Cat Friendly Practices - How Does this Help my Cat?
George, summer 2014 |
Semi-Feral Handling
Meet handsome George. He is a young cat that has lived outside for all or most of his formative years. He avoids direct human approach. But, he sort-of wants a home. Two lovely people took him under their wings and tried trapping him. After about 8 months of evading the trap, they finally caught him and brought him to us.
Having had minimal handling, he climbed the walls and bit and scratched out of fear and anxiety when the owners first tried to put him in a carrier to bring him in for neutering and vaccination.
After his first experience with us, which was a short stay in a boarding cage after his surgery, and minimal, gentle handling, his second visit went as follows:
Having had minimal handling, he climbed the walls and bit and scratched out of fear and anxiety when the owners first tried to put him in a carrier to bring him in for neutering and vaccination.
After his first experience with us, which was a short stay in a boarding cage after his surgery, and minimal, gentle handling, his second visit went as follows:
First, he was allowed to acclimate to the sounds and smells of the hospital. We have Feliway diffusers throughout the hospital to help reduce anxiety.
Next, we approached with slow but deliberate motions. Making many small, unnecessary motions around a nervous cat can cause increased anxiety, since a fluttering hand may resemble the motions of a bigger predator or fluttering prey. Many times, when handling stressed, anxious or shy cats, "less is more".
Next, we undid the clasps on the carrier, and held a towel over the front of the carrier while we opened the door, removed it, and then simultaneously slid the top of the carrier off and slid the towel over George. Most of his exam was performed while he was under the towel, sitting in the bottom half of the carrier. This allowed him to feel comfortable and protected. The restraint used for him was gentle pressure on both sides of the body, just enough to keep him from darting out of the carrier, but no more.
We placed him back into the bottom half of his carrier and he relaxed a bit, and we were able to comb him for another minute or two before he tensed again, signaling that he was thinking about fleeing. We carefully replaced the top of his carrier and the door, and gradually removed the towel, completing our work with this semi-feral cat without undue stress, and without anesthesia. We placed treats in his carrier to end the visit on a positive note. Our hope is that with each successive visit, he will become more and more tolerant of handling.
George, winter 2014 |
Stay tuned to see how things go next month, when George will need a blood sample collected!
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