Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn, read my bio to learn more about me and meet my five delightful cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda and Zazzles.
Disclaimer: The images used in this article are a demonstration of scruff grabbing. The cats depicted have been well-handled, pampered and fed ridiculous amounts of chicken in return for posing for me. They are given plenty of space and the opportunity to leave at any time and their welfare is my number one priority.
It wasn’t that long ago that it was common for cats to be grabbed by the scruff, restrained and carried. We’ve all seen mother cats carrying their kittens this way, so how can we say it’s harmful? And most of the time, our cats didn’t seem to mind… or did they?
In recent years, animal behaviorists have found that picking up a cat by the scruff of the neck can make them feel fearful, stressed, or helpless, rather than calming and relaxing, which can lead to the common limp response. Sure, this may make your cat easier to handle, but is that a good thing?
There are many campaigns and organizations that aim to minimize or eliminate scruff grabbing in veterinary practice, but while this is a noble goal, it’s not always realistic or practical. Some animal lovers swear that they will never grab a cat by the scruff under any circumstances, but I often find this difficult to put into practice. International Cat Care Association We acknowledge that grabbing a cat by the scruff is sometimes necessary to restrain it, and this is included in our No Grabbing by the Scruff Campaign Pledge.
“International Cat Care’s ‘Don’t Grab by the Scruff’ campaign focuses on avoiding the routine use of grabbing by the scruff as a means of restraining cats, which unfortunately is still commonplace. Our campaign specifically refers to the routine use of grabbing by the scruff when handling cats. In exceptional circumstances, very brief and forceful restraints such as grabbing by the scruff may be necessary and may pose a real and immediate risk of injury to a person. However, these circumstances are rare and exceptional – by no means routine.”
One of my most common frustrations is when support staff flatly refuse to grab a cranky, aggressive cat by the scruff of the neck when they need to quickly and safely administer treatment, administer injections, or check for injuries. Inevitably, this forces a more protracted, stressful, and risky approach to a problem that could have been easily addressed with a brief application of effective restraint.
So, while it may be unpopular, I strongly believe that in certain circumstances grabbing someone by the scruff of the neck is the best and safest method of restraint.
The Lesser of Two Evils
When it comes to strangling a cat, I don’t necessarily believe that “the ends justify the means,” but I do believe that sometimes it is “the lesser of two evils.” Sure, strangling a cat may be an unpleasant cause of stress, discomfort, and helplessness for the cat, but if the alternative means:
- After administering sedation at home, bring the cat back the next day
- Spending even more time wrapping an already distressed cat in towels
- Risk of injury to cats and humans
- Using sedatives or general anesthetics for procedures that should take less than 30 seconds
- It can cost pet owners hundreds of dollars to remove thorns, loose nails, and small patches of matted fur.
- I choose the option that causes the least pain for all involved, and sometimes that means strangling myself.
How long will head-shaking be tolerated?
Rather than having a blanket rule that says “never twist your cat’s head,” I think it would be much better to provide guidelines so that people know when twisting is appropriate and when it’s not, and how to hold a cat with a twist safely. So that’s what I’m going to do.
| Don’t strangle me | Consider Scrafting |
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How to properly hold a cat by its neck
If you’re not confident and quick with your approach you’re unlikely to be successful, so make sure you’re ready to hold your cat tight and have your next steps planned out in advance.
If possible, rub your cat’s scruff first – this will stop you from startling her by simply grabbing her by the scruff, and will help you determine if this area is particularly sensitive. If your cat doesn’t like you touching her neck or shoulders, avoid grabbing her by the scruff – this will only make the situation worse.
For the neck hold to be effective, you need to grab the neck firmly – do not pinch the skin or pinch it very lightly, as this will increase pain and make it harder to control.
There are three main positions required:
carry: Never pick up your cat by the scruff of the neck – always place your hands under its chest or behind its bottom. If you can lift your cat safely, hold it close to your body for extra security.
hold: This is when you restrain a cat so that someone can do or check something quickly and safely: hold its head out of the way of the other person and with your other hand, hold its front legs at elbow height.
medicine: Ideally, this should also be done by two people, one to stop the front legs getting tangled, and the other to hold the animal by the scruff with your non-dominant hand, tilting the head back as far as possible – this will pull the lower jaw down and make it easier to administer the medication.
This method of medicating your cat should only be used for short-term or one-off treatments. If your cat is on medication long-term, you’ll need to find an alternative method, as daily neck scratching will only reinforce their aversion to being medicated.
Sometimes I tilt my head
Not everyone will agree with me, and that’s okay, but I think avoiding grabbing by the neck can cause more stress and harm when in fact it’s best to use this less common technique for short periods of time.
While I completely agree that it shouldn’t be used too frequently or for long periods of time, I think it’s more practical and realistic to avoid holding the neck rather than never using it.
This article is part of a series introducing Dr. Kalin’s five funny cats.
