So how the fucking fucking FUCK do you cat owners get a cat into a cat-carrying box? HOW?

40 minutes of gently trying to calm Daniel down and lull him and be chilled and sporadically endeavouring to put him into the box, variously wrapping him in a towel, clutching the Kitten-reflex back of the neck, blah blah blah while uttering soothing noises, and eventually, with deep bleeding weals in my chest and throat, I lost my rag.

The cat is uninjured, although scared and pissed off, because of the yelling and the angry towel-flailing.

I am bleeding, and ashamed, and I have NO. Fucking. Idea. how I'm going to get him into the box. I rang the shelter and told them I'd bring him tomorrow rather than today, but that still leaves me with No. Fucking. Idea. of how to do this.

It is a new box, because the old carrier, while comfortable and squishy and comforting (not that he liked that one either, mind you), was (a) too small and (b) wholly unsuitable for travelling on a plane in a month's time. So the process is different from the get-cat-into-flexible-squishy-bag-carrier process we've managed before...well, 'kay, my flatmate has managed before.

But sans flatmate, and her Uncanny Way With Animals (tm) I have NO idea how I'm going to do this. It will definitely involve traumatising the hell out of Daniel and me both, though, and pain for me, and discomfort for him.

Fuck.

How do you DO this?

I'd like it if LJ put the feeds to which we subscribe somewhere other than our friends page--like if there was a feed page as well, or something.

Create friends filters that have actual friends on one, and RSS feeds in the other. Then go to each filtered flist page and bookmark it. When you go to the bookmarked page, it shows you the updates.

Oh, Fay. Can you (or did you?) try putting the towel over his face?

Disclaimer: My cat is a lot better at going into the cat carrier than coming out of it. I've had to hold it opening down and shake it repeatedly to get him near enough to the opening for someone to grab and pull.

But to get him in, I put the cat carrier somewhere in his path for a day or so, with something that smells like him in it (a favorite toy or pillow or similar), or, failing that, food. Once his forequarters are in, I pounce-shove-lock before he can throw it into reverse.

Also, if it's one of those that has the gate on an end, rather than on top, you might stand it upright so the gate is on top and lower him in.

Oh yes. Yes, we tried leaving it in a friendly location with the door half-open in a 'come investigate' kind of way, we tried active 'hey, what's this cool and interesting new thing?' games, we tried the towel-wrapped-around-his-neck-and-gathered-up-to-imprison-his-legs, we tried the no-towel,-just-hand-on-nape-of-neck , we tried entreaty, we tried seduction, we tried logic, we tried (after 40+ minutes) bundling the whole cat into the towel and trying to forcibly shove the squirming bundle into the box.

No joy. Just bleeding me, and pissed off, baffled and deeply mistrustful kitty. Although he's presently sitting in his Safe Hiding Place Of Choice which is on the seat next to mine here at the dining table, and has accepted apologies, and the offer of a hand to scratch if he felt so inclined, and stroking and skritching behind the ear and all that. So I guess he isn't too deeply freaked. But he was definitely scared by the yelling and towel-flailing. (Well, in no small part because, as he bounded out of my grasp, and I flailed the towel furiously around and yelled, he knocked over a glass which fell into the bath and shattered. So - much unexpected loud noise and scariness in the world of Daniel.)

God.

Flatmate was always so GOOD at this, damn it.

eta

Good suggestions, all, Raq. Thanks for that. I'll see what bridge-building we can do, and next time try using gravity to assist in the whole cat-into-box thing.

eta wee bit more detail

How do you DO this?

Leave the cat carrier out and open overnight. That may help by giving him a chance to check it out for himself and see that it is not a medieval torture device. You may want to consider baiting it with tuna or some other never-fails-to-bring-Daniel-running treat. I have to admit, the chances of those really solving your problem before tomorrow are slim, but it can't hurt to try. Harvey has the tendency to walk right into the carrier to check it out as soon as I open it. With Sammie, it helps a lot to have it open and waiting, then when she is in a relaxed mood, I swoop her up, cuddle her, then swiftly dump her into the carrier (depending on which style I'm using, I may have it tipped up on end so that gravity can help). In your case, I would start with having gloves on (and maybe you want to leave those out where Daniel can see them, or maybe pet him a few times with them on so that he does not freak when you suddenly have monster hands). If you have to, dump him into it head first. Use one hand to shove him further in, use the other hand to start closing the door. Once you get to a certain point in the door closing, the door becomes an ally in keeping the cat inside, instead of a distraction from holding him down. Then of course, the spare hand becomes a paw/claw dislodging hand.

ETA: x-posty.

Create friends filters that have actual friends on one, and RSS feeds in the other. Then go to each filtered flist page and bookmark it. When you go to the bookmarked page, it shows you the updates.

Oh, I know, but I just like to click my friends list. I don't mean that to sound cranky at you, Andi. Thank you for the suggestion. I just want the world to bow to my whims. Also, I want LJ to stop calling the Friends List a "Friends" list. I want them to call it a reading list.

Finally, I want a pony.

Andi, I think you are the opposite of Houdini, for cats. I'd need 5 arms to do what you just said. Good luck, Fay!

I want the world to bow to my whims also.

I'd say to send Six Apart a note or two along those lines for their development work on Vox, but who knows if that would get any traction.

Crap. I need to do ironing and polish my shoes and pack a box to mail to my niece, and now all I want to do is go redesign the CSS on my LJ.

I'd say to send Six Apart a note or two along those lines for their development work on Vox, but who knows if that would get any traction.

What is this VOX thing, anyhow? I saw someone yesterday mention it, but I don't think I was on my own friends list, and was too shy to say anything.