That’s what I’ve always done with my cats. If you continue to do this past the kitten stage they will retain the loose skin and you’ll have a permanent cat handle.
It’s sometimes a problem with fluffy cats – my Buffy tends to get dingleberries too – and she eats Science Diet and Friskies canned food) The others don’t have the same problem, but we had another long-haired cat, and she also had the same issue.
Fortunately, Buffy doesn’t get nearly as squirmy about being held as Maggie does. (She generally likes to be held, actually – well, she doesn’t like having her butt trimmed and wiped, of course, but you know what I mean)
I believe the OP’s question is based on a false presupposition, which is that it is possible to control a cat.
Cats can’t be controlled, no. But they CAN be bribed.
While a cat may be pointier, the OP outweighs the cat 10-1. Sometimes, you just have to show 'em who’s boss.
And sometimes, you just have to stuff 'em in a carrier and take them to the groomer and let them deal with the hellion.
I … I can’t belive I’m an expert on this topic already. (If someone sat me down when I was 14 and told me what I’d know now, my skull would have exploded.) Anyway, one other trick I’ve learned is that if the problem isn’t too bad yet, a quick grab-and-wipe with a baby wipe will not only clean up the area a bit, it will also leave it a) damp and b) slightly scented. At that point, most cats will tuck themselves away and clean up the area more thoroughly themselves, if only to deal with the damage they think you’ve inflicted.
Wrapping them in a towel works best if grabbing the scruff of the neck doesn’t. Unless you are my dad, who could handle a freaking Siberian tiger if it needed a shot. I could see those cats sitting in their cages plotting revenge, but they never got it.
Regards,
Shodan
I once saw male lion execute his revenge. It was at Space Farms (worst zoo in the US) and he was confined in a steel cage on a concrete slab. I watched him back up to the bars, raise his tail and completely soak two women. I still wonder about their drive home - Space Farms is in the boonies of NJ.
My dad was a small animal vet. I was being figurative talking about tigers.
My dad did get peed on by cats, while doing what he said was one of his favorite jobs - catheterizing a male cat with a urinary blockage. He said the expression on the cat’s face when finally able to let go was worth it.
“After all”, as he once said to me, “imagine what it would be like if you had to wait until someone else noticed that you couldn’t urinate!”
A wise man, my dad.
Regards,
Shodan
Here is how to give a cat a pill. Though some of the details are different, the principles are valid.
Picking the cat up, and then setting it on a counter or table will also work for this – having their feet on a solid surface is more reassuring for many cats. (It also has the advantage of putting them at a much more convenient height for you to work on them.)
You could try a restraint system. This place(among others) sells bags with zippered access to various areas on the cat. There’s even one specifically for giving baths. Note that I have not bought any of this stuff, so I am unable to say if they work or not.
A ball-peen hammer applied gently to the base of the skull will sometimes immobilize them for several minutes.
First you need a second set of hands. The original set of hands will soon be a shredded bloody mess.
I had a cat that was difficult to handle, and became downright insane at the vet’s. The technique was generally to have a vet tech, equipped with leather gloves past the elbow, blindfold and muzzle the cat with one of these, wrap her up in the blanket and then pin her down onto the counter. The cat would still howl and squirm, though. Getting her check-ups was torturous for all involved, and made worse by her chronic kidney issues which required a LOT of check-ups!
As far as cat muzzles go, these are the best!
And much practice, unfortunately, is the best way to learn how to restrain a cat. Believe me, I work in feline rescue and have to deal with ferals all the time. It took me a couple of years to be really comfortable with handling the truly untouchable ones. If all else fails, there’s a certain sedative we inject into a muscle (usually the butt) right through the bars of the carrier.
As far as dingleberries, the dedicated-for-the-pet clipper approach is probably the easiest on everybody - and really, please don’t be tempted to try scissors!
I came in to recommend this exactly for cat-containment. I bought one when I had to start giving one of my cats chemo pills earlier this year. It holds her nice and still while I shoot the pill into her mouth, and has saved my sanity. The one I have has a double-ended zipper up the back, so it would do just as well should I have to deal with the cat’s other end.
damn, silence of the kittehs … with those little masks no wonder they go flipping nuts :eek:
This thread is starting to degenerate into links for various cat bdsm sites…