Gaia Vets is A Scruff-Free Facility
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Image and Campaign Credit: International Cat Care
Straight off the bat, we don’t believe in scruffing at Gaia Vets and believe it should be avoided in favour of better ways to handle cats.
If you’re not sure what scruffing is about, keep reading.
Scruffing is the act of firmly gripping the loose skin at the back of a cat’s neck. People usually scruff cats to restrain them, to prevent them from escaping or preventing them from biting/scratching their handlers. Compliant and relaxed cats don’t need to be scruffed. This method of restraining is usually employed when the cat is feeling stressed out and unable to stay still to be examined or groomed.
Ample research has been done to show that scruffing is counterproductive. Cats tend to struggle even more when heavily restrained. It also does not make it easier for the people handling the cat since scruffing only serves to make a stressed-out cat even more anxious. Essentially, scruffing can make the cat feel like he has no option to retreat, and significantly escalates his level of distress. The cat becomes harder to handle as as result. It may also create a negative association for the cat with the handler or situation e.g. a grooming session.
Animal handlers such as groomers, trainers, vet technicians and vets themselves have been traditionally taught to scruff cats as a manner of restraint. This was thought to be mimicking the behaviour of a mother cat picking up her kittens by the scruff of their necks. During the first few weeks of life, mother cats may lift her kittens by the scruff of their necks using her mouth to transport or immobilise them. One thing is for sure, a kitten’s weight and size may be able to allow his mom to scruff him gently, but the scruff of the neck of an adult cat may not be able to support his full weight. And if there is a better way that’s backed by research to handle a stressed-out cat, why not?
A study was conducted on using full body restraint on cats (allowing little or no movement) compared to passive restraint.
Passive restraint is when the cat is being “held lightly with the least amount of restraint possible, in a position of the cats choosing (standing, sitting or laying). The cat is allowed movement of its head, body and limbs.”