One small prick...

It's that time of year when Simba needs to have his booster vaccination. As is common with cats he despises trips to the vets.

I now have a routine for getting the cat to the vet without ending up with shredded hands. I've found if I construct the cat carrier the night before he's to be taken to the vets and put it in the bedroom behind the door then they'll get a little spooked when they first see it, but stop worrying come morning time.

The next step is to behave normally in the morning - the cat'll pick up on it otherwise and get nervous if you walk in his direction. I'll then wait until the cat is near the bedroom door (maybe luring him near it with treats) and then go for a quick grab-and-stuff-into-carrier action. What MUST NOT happen on any account is the cat escaping during the grab-and-stuff routine, as a spooked cat is a nightmare to try catch.

Once in the carrier Simba will proceed to wail the entire time, only stopping while he's out on the vet's table (at which point he over-compensates for being nervous by rubbing his face against the vet's hand, my hand, the table, etc and covering us all in fur). Thankfully today there weren't any other animals in the waiting room for him to set off joining in with his noise.

So no shredded hands this time. In 6 months time it'll be Misty's turn for a jab though, and she's much more adept at doing a flailing-razors routine - time to google for kevlar gloves.