Everything You Need to Know about Cat Carriers with Dr. Mansum Yau
We get a veterinarian's perspective on the best cat carriers and how to help your cat with vet visits from Dr. Mansum Yau.
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Listen to episode 52 of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or below, watch on Youtube or below, or scroll down to read the show notes and a transcript of the highlights.
Everything you need to know about cat carriers with Dr. Mansum Yau
What's the best kind of carrier to choose for your cat? We get a veterinarian's perspective from Dr. Mansum Yau, author of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian's Guide to Cat Carriers.
We talk about:
- why, as a vet, Dr. Mansum is interested in cat carriers
- what kind of carrier is the best one to choose
- how to help cats be more comfortable at the vet
- how she became a stand-up comedian on top of being a vet, and how humour can help at the vet
- why toothbrushing is so important for cats and how a video of Dr. Mansum brushing her cat's teeth went viral
- the best carriers for adventure cats, and what happened one time with her cat
- what it was like illustrating her book
- and finally, she tells us about a book she's reading
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| Dr. Mansum Yau is the author and illustrator of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers |
The book Dr. Mansum picked is Bony Legs and Other Stories compiled by Pat Edwards.
Also mentioned in this episode, the cat toothbrushing episode that went viral.
Dr. Mansum Yau graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2010 and earned her certificate in canine massage from the Royal Canadian College of Massage Therapy in 2025. She is Human Animal Bond and Fear Free Level 3 certified and passionate about preventative care and client education. When she is not caring for cats and dogs, she enjoys reading, writing, painting, drawing, performing clean stand-up comedy, raising awareness for endangered animals, and exploring nature with her one-eyed dog, Penny, and adventure cat, Boo. She is the author and illustrator of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Cat Carriers, available wherever cat lovers read. She also shares tips for cats and dogs at pet events and on Instagram and YouTube.
Dr. Mansum Yau is on Instagram, Youtube, and LinkedIn.
Highlights of the conversation about cat carriers, comedy, and adventure cats
Z: So can you tell us as a veterinarian why are you interested in cat carriers?
M: Yeah, it's a very unusual thing to be passionate about. But over the years, I noticed as a veterinarian that the cat care experience sets a tone for how well the appointment goes.
So if the cat's already stressed in the care by the time they get to the vet, they're a lot harder to handle, a lot harder to examine and treat. And I also noticed that people would show up late to appointments or not at all because they couldn't even get their cat into the carrier.
And even if the cat's sick, even if it's a senior cat, people still struggle getting their cats into the carrier. And then because they can't get to the vet, their treatment is delayed.
And there's also the concern that people like either people I work with or the cat owners can get injured while getting their cat into or out of the carrier as well.
K: So I know we're going to be talking quite a bit about cat carriers, but what should just serve as a preliminary thought? What should people look for in a cat carrier?
M: I would look for a carrier with more than one door or opening, especially one on top. Because having a door on top makes it a lot easier to pick up your cat, like lift it out of the carrier or drop it in.
A lot of the older carriers, a lot of the simple ones only have one door in the front. And when there's only one door in the front, it's harder to get them in and out.
Z: I think I've heard you talk about having a drawer. So the cat slides out as well and I think that's a nice innovation.
M: Yeah, I wish there were more carriers with drawers. I only know of two carriers, one is soft sided and one is hard sided that are designed to open like a drawer so you don't have to pull your cat out or dunk them out. I wish there were more carriers with that design.
Z: Seems like a good idea. Sometimes I see carriers that are basically a rucksack for the cat with a clear compartment so that the cat is fully on view and the cat can see, but they're also being seen. What do you think of that style of carrier?
M: It really depends on your cat's personality. I like spelling personality with a U: P, U, R, R, S, O.
So if you have a scaredy cat, like the stereotypical scaredy cat, having a carrier of a big window can really stress them out. There's like no place to hide. Whereas if you have a cat that's curious and wants to see the world being stuck in a care of no window for them, that's boring and frustrating because they want to see outside.
So it really depends on the personality of your cat.
K: Sorry, there's a helicopter is flying over our farm right now, so the dog sent all activated.
So, as a veterinarian, what other tips do you have for guardians who want their cat to be more comfortable and relaxed at the vet?
M: One word. Gabapentin. Have you heard of gabapentin before?
Z: Yes.
K: Yeah.
M: So it's a calming pain medication. It's not a real sedative. It's a pain medication that has a positive side effect of making cats calm and sleepy. So rather than be sleepy than to be stressed and having panic attacks.
It's something you can give at home two hours before a vet appointment and also the night before. It's usually available as a capsule. So you open up the capsule and mix the powder with food, or you can just pop the capsule in the back of the throat.
But if that's too hard, a lot of clinics have it compounded as a liquid medication that you can squirt into the mouth.
K: I just to interject, I think, I don't know, maybe this is different with cat guardians, but a lot of dog guardians struggle with how to bring this up with their vet if their vet doesn't offer it to start.
So do you have like sort of a, you know, here's how to bring this up with your vet. The whole need to have medication beforehand.
M: Yeah. So you can be honest with your vet and say, like, my cat's yowling the whole time, the car panicking, scratching, like damaging their nails.
You know, I'm getting scratched like, or bit. And just be honest with them about how stressful it is. Just like, it's not that you don't want to take your cat to the vet, it's just that it's just so stressful for both of you that, you know, is there anything that I can give at home that makes the whole experience less stressful?
Gabapentin is not something you have to give every day. It wears off after 12 to 24 hours. At low doses, it's safe for kidney disease too. So it's a pretty safe medication. It's not like a real sedative.
Z: That's good to know. And I, I have a cat who is actually really good at going to the vet. Fortunately, Melina, she's quite happy there. She's been going to the same vet for a very long time now and she knows all the staff, she's quite happy. But she recently had radioactive IODINE treatment.
Although we don't normally give her gabapentin. We did give her gabapentin before that, you know, because it was a different clinic and it was gonna be more stressful for her. So we thought that would help. The vet actually recommended it in that case.
M: Yeah. Cause she had to stay there for several days, right?
Z: That's right, yes.
So you have at the back of your book, you actually have a fairly comprehensive list of all the different types of cat carriers. I did not know that there were so many different cat carriers that ex. Did it take you a long time to research all of those?
M: It did. This is not even a comprehensive list. There's so many that I had to cut from the list because otherwise, like the book would have been twice the length.
So I included the ones that are more unique, that have something interesting about them. Like there's a carrier that has a built in fan, for example, and then there's a couple of carriers with drawers, like I mentioned earlier.
There's one made in Italy with a built in litter box. I haven't been able to find it in Canada, but if you live in Italy, I hope you can find it.
Z: Maybe useful for travel by airplane or if you're going traveling with your cat.
M: Yeah. In the car.
Z: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Now it's a really fun book and you've got some jokes in there. And you also happen to be a stand up comedian. So how did you get into being a comedian alongside being a vet?
M: I didn't plan on it. In fact, if you had told me five years ago, one day you're going to do stand up comedy, I wouldn't have believed you. I would have been like crazy.
So I wanted to get better at writing jokes because I was writing jokes for this book. And I also fell in love with public speaking. A cat company asked me to do some public speaking for them and I fell in love with public speaking. And I thought, well, if I take a stand up comedy course, I can kill two birds and one stone.
I actually really hate that phrase. We need a less violent phrase in English language. Like a way to feed two birds in one hand maybe.
So I can get better at writing jokes and I can practice public speaking, talking on stage. And so I took a course and then I took a second one and I plan on taking a third one. So every class we had to talk on stage, tell jokes on stage and do crowd work.
And so even though standup comedy is not the same as regular public speaking, it's a form of public speaking.
K: I sort of feel like humor is kind of underused in the environment of professional pet care, you know, veterinarians and dog trainers, too.
It's such a useful way for people to sort of transmit information and make a. Like, a really warm situation. I know we're often dealing with tricky situations. You know, I mean, I imagine it's even more so with a veterinarian rather than a dog trainer, but, you know, you're dealing with tricky times and people are upset.
But do you feel like that sort of bled into your work as a vet as well? Do you see yourself using humor in more situations now that you've kind of become a professional at it?
M: Yes. Yeah, I would say so. When I make educational videos, like, some of them have more of a comedic element to them. And when I'm stressed at work, I find that comedy is a good coping mechanism as well.
Obviously, there are situations that are not appropriate to be making jokes. And, like, if you're saying goodbye to a pet, that's like, the worst line to be making a joke.
But there are times when, you know, you crack a joke and you can just see people visibly relax, because a lot of people are stressed going to the vet.
Like, I'm stressed going to the doctor. Like, I had a doctor tell me recently, like, you're too stressed here. And I'm like, in my head, I'm like, who goes to the doctor to relax?
K: Yeah, totally.
So actually, that kind of leads into one of our questions. You do have a viral video of you brushing your cat's teeth on Instagram. So can you tell us about a little bit more about that video and then why toothbrushing is so important?
M: Happy to. I didn't expect the video to go viral, to be honest. I recorded it last February during Dental Health Month. I recorded in a rush. I was like, well, I have to brush my cat's teeth anyway.
I brush my cat's teeth every day. And I was like, I might as well make a video before the end of the month, before it's no longer Dental Health Month.
And if I'd known that all these people would be watching it, maybe I would have word it differently. But all these people are like, I can't put my cat on my lap. My cat won't stay in my lap. And I was like, nowhere in the video did I mention putting your cat on your Lap is this that my cat is a lap cat.
And for filming purposes more, it was easier to have him on my lap and to have him, like, off to the side.
And, yeah, I was kind of shocked at how people responded to the video, but also pleased that they were interested in watching the video that they watched in the first place.
One of the best ways to keep your cat healthy is to brush their teeth, because dental health doesn't just impact aesthetics and it's not just about the way the teeth look.
Poor dental health negatively impacts kidney health, heart health, as well as liver health. And I see so many cats that work with such painful teeth that I'm sure there are so many cats that are cranky and unhappy because they have toothaches that they can't tell us about because they can't point at their mouth, point at which tooth is hurting.
They can't tell us which tooth hurts.
Z: So I'll put a link to that in the show notes so that if anybody wants to go and look at it, they can do so.
And you're also an illustrator, so you're just incredibly talented, basically. And you did your own illustrations for this book, and they're adorable. I really love it.
So how did you get into being an illustrator as well?
M: To be honest, I got into illustrating after I got over my fear of making mistakes while drawing. I found these erasable crayons in a grocery store, of all places. And I was like, oh, if. If I draw the wrong thing, I can just erase it.
And then I eventually switch to an iPad to draw the cartoons. And on an iPad, you can erase, you know, mistakes. And if you don't like the way it looks, you can just reverse the drawing.
I would say I'm a writer first, illustrator second. I'm a much slower illustrator than I am a writer.
And you can see some of my progress, like, some of the cartoons that I drew at the beginning, because it took me around six years to finish this book. So in the beginning, my drawings are a lot more rudimentary, and then by the end, they're better. I mean, it's still could be, you know, could be better, but better than the beginning.
I'll give you an example of the earlier cartoons that I drew. For example, you can see this is very simple. There's nothing fancy about the cartoon. Although I love the eyes.
And so this is called the magic towel cartoon. So just, you know, I wrote about, like, how towels are really handy for helping with getting your cat into a carrier and keeping them comfortable in the carrier.
And then by the end of the book, you'll notice that the cartoons have become more complicated. I drew a cartoon of all three of my friends cats and it says a picnic is a state of mind and can be made anywhere. Those are her three cats.
And there are three different types of carriers. So this is the vintage wicker carrier. So back in the 1940s, before that they used wicker carriers. This is a more modern Italian carrier that is made of plastic and shaped like a picnic hamper. And then this one is based on a real carrier that I own, shaped like a Volkswagen van.
A soft sided carrier. Doesn't have stickers. My actual carrier doesn't have stickers on it. But when I drew the cartoon, it was like, it's a van, it must have happy stickers on it.
Z: And I think I must be old because I'm old enough to have had a wicker carrier and used a wicker carrier. So a long time ago.
So can we actually come back to the towels? Because the first drawing you showed us was of a towel. Tell us a bit more about how people can use a towel to help with the carrier.
M: Yeah. So if you have one of those cats that sticks like limbs out and at weird angles while you're trying to get your cat into the carrier, one of the tips is to wrap your cat in a towel or a blanket and then put them in because then there are less limbs sticking out and they're less likely to scratch you as well.
Because a towel provides the level of layer of protection. It covers their eyes and makes them feel. It can make them feel more safe. Kind of like being swaddled like a baby.
Z: Excellent. Good. And your cat is an adventure cat. So I'm going to ask you in a moment to tell us a story. There's a "lovely" story you've got in the book about a surprise that happened when you were out with your adventure cat.
So does that change the kind of carrier that you use? Do you like to have a different kind of carrier when you're going out on adventures?
M: Yes. So for those of you who don't know what an adventure cat is, a cat that goes hiking, camping, paddleboarding, snowshoeing, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So basically they spend time outdoors with their cat parents supervised instead of wandering around.
And I recommend having a carrier because one, it's a place for your cat to retrieve to if they're scared or if they're tired and they need a break, then usually most people wear a backpack when they take their adventure cat out because then it frees up their hands to take pictures, to hold a hiking stick or a ski pole, what have you, you know, so, because if you're holding a carrier, like, you don't have a free hand to hold other things.
So backpacks are great. There are two different orientations for the backpack. So you have the backpacks that are more vertical, so the cat ends up sitting up most of the time, which is not as comfortable.
And then you have the longer, more horizontal type where they can actually lie down. That's the type that I recommend because it's more comfortable for the cats.
So some of the backpacks are too small for average sized cats and they end up just sitting up the whole time.
K: So how did you, like, did you get an adventure cat or did you sort of like get a kitten and make an adventure cat?
M: The latter. When I adopted Boo. Well, let me back up a bit. I was planning to get a dog right after I graduated from vet school, I was planning to get a dog. And then someone brought him into work. He was a wee little kitten that someone found stuck in a fence by construction yard. And it was love at first sight.
I looked into the kennel and fell in love with him. Like, the tech asked me if I wanted to adopt him. I was like, sure, you know, he's not a dog, but I'll adopt him.
And I basically trained him as if he were a dog. Like, I trained him to walk on a leash. I trained him to wear a harness carrier. Trained him as if I were like crate training a dog.
And this is before I even knew of the concept adventure cat. Like, I don't know exactly when that term was coined, but my cat's 15 now, so this is before it was popular, before Instagram was even, before it was even invented.
Z: And so you've got a funny story in the book about one time when you were out with Boo. Can you tell us about that?
M: So let me double check that. The same story. Because there are two. I can think of two funny stories. They were funny after the fact, maybe not while they were happening.
Z: Yes, yes, that's what I thought. After the fact.
M: Yeah, after the fact. So the one that I wrote about in the book is when I took him to Drumheller.
For those of you who've never heard of Drumheller, it's a place in Canada in Central Canada and Alberta, where there's canyons, the landscape there is really cool. And I took him hiking there.
I brought a backpack, thinking that he'd want to be in the backpack, but he refused to stay in it, and he wanted to walk on his own. I was like, sure, you know, and he walked for a long time.
I was surprised. And then all of a sudden, he just, like, stopped and refused to move. And I was like, oh, what's wrong, Boo? And I went to like, are you tired?
You want me to carry you? I picked him up and then quickly realized that he was actually. The reason why he wasn't moving is because he was peeing.
I end up getting the pee all over my clothes.
And if any of you have a male cat, you know, well, any kind of even female cat pee doesn't smell good. But I was just like, okay, good thing I have a change of clothes in my car.
If he could talk, he probably would be like, I want to pee. Leave me alone.
And it's a natural instinct for cats to pee in dirt. Like, usually they'll pee and then they might cover it up, or if they have to poo, they'll, like, dig a hole and then. And then poo and then cover it up.
So he was doing what he was supposed to do. I just didn't know that that's what he was doing.
Z: Yeah. Yes. I think it definitely falls into the category of funny with hindsight, but not so much at the time.
M: Yeah, it was a very smelly car ride because the whole way home, all I could smell was cat pee on my. Even though I changed my clothes, it was still. I could still smell it.
Z: One time when we were moving house, and I think this is why this story resonated with me. I had the cat in a carrier on my lap, and this was a long time ago. The cat was actually quite terrified and peed, and it leaked from the carrier onto me, and we had quite a way to go. So it was a long time before I was able to change into some clean clothes.
You know, again, it was not funny at the time, but in hindsight, yes.
M: Yeah.
Z: So you actually have so much information in here in your book. Is there anything else that you want to tell us about cat carriers? Are there any other especially important things for people to know?
M: Wow. Yeah, you're right. There's a lot of information in the book.
I recently learned that there are people who don't even know that cat carriers are that that pet carriers exist. Like, I had someone ask me, can I just use a baby car seat for my dog? And I was just like, what?
No, like, because there's already ones for dogs specifically. Specifically designed for pets. Like, why would you use a baby car seat?
K: Also, I can't imagine the training plan to get them.
Z: The cat is not going to stay.
M: I was just like, oh, my God. Yeah, they were lucky that they were in a collision and the pets survived, luckily. But, yeah, it's something that's not talked about enough.
So I actually wrote the first draft for my next book, which has both a cat and a dog in it, and it's a kid's book, so I'm really excited about it.
Z: Oh, that's very exciting. You'll have to come back and tell us about that when it's published.
