This afternoon I took Kari to the vet. What an adventure that was!
First of all, I had to borrow a cat carrier from a co-worker. The one I had for Monkey had seen better days towards the end of his life .. Well, the one I borrowed, was a soft sided carrier with zipper enclosures.
Yikes!
It took Kari all of one minute to figure out how to get out of it. At first I though maybe I had left a zipper open, but she repeated the performance. Next, I realized that there was a velcro tab thing to hold a handle type thing for the upper zippers. So I did that up. This time it took her ten minutes to escape - though the majority of that time was spent yowling and complaining.
I had to pull over to put her back in the carrier twice. Finally, I decided to try to see if she'd be a good lap traveler like Monkey had been. Not so much.
Finally made it to the vets office. They put us in a room right away - no wait. Upon the vets advice, I let Kari out of the bag so she could explore the room.
Such a strange cat. When she got both of her shots, she had no reaction ... at first. Then 20 - 30 seconds later it was like the Tazmanian Devil broke loose. Yeow!! I've got multiple scratches and claw marks to prove it.
Then the vet tech started clipping her nails. Yowie! You would think WW3 had started or something. She was going to show me how to do it - to make sure not to cut the quick -- but she ended up having to take her to another room to finish. The whole clinic could hear her vehement protestations. 
When it was over, I asked the vet if they had any plastic ties so I could secure the zippers for the trip home. They had some, and put 3 on. Kari tried her darndest, but could not manage to get those loose!
The vet told me that we'd wait to clip her nails again until when she gets spayed ... in other words, when she is asleep.
I'll definitely be needing to get a real (plastic) cat carrier for future visits/car rides. I also can see that she'll probably need a tranquilizer if I take her with me on any road trips. The entire 35 minute drive to the vet she did not stop bellyaching once .. except for when she was out of the carrier. (When my previous cat Monkey was a baby and I was taking him home for the first time, he also cried pitifully in his carrier. I took him out and put him on my lap. He fell asleep. That is how he rode with me the majority of the time ... on my lap. Kari ... I don't see that is gonna happen - she couldn't settle down.)
Kari seems to have forgiven me for the torture I put her through today. She is fast asleep on my lap. 
The Escape Artist
October 14th, 2011 at 01:37 am
October 14th, 2011 at 03:09 am 1318561748
October 14th, 2011 at 03:19 am 1318562347
But, I can relate. Well, my old cat is not so crazy, and probably no escape artist, but I worry she is going to have a heart attack every time we leave the house with her. So, I try not to do it very often. In fact, dh pulled it off alone, twice, and I have no idea how. ??? HE is the kitty whisperer.
October 14th, 2011 at 03:19 am 1318562377
October 14th, 2011 at 03:26 am 1318562806
The funny thing is that she has no problem with me playing with her paws ... I had never tried clipping her nails due to not being sure of the quick .. but she acted like she was being *tortured*!
MM,
I hate to say it, but this cat probably won't be going on very many trips with me. I've never seen a cat react quite so badly to a car.
I'm glad she forgives me too.
October 14th, 2011 at 05:02 pm 1318611747
October 18th, 2011 at 07:18 pm 1318965522
In regards to her nails - you can see the pink "triangle" shaped quick in the nail. Usually if you just aim to cut where the nail curves you'll take the sharp point off and avoid the quick no prob. I also tell my clients just do 1-3 nails at a time. And try for when the kitty is least active or at nap time. Just slip up, trim a few and slip away. Good luck with everything.