Just about every cat owner has to face this problem sooner or later. You need to get your cat into their carrier to visit the vet, be taken to the cattery or to travel to another home and what do you know? Your loving and ever-present cat has scooted off in the opposite direction at the speed of sound!

And even when you finally manage to locate the fur-covered little devil after wasting time you can ill-afford, you have to battle claws, teeth, rudely hissed words and ears flattened so close to your cat's head you'd think that they's disappeared altogether. Your cat is less than co-operative as you struggle to force their rigid body into their carrier.

How is it that your normal, loving and co-operative pet suddenly turns into a feral wildcat as soon as their carrier comes into sight?

Well, you'll probably be amazed to hear that it's all your fault. You and you alone are responsible for making The Big Mistake.

And the big mistake is..

You tidy your cat's carrier away when you've finished with it.

We all do it. As soon as the trauma of transporting your cat from A to B is over, the carrier gets put in the garage, in a shed or in a cupboard out of sight and out of mind. And that is where the mistake is made. The hated carrier is hidden away.

So, how can you, as the guilty party, correct your error? Is it possible to change the situation for the better? Can your cat ever accept their carrier and remain relaxed and happy around it? Most certainly - and you can start correcting your mistake the minute you've finished reading this!

Bring the carrier out of storage and place it in a cat-friendly place.

Put it where it is warm and quiet.

Line it inside with a soft blanket or cushion.

Make it enticing by placing a catnip toy inside

Place a tasty cat-snack inside.

Leave the door open for free access at all times.

Make it a fixture within your cat's everyday world.

And that's it. By following the above steps, you can begin to remove the negative associations of seeing the carrier from your cat's mind. These associations are triggered each and every time the carrier comes into view. This situation has arisen because in the past, your pet has experienced very strong and unpleasant emotions whenever their carrier has appeared and it's no wonder that they equate their carrier with being forcefully subjected to unpleasant things. Your job, as an owner, is to work at removing those negative associations and replace them with good ones.

Over a period of time, the carrier will become accepted as a normal part of your cat's daily life and experience. When this happens, their resistence to seeing it and being put in it will have disappeared. By actively making their carrier an inviting place for a snooze, surrounded by their favorite toy and cat-snack, your cat will soon realise that the bad associations have been chased away by good ones.

Unfortunately, any trip to see the vet will inevitably cause those bad memories to be recalled but the only way to cure that particular problem is to make your vet part of your cat's everyday, normal experience. And that is just not going to be possible, is it?