posts each with a
question.]

First, we want to take her to a vet (Chicago area). She seems to have
no problems, just basic check up and shots. (She spends several hours
outdoors each day.)

What kind of pet carrier should I get that would be good for this
purpose as well as longer drives we may have to take later. In
particular, soft or hard? What kind do you use?

cshenk May 6th 08 01:31 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
"Newbie" wrote


[A very sweet stray or runaway cat has adopted us and we, ignorant of
all cat issues, are in panic. That's why I have a few posts each with a
question.]


No problem! But need to know if you are actually in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
since you are crossposting to 3 groups and I do not have the other 2 turned
on (to others, apologies for posting there when you can not replay to me
just there). Newbie, its a sort of usenet ettiquate issue to post in one
group at a time. You havent done 'wrong' but i would be remiss if i didnt
warn others about my status until I determine yours.

First, we want to take her to a vet (Chicago area). She seems to have
no problems, just basic check up and shots. (She spends several hours
outdoors each day.)


Good.

What kind of pet carrier should I get that would be good for this
purpose as well as longer drives we may have to take later. In
particular, soft or hard? What kind do you use?


Although a soft one will work fine to hold a cat, you may find the cat gets
'scared' and pees in the carrier. If you have a soft type, you will have an
issue getting it clean again. A hard carrier will not have this problem.
Easiest hard carriers have an entry gate at the 'front' and at the top both.
Also, put a towel at the bottom so if they do 'pee' because they are scared,
you wont be bringing a wet kitty to the vet and trying to dry the worst off
as she/he gets examined.

On your other questions (since i am adding the other groups in for now and
want to minimize the issue will reply about the here).

On food, wet is better (especially for a male cat) but you will encounter
some hype as well from those who think only wet should be allowed. It's
actually ok to mix and match a little if you use a higher quality dry.
Never 'alley cat' etc as the ash content is *going* to cause medical
problems later in life. Iams or Science diet are well thought of.

How much to feed? Either all wet in which case generally 6-6.5 oz a day in
2 feedings (2 small fancy feast a day for example with near 12 hour spacing
but need not be exact) or dry all the time and an evening or morning 3 oz or
so can. Most cats will eat about 1/4 cup dry a day if fed a 3oz wet can a
day. Most cats i have encountered will self regulate on the dry so you can
put in say a 1/2 cup at a time and just check it to see when you need to add
a little more. If your new cat was feral or left without food for a fair
amount of time, they may overeat a bit at the start due to fear that the
food will 'go away' but they get over that fairly fast if they find it's
always replaced before it runs out.

For litter: go middle of the road for the pan. That one that fits the
normal plastic liners is right for a single cat household. If you have no
dog, clumping litter is fine (and do NOT flush this down a toilet! It will
clog your pipes and septic!). If you have a dog, please try to avoid
clumping litters. It's a little gross but some dogs will try to 'clean the
litter box' for you and that clumping litter will do just that as they try
to digest it. (if you have a dog, that cheapest non-clumping clay is a good
bet and just add a little sprinkle from a box of baking soda then change
every other day). If you have no dog, clumping is nice because much of the
additions will be scoupable out and you only have to fully change out the
pan every 7-10 days or so (depends on the cat and how often you scoup).

Most cats I have had absolutely refused the litter pans that had moving
parts (self cleaning) and types with hoods. None 'preferred' a deep lip pan
as they have to jump in and sometimes land on something wet and ikky grin.
They prefer to be able to step in.

Hope this helps!



Upscale May 6th 08 02:30 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 

"Newbie" wrote in message

What kind of pet carrier should I get that would be good for this
purpose as well as longer drives we may have to take later. In
particular, soft or hard? What kind do you use?


Depends on where and how you live. I live in an apartment and the only time
I take my cat out is to the vet two blocks away. The carrier I use is a
heavy cloth folding one. Certainly, it was more expensive than a simple
plastic carrier, but it's definitely lighter and folds up to be put away.

If you're thinking about longer drives, then depending on space, you may
want to consider a cage of some type. They're bigger than a carrier, but
allow the cat to look around and have enough space for a small littler box
and a food/water feeder.



Newbie[_2_] May 6th 08 04:03 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
cshenk wrote:

: But need to know if you are actually in
: rec.pets.cats.health+behav

Not sure what you mean buy that. I am not a formal "member" of this or
nay other ng. I posted to 3 groups to reach those who may not read the
one group I might have selected. I made it cross-posting to conserve
resources: there's only one post, but it is offered to people in 3
groups.

If you follow all 3 groups, and have read it in one, a good modern
Usenet reader will, or rather can be set to, not show it you again in
the other 2 groups.

I'll check each group to see if there are any responses, as long as the
thread seems alive.

Thanks for the rest of your post. Need to understand it better.

Upscale May 6th 08 09:01 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 

"Newbie" wrote in message
Not sure what you mean buy that. I am not a formal "member" of this or
nay other ng. I posted to 3 groups to reach those who may not read the
one group I might have selected. I made it cross-posting to conserve
resources: there's only one post, but it is offered to people in 3
groups.


Ignore him. Some people are obsessed with adhering to specific posting
etiquette. He was suggesting that you should be reading and posting messages
regularly in each of the newsgroups you selected to qualify for posting to
all of them at once. You're selection of newsgroups was fine.



cshenk May 6th 08 10:24 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
"Newbie" wrote.
cshenk wrote:

: But need to know if you are actually in
: rec.pets.cats.health+behav

Not sure what you mean buy that. I am not a formal "member" of this or
nay other ng. I posted to 3 groups to reach those who may not read the
one group I might have selected. I made it cross-posting to conserve
resources: there's only one post, but it is offered to people in 3
groups.


Thats ok. As I said, I was mostly warning others that I read only in the
one. You didnt do 'wrong' as all were valid for these posts. Some people
(not me) have automated spam filters that automatically delete any message
which has more than 1 'group' in the header. Because of this, you may be
collecting replies in all 3 but they may not be showing up in all 3 of the
groups. Hope that makes sense?

If you follow all 3 groups, and have read it in one, a good modern
Usenet reader will, or rather can be set to, not show it you again in
the other 2 groups.


Yes, but I have a simple reader and just the one group turned on. Again,
you didnt do anything 'wrong' (which i said right at the start), just may
have caused a few to not see your notes. Depends on what they are running.
Anyways, back to cats! (grin).

Thanks for the rest of your post. Need to understand it better.


No problem! Ask away! I've had cats for about 24 years now. I listed what
I've found seems to work best for me as based on your questions but they
arent the only answers and some have had good luck for example with cat
litter pan types that havent worked well for me. I liked the idea the one
fellow had on a deeper one but with a cut down entry so the cat can more
comfortably step in. I may want to try that here too. Just never thought
of doing it!

Also, one of the others added a note about declawing. There's alot of
information on the web about this and what it entails. It's not real pretty
but there are rare times when I've not disagreed with it if done *right* by
a skilled vet. A feral stray taken in that turned out was very prone to
face scratching a toddler and risk of blinding the toddler yet only other
option was to have the cat abandoned or put to sleep (unadoptable due to
various reasons). I dislike the idea very much but even I couldnt argue
with that one.

All but one of my clawed kitties took pretty well to just scratching things
I added just for that purpose and left the furniture alone after a bit of
gentle training.

I had 2 cats I rescued (long story) who had been declawed front and back.
Sadly it was a very bad job. So bad, the vet suspected the guy we rescued
them from did it himself with toenail clippers or something to save money.
WE paid dearly to have the vet do whatever was possible to make them more
comfortable (he couldnt fix it totally, just make walking less painful for
them). As a result, I tend to be very anti-declawing but am always happy to
help with tips and tricks to folks to help teach a cat how to not claw
things (or you). It's generally more useful I find to help people figure
out how to not need to use that procedure, than just beat them up about
having done it.

Oh on the wet food brands? Many think very highly of one called 'wellness'.
I havent seen it in my local area but then I havent exactly checked every
single pet food isle. With just 1 cat currently, I find the 3oz little
servings suit me best. No leftovers.

I'll add something about pet insurance for that vet trip. It's value
depends on the plan you get. Most of them really just add up to pre-paying
for the regular shots you will need but I lucked up mine is a little better.
Check what they cover carefully then have them add up what the shots would
cost (and vet visit) without the insurance. Depending on your area, you
might save more by just setting aside a few dollars a month. Also for
spaying/neutering, you might find a local SPCA does this very much cheaper.
I have not heard any local horror stories about their services for this.



cshenk May 6th 08 10:29 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
"Upscale" wrote
"Newbie" wrote in message
Not sure what you mean buy that. I am not a formal "member" of this or
nay other ng. I posted to 3 groups to reach those who may not read the
one group I might have selected. I made it cross-posting to conserve
resources: there's only one post, but it is offered to people in 3
groups.


Ignore him. Some people are obsessed with adhering to specific posting
etiquette. He was suggesting that you should be reading and posting
messages
regularly in each of the newsgroups you selected to qualify for posting to
all of them at once. You're selection of newsgroups was fine.


Be at ease 'Upscale', I was more warning others in other groups than the one
I have that i will not see their replies. I said right at the start that
'Newbie' hadnt 'done anything wrong' but she/he didnt quote that part.

Oh, if it helps, I'm a 'she' (grin). C is for Carol in this case.



-mhd[_2_] May 7th 08 12:38 AM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
"cshenk" wrote:

Although a soft one will work fine to hold a cat, you may find the cat gets
'scared' and pees in the carrier. If you have a soft type, you will have an
issue getting it clean again. A hard carrier will not have this problem.
Easiest hard carriers have an entry gate at the 'front' and at the top both.
Also, put a towel at the bottom so if they do 'pee' because they are scared,
you wont be bringing a wet kitty to the vet and trying to dry the worst off
as she/he gets examined.


I prefer soft ones as they much easier to carry and are probably much
more comfortable for the cat. As far as accidents go I would much
rather throw the bag in the washer than try to wash a car seat that
the hard carrier drained onto. A towel fits just fine in the soft bags
as well.

-mhd

Wendy May 7th 08 08:14 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 

"-mhd" wrote in message
...
"cshenk" wrote:

Although a soft one will work fine to hold a cat, you may find the cat gets
'scared' and pees in the carrier. If you have a soft type, you will have
an
issue getting it clean again. A hard carrier will not have this problem.
Easiest hard carriers have an entry gate at the 'front' and at the top
both.
Also, put a towel at the bottom so if they do 'pee' because they are
scared,
you wont be bringing a wet kitty to the vet and trying to dry the worst off
as she/he gets examined.


I prefer soft ones as they much easier to carry and are probably much
more comfortable for the cat. As far as accidents go I would much
rather throw the bag in the washer than try to wash a car seat that
the hard carrier drained onto. A towel fits just fine in the soft bags
as well.

-mhd

I would imagine the size and weight of the cat might determine which type
serves better. I haven't seen too many x-large soft carriers and would worry
about the handle pulling off if I was lugging around a large cat. I lug a
lot of cats around though and most people only need to use their carrier on
the occasions kitty visits the vet.

I have had some cats who preferred not to have much of a view and many of
the soft sided ones have screening on the sides that would provide too much
view to a skittish cat. I'm not overly impressed with the zipper closures
either. If one has a cat who really doesn't want to be in the carrier,
having to zip close provides too much time for the kitty to engineer an
escape. I do like something with a top door though in case you need to get a
sick kitty in and out of the carrier. Years ago I had to take a carrier
apart to get a sick boy out of it and have gone for carriers with a top door
since. You do have to double check to make sure the top door stays latched
though as some have a tendency to work their way open. Bottom line is that I
would imagine you get whatever type best suits your cat.



cshenk May 7th 08 08:44 PM

Newbie questions: What kind of pet carrier?
 
"Wendy" wrote
"-mhd" wrote in message

Although a soft one will work fine to hold a cat, you may find the cat
gets
'scared' and pees in the carrier. If you have a soft type, you will have
issue getting it clean again. A hard carrier will not have this problem.


Easiest hard carriers have an entry gate at the 'front' and at the top
both. Also, put a towel at the bottom so if they do 'pee' because they
are scared, you wont be bringing a wet kitty to the vet and trying to dry
the worst off
as she/he gets examined.


I prefer soft ones as they much easier to carry and are probably much
more comfortable for the cat. As far as accidents go I would much
rather throw the bag in the washer than try to wash a car seat that
the hard carrier drained onto. A towel fits just fine in the soft bags
as well.


True but most of the ones I saw, were too small for my cat or had enough
soft 'filler' as to be difficult to deal with in a washing machine. I've
had 2 cats who were 'pee-ers' and the deep bottom of the plastic ones have
worked well.
-mhd

I would imagine the size and weight of the cat might determine which type
serves better. I haven't seen too many x-large soft carriers and would
worry about the handle pulling off if I was lugging around a large cat. I
lug a lot of cats around though and most people only need to use their
carrier on the occasions kitty visits the vet.


That too. And thanks for quoting mhd- due to spam, I tend to filter on
@gmail here. mhd is just an innocent casualty of this.

I have had some cats who preferred not to have much of a view and many of
the soft sided ones have screening on the sides that would provide too
much view to a skittish cat. I'm not overly impressed with the zipper
closures either. If one has a cat who really doesn't want to be in the
carrier,


The ones I saw didnt look all that strong. I was worried if I did have to
try and wash it, it wouldnt survive.

having to zip close provides too much time for the kitty to engineer an
escape. I do like something with a top door though in case you need to get
a sick kitty in and out of the carrier. Years ago I had to take a carrier
apart to get a sick boy out of it and have gone for carriers with a top
door since. You do have to double check to make sure the top door stays
latched though as some have a tendency to work their way open. Bottom line
is that I would imagine you get whatever type best suits your cat.


All good! If 'Newbie' has a storage problem, she may find the collapsable
soft carrier that can be stored is best of all for her needs.




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