Banfield Pet Hospital and Victoria Stilwell Team Up for InFURvention Event to Help Cat Owners

If your gentle, quiet kitty suddenly goes bonkers, morphing into a demon-cat in fight mode the second the “dreaded” cat carrier appears, trust me, you are not alone. In fact, with 86 million felines living as pets in homes throughout the United States, one-third of cat guardians sharing their hearth with cats, succumb to their “ferocious felines” tooth and nail struggle and succumb to their kitty’s tantrums. That’s right; they simply throw up their hands in frustration to avoid a battle royal and skip the trip to the vet altogether.

Since veterinary care is an essential part of cat guardianship, Banfield Pet Hospital (the largest veterinary practice in the world) and Animal Planet’s Victoria Stilwell have teamed up to stage an “inFURvention” aimed at assisting cat owners overcome their difficulties getting their kitty into the carrier. At the same time they are raising awareness about the importance of regular veterinary visits. Cats rarely show symptoms of pain or illness as a hard-wired survival strategy. This makes routine vet visits even more essential to protect pets from life-threatening illness.

Stilwell said, "There is no doubt that cats can be finicky when it comes to travel. However, there are easy tips and tricks pet owners can use to ensure a smooth road ahead. Pet owners don't have to be a professional in order to train their cats to get into the carrier. All it takes is some practiced and simple changes in behavior and cat-fights will soon be a thing of the past!" 

Dr. Jeffrey Klauser, chief medical officer for Banfield Pet Hospital said, "One of the biggest barriers to cats receiving veterinary care is actually getting them to the hospital." Klauser added, "Through inFURvention, we hope to educate pet owners about the importance of routine veterinary visits, and let them know it doesn't have to be a fight to get their cat to the vet."

If you and your kitty suffer from carrier anxiety, Banfield Pet Hospital and Victoria Stilwell want to hear from you! Now is the time to get involved in the “InFURvention”.

They are asking all cat guardians wanting to take part in their fabulous contest to get your video cameras out and ready to roll! From now through August 17, an invitation is extended to create your "real-life" cat video which features your attempt (successful or otherwise) to get your cat into the carrier. Upload the video to the inFURvention website with the tag “#inFURvention”.

One pet owner who uploads an "inFURvention" video of loading their kitty into a carrier- successful or not- will be chosen to win the astounding prize of a year's worth of free preventive veterinary care from Banfield Pet Hospital. As an added bonus, they’ll also win a special at-home visit with Victoria Stilwell, whose professional insight and best tips and tricks will facilitate the winner’s ability to get their cat out of the house and into the veterinarian's office.

Banfield Pet Hospital provides some hints to help make kitty’s trip to the vet easier with their informative video uploaded to YouTube.

What tricks have you used that induces your kitty to get into the carrier with less resistance? Share them in a comment.