Kittens, Vet and no car

It depends on the cats and how distressed they get.

If they are upset then walking means that they are going to be distressed for longer, so in that case, it might be kinder to get a taxi so that the amount of time involved is less.

BEar in mind that if you are carrying them then the motion won't be very smooth - I've found withh all of my cas that they mind more about the bits a the start and end of a trip when I'm carrying them than the bits in between when we're in the car - I think it is harder for them to keep their balance, and more disorientating, so more stressful for them.

Maybe trying carrying them short distances round the house in the carrier to see how they react, first?

I didn't have a car until I'd had cats for years. It was a couple of miles to my vet back then and believe me, those kittens get heavy after a while

Mine didn't get particularly stressed being carried that way, in fact they whinge much more when I take them in the car now! Obviously the most important thing is making sure your carrier is secure - worst nightmare for it to come apart when walking through a strange area etc.

I got a taxi a couple of times with them, but one of mine used to get car sick and so scared in the car he pooped himself - the smell didn't please the taxi driver very much! He was much less stressed being carried by me walking with the carrier.

Maggie_Bob wrote: »

You've all reassured me so much - thank you! We've got a good carrier with a shoulder strap (to be upgraded to two carriers very soon once they're too big), so we'll see how we go carrying them around home in that and then to the vet if they're not fazed by it.

Bear in mind that a lot of cats complain loudly about such expeditions, no matter how long, short or comfortable they are. I avoided the abject horror my first cats expressed at such indignities with the Idiot Cat by leaving the carrier in a corner with a blanket in, so he associated it with somewhere snug for sleep - when it came to his Expeditions of Doom, he was merely perturbed by his nice little house being carried outside, so whilst he was still distinctly unimpressed by the softly spoken lady sticking pointy things in him and up him :cool:, he viewed the house as the one safe bit of the whole experience. He just hunkers down and glares at the world for the walk - other than when a loose dog in the waiting room decided to say hello. Then the loose dog found out that sticking his nose into the grille meant it got walloped with five pointy cat bits.

Compare it to the previous occupants, one of whom howled and wailed every moment of his confinement, much to the amusement of the kids on the same bus on their way to school - he shut up when the kids started wailing back at him and giggling.