Whenever I see the word "cat carrier" I'm the one who gets nervous - this is more trauma than I like to think about...Ritz's first trip to the vet wasn't too bad because the only other experience with the "cage of doom" was when I brought her home - this wasn't as bad because I sang to her and she actually slept on the hour plus ride.

The first trip to the vet for an overall checkup, she didn't know what was happening so she was a trusting little kitten....but it was evident early on she didn't like this place. She growled and hissed at the vet, something I had never heard from her before. Getting her in and out of the carrier was easy - open door, put favorite rattie and favorite blankie, and in goes Ritzy.

Second trip-midnight emergency UTI...40mile trip to only vet open at time. Now a bit larger, the task of putting her in the carrier was a little more difficult, but an alternate "top loader" door proved beneficial. At the vet, under loud protest, she is extracted, growling, hissing and spitting the entire time (how do the vets hear around all that noise?) The vet had to sedate her to examine, so the ride home was mostly a long nap

Third trip-spay surgery -Cat carrier is placed in kitchen day before the visit with blankie - Ritzy runs off but eventually gets used to the idea and actually takes a little nap inside. Something in that little kitty memory snapped, though, when it came time to "go" she quietly disappeared...was located under a chair between a bunch of magazines. Two humans were required to muscle Ritzy into carrier, and pitiful kitty noises gave mommycat the guilts for weeks to follow. AT this point, it became evident to me that Ritzy had one of those "kitty with a tude" warnings on her chart - the vets and technicians seemed almost relieved that she was going. More pitiful moans on the way home and I swear she milked the "wounded kitty" thing for all the spoiling mommycat could muster!

Fourth trip - annual booster shots, etc. If anyone tells you that cats have only short term memory, don't believe them! I had not had the cat carrier out for a year, and the minute this thing appeared in the kitchen, Ritzy did a disappearing act that would put Houdini to shame. It made me think that there must be a "cat zone" that kitties can zap into when they don't want to be found...it was CLEAR she was going to have no part of this...I'm thinking next time I'm going to have to get a new carrier or soft sider...at the vet, they literally had to "dump" her out onto the exam table...getting her in was easy though, as she would have gone anywhere to get away from that mean man who puts cold things in private places! They weighed the carrier with the cat and the carrier empty to get the "net weight" of the kitty...more growls and hisses and "balled up terror kitty" made me wonder how you ever get a good "reading" with all this fuss.

Now, the cat carrier is in the same room with the "evil hoover" and carries the same disdainful sneer from Ritz. If I open doors, usually Ritzy darts in immediately - not this room....she won't go near it, and If she sees me bringing anything out, she goes into a kitty snit!

Sweet Ritzy, responsibilities of mommycathood aren't always easy, but very much worth it...