Dear Ms. Kitty: It’s time for my cat Coco’s annual trip to the vet, and we’re both dreading it. She freaks out the second I get out the carrier. How can I get her in for her checkup with less stress on both of us?

Signed, Carried Away 

Dear Carried: A good vet visit starts well before arrival, so thanks for planning ahead for Coco. The worst thing you can do to her before taking her to the vet is to chase her around trying to get her in the carrier! Instead, try these tips to make getting her into a carrier easier.

Make the carrier a safe place.

Luring her into the carrier rather than forcing her in will get your vet visit off to a better start. Making the carrier part of her everyday landscape is the first step. 

Leave the carrier out if possible and cover it with a small towel. This serves two purposes: it camouflages the carrier at home and it helps Coco feel safer when traveling. Cats like to hide when they are stressed, and this helps her do that. 

Reward her for going in. Place a trail of her favorite treats (saved just for the carrier) inside. Place a clip on the open door to keep it from accidentally closing. 

Once Coco knows she can find treats in her carrier, she’ll likely go in it regularly. Do this every few days to keep the carrier a happy place.

Soft sides or hard? There are many kinds of carriers available. 

For shy cats, a hard-sided carrier is usually a better choice. She can hear it when you toss treats toward the back and it can become her safe space. Some cats even sleep in their carriers between vet visits because they feel so cozy!

You’ll need stealth and speed to close Coco into a soft-sided carrier. It’s nearly impossible to quickly zip a cat into a fabric carrier and even a small opening may allow her to push back out. This can make her more afraid of the carrier and set you back even further.

Many soft-sided carriers have poor quality framing. They can flatten after just a few outings. If that happens, please do not force Coco into a carrier that will collapse on her. 

Stealth and speed. When it’s time to go to the vet, toss in treats and wait quietly within reach of the door. When she’s at least halfway in, gently—but firmly and quickly—close the door, making sure her tail doesn’t get caught. 

If her most favorite treat is a soft, squeezable one, you can still make a trail into the carrier with dots of treats. Put that last dot on the inside back wall of the carrier to lure her all the way in to lick it off!

Top-opening carriers: If your carrier has a top opening, wire it open with a pipe cleaner during the training phase. She can hop in and out from the top as well as go in through the door. That gives you two options for getting her into it. 

A top-opening carrier also gives your vet a way to examine Coco without removing her from the carrier. Unless she needs a procedure, most of the examination can be done while she’s safe inside. 

Bubble carriers and backpacks.

Carriers and backpacks with bubble windows may look cute, but they go against a cat’s instinct to hide when afraid. Instead, they force cats to be directly exposed to all the scary sights and sounds they experience while getting to your veterinarian. Unless your cat backpack is extra large, Coco won’t be able to lie down and that can be stressful too. 

Cat bag terrors. Even worse are bags made to transport cats with their bodies trapped and their heads sticking out. This is the opposite of what a fearful cat needs. Imagine being trapped in a straight jacket while being forced to do something that terrifies you, and you’ll get a sense of what these misguided attempts at a carrier do to our feline friends. 

Whichever carrier you use, please double check the latches or zippers before you leave the house. Having a carrier break or a cat get out in an unfamiliar place can be scary for everyone.