Photos provided by Lexie Goldsmith
n the early days of pet professional online forums, there were all types of shockingly horrible and inappropriate handling methods for cats, such as using vet wrap on paws, cage/bag bathing, scruffing and more. Thankfully, these days, groomers and other pet professionals are looking for more holistic and low-stress approaches for handling felines, and these modern and far kinder techniques are the future for pet care—which is a great thing for cats!Scruffing involves using a hand behind the cat’s neck to hold a large amount of skin, aiming to imitate the way a kitten’s mother transports its kittens, causing a cat to relax their limbs. Scruffing is also used by tom cats when mating with queens and during fighting.
This is no longer a positive hold after a few weeks of age, as the reflex that causes relaxation disappears. It should not be mimicked by humans unless there are extreme circumstances, such as where a cat needs to be removed from a high-risk situation to avoid injury to itself or the handler.
Some of the reasons scruffing is not recommended include:
- Causes discomfort or pain for the cat, and therefore elevates aggression or increases sensitivity.
- Increases the likelihood of the handler being injured while attempting to scruff.
- Exaggerates feelings of fear, stress, frustration or loss of control, which can be interpreted by a cat as a negative association to the environment.
- Increased stress means increased cortisol, heart rate and body temperature, which can have adverse medical effects.
- Causes the cat to become aggressive from a fearful state.
- Hurts the relationship between cat and handler, where trust is essential.
Stress has effects on the feline body that you cannot see with the eye. Stress sends proteins to the kidneys, increases blood sugar levels and can cause long-term effects on a cat in renal failure. Stress can cause urinary tract blockages, and even cause severe tachycardia or respiratory distress resulting in death.
There are many far more suitable alternatives for handling cats, such as using light pressure or a towel, which can reduce their stress.
Using light pressure on certain areas can reassure the cat of where you would like them to be, instead of using a more aggressive approach such as scruffing.
1. Chin Hold: Use your thumb between the bones of the jaw and place the other four fingers around or on top of the head. You may also reverse this, using the thumb at the top of the head and fingers between the jaw bones. This prevents the cat from biting and sudden head movements.
2. Wrist Hold: This uses a gentle-pressure hold and gives you control of the head by simply using your wrist over the cat’s head when holding the paw, such as when clipping the nails.
3. Snake Hold: Use your fingers in a “V” shape to apply pressure and have control over the cat’s head when clipping, combing or wrapping the cat.
4. Football/Underarm Hold: Hold the cat under your underarm/body and roll the cat to access the groin and belly area.
Towel Methods
1. Leg Wrap: Wrap the back legs to access the front legs or wrap the front legs to access the back legs.
2. Head Wrap: A towel can also be used as an alternative to scruffing or using an elizabethan collar. Roll the towel up longways, wrap the towel around the neck and loosely tie it or secure it with a clip, avoiding the skin.
As you can see, there are many alternative and low-stress ways to handle a cat that don’t involve scruffing. Thankfully, with up-to-date training and research into feline health and behavior, we know better than to scruff.
There are many more opportunities to gain experience in reducing stress for cats in the boarding and grooming environment, and we should never stop learning and discovering ways to improve on our techniques to make things better for them.