Cat gets berserk when closed in the carrier

[George C]

I am to make a 24 hr travel by ship, and have to transport my cat. I had the carrier around for more than a month in order to have the cat get used to it. She often slept (with the door open) in all seemed well.

Today I locked her in just to see how she will behave when the time comes to make the journey (in a couple of days). She immediately panicked, started howling and after some seconds she started attacking the cage door. She clawed at the metal bars and even bit them trying to pry them open. She bit them with such a ferocity I was shocked and forced to let her out before hurting herself.

Vet prescribed me Calmivet (Acepromazine) and reassured me that it is safe. After a thorough net search I found some alarming reviews abt it: In some cases it causes seizures and there even are cases where a pet had a heart attack - other reviews told that pets where not sedated enough by it to make a difference in the pet's transportation.

1. As I described it above (with the cat biting and clawing the carrier bars), is it possible for her to get seriously injured? Or am I overworried?

2. Do you have any experience with the prescribed drug? Is it safe?

3. Doc told me to take away all food 12 hours prior the transportation, and give her the dose 1 hour before she is in the cage. Sounds abt right?

Cat is a female 3 yrs old and aprox 3 kg.

[Kay]

I'd not heard of Calmivet, but a quick google convinced me never to use it

I have had success in calming a nervous cat by spraying Feliway in the carrier before putting him into it, and that has as far as I'm aware no side effects - but that was for a 3 hour car journey

covering the carrier with a cloth should calm her too

but how long is she going to be in the carrier? is she going to be let out to eat and use a litter tray? 24 hours plus presumably travelling time either side of the sea voyage sounds much too long to have her shut in a carrier

[George C]

Thanks for the reply.
No I have booked a cabin. She will be released in the cabin for the duration of the journey and will have a litter box, food and water.
What I am mostly worried about the transition from the house to the ship's cabin and then from the cabin to our house in the destination. This would involve 1 hour travelling by taxi to the docks, and abt 5-10 mins being on the line to get in the ship.

[Kay]

if there is no rule regarding the type of carrier you use you could try one made out of fabric, the thicker the better, as although she would almost certainly claw at it it would do less damage than metal, especially to her teeth

this one looks good, for instance https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petsfit-Fabric ... at+carrier - check out the second of the questions!!

I had to switch to one like this from a rigid plastic one because my rather large girl rocked around so much I feared it might come apart

[George C]

Unfortunately I had her carried in a fabric bag-like carrier last year and she ripped through it both when arriving and when returning 11 days later.
I will try the hormones you suggested but I think they wont be enough for her.
As I see it my options must be two: Leave her behind and have someone check on her daily for 10-15 days, or sedate her.

Do you thing that the sedative will keep her from being overly aggressive in the carrier? Whule sedated what is the best temperature I should maintain in the cabin?

[Kay]

I didn't realize you were only going to be away for 10-15 days

personally I wouldn't dream of putting a cat, even a placid cat, through a journey like that for such a short period - finding someone to come in, or even live in, while you're away would be so much better for her, and if you find someone good that can be the way forward for you both

are you living in the UK? because vets here seem to have stopped using sedatives on cats, or not routinely anyway, so there must be contraindications, I think

[George C]

I live in Greece, and both vets I consulted reassured me of Calmivet. My vet told me that it might be dangerous for plane travel but not in any other case. He also told me that the dosage is the 1/10 of what the animal can survive. On the other hand most accounts I encountered by pet owners in the web are negative.

Should I leave her behind I probably will be able to have someone check up on her once or even twice a day, but not stay full time in the house and I might reduce the days of my vacation from 2 weeks to 1. But it will be hell for me and maybe for her, to be most of the time alone.

[booktigger]

I wouldn't take my cat on holiday with me, there is too much risk involved, not to mention the stress to her. Most people have people come in a couple of times a day and they are fine, just as long as they are careful coming in and out, I also refuse to catsit if the cat flap is left open

[George C]

This is what I decided hope it is a better and safer plan than taking her with me:

I will leave her home with 2 bowls of dry food and 3 bowls of water. My father and my neighbor will check on her once per day each. They are not really cat handlers so it will be a simple and short check up on her water and food supply, maybe treat her some wet food, check that doors to restricted rooms remain secured and of course that she is around. My buddy who know of cats will visit for half an hour every couple of days and try to keep her company. I will be contacting them regularly and prolong or shorten my vacation accordingly.

PS Will she need a room to be lit during night hours? I am a night owl and she is used to spend the entire night with the living room light on
PS 2 Is it safer to remove all electronic devices from sockets or is an empty socket dangerous (cat might play with it?). Planning to only leave the refrigerator on and the kitchen a restricted room.

Many thanks for your advice u really helped with my tough decision

[Kay]

speaking for myself, I wouldn't leave a light on, but I would leave curtains/blinds half closed to let daylight in

and I would leave all appliances plugged in but switched off - as fridges and freezers are left running I can't see the point of unplugged anything else - though if you don't have surge protection as I do you might want to unplug electronic stuff - you could always move furniture to block socket

I'm sure she'll be fine, and these days it's so easy to keep in touch when away - I know some people set up webcam just to reassure themselves their pets are ok when away or even when at work

[Antonio]

Hi George,
I have been on holiday lately and have left my cat home, alone, with her own stuff.
The advantage of it is that the cat stays in an environment she knows perfectly, with the smell she knows and, above all, home is the safest place for a cat.
I wouldn't even dream to take my cat with me away from home unless it's absolutely necessary, and I mean she MUST be with me because it's in her interest.
As a matter of fact I will travel with her in a few days because she'll be treated abroad for a disease. And I'm not relaxed at all!

When I was away a few weeks ago I hired two cat-sitters, two lovely girls who do this as a routine. There are networks of people who do pet sitting at home. In my case they were two veterinary students, so I was perfectly at ease for any slight emergency.
I have an IP can in the room where the cat spends most of her time.

Your choice to leave her home with your father and neighbour coming over once a day sounds perfect to me.

As Kay says, she'll be fine. But if you want to be even more relaxed, setup a webcam or another kind of network cam and you can access it from everywhere.

Enjoy your holiday!