Many pet owners worry that insurance won’t cover everything, especially routine care or pre-existing conditions. While that’s true in many cases, most insurers now offer wellness add-ons for preventive care like vaccines, dental cleanings, and check-ups, giving you more complete coverage. View Money’s pet insurance list to find plans for as low as $10 a month.

Protect your pet

Dr. Mansum has been a veterinarian for about 15 years. That’s long enough to have seen it all.

But nothing prepared her for the day someone arrived at her clinic with a cat carrier containing a cat … and an axe.

“I opened a carrier and found an axe. Like, I'm not kidding, an axe,” Dr. Mansum told Feline Business Brief.

“It was literally in the carrier with the cat, because the owner moved and forgot that she used the carrier as a storage unit. She’s like, “Oh, I was moving. I put the axe in the carrier, and then I forgot it was in there.””

Dr. Mansum has a lot of similar stories that inspire horror and humour in equal parts.

Luckily, Dr. Mansum is unflappable. Rather than recoiling, she turned her experiences into an opportunity to educate cat parents. But unlike most conventional vets, she chose to do this through standup comedy.

By day, Dr. Mansum treats animals. By night, she writes books, draws illustrations, and gets on stage.

“I love making people laugh,” she said. “I love having that time to tell my story, my jokes. You know, my jokes usually have a point to them, so hopefully they help people, too.”

It all began during the pandemic. Dr. Mansum began posting small sketches of common cat-parent mistakes, and discovered people welcomed practical advice delivered with humour.

That artistic side project blossomed into an interest in comedy, then standup comedy classes, then paid gigs. She’s also written (and illustrated) a book (The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Cat Carriers) and has two more on the way.

Vet visits are stressful for most cats. It’s not just the visit itself, but everything leading up to it: getting captured and put in the carrier, riding in the car and sitting in the (sometimes crowded) waiting room.

But the only thing worse than a stressful vet visit, is not making it to the vet at all.

“[The cat parents] somehow find that even if the cat hadn’t eaten in a week, they still have the energy to fight. The owners can't get them into the carrier, and then they miss their appointments,” she said.

Even worse, some cat parents dispense with the cat carrier altogether.

“One person showed up holding the cat, Lion King style. The cat was just doing this [she mimics the Lion King pose] in the air,” she said.

“And this clinic is in a shopping mall, and that parking lot outside the clinic is one of the busiest parking lots ever. The receptionist almost had a heart attack.”

“When I made that series of videos, people thought I was just doing stand up comedy skits. They thought I made up these stories.”

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By raising awareness of the importance of safe cat carriers, Dr. Mansum hopes to reduce stress for cats and in turn, improve feline access to veterinary care.

Stress can be a major deterrent in getting cats to the vet, for both cats and their parents. Often, it’s a chain of stressors that contribute to the last straw.

“There's a phenomenon that occurs where little things add up, called trigger stacking,” she said.

“Little things happen that add that build up and on its own. Like, one little thing, no big deal. Two little things, no big deal. But then by the third or fourth, the cat can snap, or the human can snap.”

Dr. Mansum is currently working on two books. The first is The Ins and Outs of Cat Litter Boxes: A veterinarian’s guide to litter boxes, litter and house soiling.

She’s also working on a children’s book on how to safely transport a pet in the car. It’s not just aimed at kids, though: “I'm hoping that it'll also teach the parents,” she said.

Follow Dr. Mansum on Instagram and YouTube.

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What is the best way to get a cat into the carrier?

Feet first: If you have a carrier that has a lid on top, just open the lid on top and gently put the cat in feet first. If you have a carrier of only one door (e.g. on the side), tilt the carrier onto the side with the opening facing the ceiling, and put them in feet first.

Training: It's better if you train the cats to get used to the carrier. If you leave the carrier out all the time, they can sleep in it, play in it, and nap in it. You can even put treats in there for them to eat in there. When the carrier is put it in storage, cats will realise the only time they see it is when they have to go to the vet.

Never use a broken carrier: Cats can escape - if the door is broken, cats can push the door open and get out. 

Dr. Mansum’s (unsponsored) cat carrier recommendations:

As cats become more popular, their parents are increasingly looking to provide better care.

The high-end cat carrier market is a beneficiary of this, driven by growing awareness of pet safety, stringent transportation regulations, and increasing perception of cats as family members.