Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Freckle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:27:46 GMT

[quote user="loopylou711"]

less is definently more whn it comes to cats as i already said in this thread. meant to mention, I knew a vet who had a rule called 3 things, so whn u did something to the cat you had to take it out the kennel 3 times and do 3 nice things. I liked this, took time but the cats loved it :D and were more relxed for it!

[/quote]

i love that!! will be telling peeps at work about it tomorrow!

i told my head nurse off today for scruffing a cat - one of those that was noisy, but didn't actually do anything about it! we managed to easily bleed it with my softly softly approach, tho HN said it was un-doable - wooo! still feel a bit bad about 'telling off' my superior though - it just kind of slipped out when he grabbed it by the scruff for no reason!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

loopylou711 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:22:30 GMT

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:40:53 GMT

[quote user="xXx Cat xXx"]

Hi all,

Love the thread very interesting topic. As most of you have mentioned my vets tend to want things done there and then not giving us time to calm our patients. If they are sent back to a kennel then I pop a piece of cotton wool with some valarium on it in with them and a blanket to hide under and most of the time they come back out very placid.

We have a cat in at the moment with a collar injury that is taken ages to heal and requires bandaging every couple of days. She used to be uncontrollable and needed sedation to get near her and her fosterer had the same problem. We agreed to take her in and board her and with a little TLC we can examine her and clean and change bandage now with nothing no sedation just tickle her tummy when u want her to lie down and her back if u want her to stand and she is a very happy cat now.

Thanks for the tips every one will certainly be putting them into practise.

xXx

[/quote]

Valarian root and lavender are both very good for chilln out cats. I take Valarian at night and when i open the bottle my cat always sticks her nose in it for a lil while lol bless her.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Dodo bird — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:06:05 GMT

i too am in favour of the softly softly approach but also use alot of feliway spray to make them fell more relaxed too. I try to never scruff cats these days - although in my training many moons ago this was then common practice.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Freckle — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:13:05 GMT

me too! this thread has been really interesting (thanks for all the replies), and i wish the vets and nurses i worked with thought more like you guys!!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Claire Cameron — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:34:02 GMT

[quote user="StephB"]

[quote user="Freckle"]

[quote user="Lilypads"]

It's the same with cats with a lot of things. Were one person will say on hosp form "not eaten" constantly another person who takes the time to tempt the cat, offer diff foods, hand feed, make a fuss, give cat privacy they can often get him/her eating. What's the point of doing this job if you aren't willing to take the time and exercise a little patience when necessary?

So yep totally agree with you. i think scruffing is used far more than necessary.

[/quote]

Thankyou! I agree - scruffing is necessary at times, but more often than not, the gently gently approach works, and is much better for all concerned!

And don't even get me started on the 'getting cats to eat thing!'

Now I am no expert in cats - I'm just your bog standard L3 svn, but even I know that

a) overfacing them will do no good

b) they prefer shallow dishes, and

c) grooming and fussing often encourages them to eat

The number of times I have been 'over-ruled' by both vets and RVNs on these, to me, basic rules of cat nursing....AAAGGHHH!

I even had a VET remove the towel over the kennel that I had placed, and put 3 dishes of food in, to replace my one saucer of warmed food, and then *** me for 'wasting time' on an anorexic cat :(

Admittedly, this was about 8 years ago, and he was a Herriot-esque type of vet.. but still!!

*breathe* sorry - rant over

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I think you're my long lost twin :( why don't you live closer!!! We think way too a like! We had an RTA oriental in that had four different food bowls and plates all round it for a couple of days with the claims that he wouldn't eat. My first thought was well duh you have too much food in front of him and he's an oriental they don't do well in enclosures with out a bit of a fuss. I sat with him for 10 mins and got a little food in a bowl, bog standard cat kibble and just made a fuss of him and he was eating like a horse.

[/quote]

I work in a cat only practice, this all sounds fab! pleased other ppl appreciate cats :-)

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Kirstie Sherman — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:15:33 GMT

I am a 'cupper' too, like Kezza the Cat. I think with cats....less is more. I think that diving in and scruffing them just shows poor nursing skill!!

It makes me mad when they are misunderstood, we always refer to cat cat-friendly nurses as 'cat whisperers' at work!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

xXx Cat xXx — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:13:17 GMT

Hi all,

Thanks for the tips every one will certainly be putting them into practise.

xXx

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:37:37 GMT

[quote user="Naomi Jackson"]A spray of felifriend on your hands and gently massaged onto cat works wonders. I think it stinks but they like it.

[/quote]

What a good idea I like it

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Naomi Jackson RVN — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:06:45 GMT

A spray of felifriend on your hands and gently massaged onto cat works wonders. I think it stinks but they like it.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Emma Purnell — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:03:48 GMT

Now, I have a bit of an issue with cats. I have tiny hands. I try not to scruff if I can, especially with blood samples, general holding etc. but if I have a concern the cat is going to jump i.e. with an injection I just have no choice. Many a blood sample I have had to pass over because I physically cannot hold it's head up.

Any ideas for how I can hold them kindly in those cases? I hate stressing them.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Siobhan Steven — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:20:28 GMT

There have been a few inappitant cats that I have encouraged by placing a wee 'smiggle' (not a technical term but it means 'a little bit'...to me anyway) on the side of one of the front paws, the cat will lick it off, cause they don't like stuff on paws, and you can see them go 'oh, f-o-o-d sweet.' And then they will eat for you...sometimes.

Very good points made Lily.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Kerry Spain — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:54:55 GMT

I'm a 'cupper' restrainer as in I cup under the chin and gently hold the cats body next to mine. I don't scuff unless necessary. However scruffing does have its place for the beasties out there, we had a cat in to board a few weeks ago and she was a nutter. The only way we could clean her kennel was to very slowly put a hand in and if lucky enough she would let you touch her head and then...pounce! scuff, grab and into a clean kennel.

I think the whole process left the nurses more shaken than the cat

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Avril Louise Jackson RVN — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:40:56 GMT

[quote user="StephB"]

[quote user="Lilypads"]

Steph are them your cats on the photo on the cushion? They are beautiful

[/quote]

yep Thanks!! there are more here if you're interested www.nekosushibengals.com :D

[/quote]

Fabulous :) I'll take a look thanks xx

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Avril Louise Jackson RVN — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:31:01 GMT

I used to work with vet that scruffed every cat that came into consults, euthanasia, ops, bloods. The euths were particularly bad... a cat dying from end stage renal failure does not need scruffing but he insisted on it. It was distressing for the cat, the owner and for everyone except him. He also required EVERY dog to be placed on the examination table in consults including Great Danes! I remember one day a staffy came in for kennel cough and the owner said her dog hated the table. I could empathise with this as I had a westie who used to hate the table and would instantly panic when placed on it. The vet insisted this poor staffy be placed on table and it was scrabbling about, he couldn't get anywhere near it with 2 myself and owner trying to restrain it. It had been so placid on the floor. I decided to take matters into my own hands and as vet went to grab some ropes to tie its muzzle I placed dog on floor and gave it KC no probs!!

Why can't people judge animals by how they are presented and if their owner says they don't like tables they don't like tables. What's the point of stressing everyone out and the animal just for the sake of bending down? And you certainly don't need to bend down too far for great danes! It took longer and more fuss to get these dogs on the table!

Another gripe I have is people who put cats in bottom kennels when upstairs ones are free!! I remember at work one day coming in for afternoon/evening shift and top kennels were occupied by dogs, a hedgehog and a pigeon and all the bottom kennels had cats in them! The smaller kennels we have for birds and small wildlife were all free! All these poor cats cowering in their cages on a vet bed with not even a blanket to hide behind! It took me ages to swap them all about cleaning kennels but it was worth it. Don't understand why some people do this job if they can't even recognise a stressed cat and do something about it when they are capable of doing so. Every little thing you do, no matter how trivial it seems can make a big difference.

Love how people do long slow blinking!! One of my own cats loves it when we do that. He sits on back of sofa and I lean towards him and we have a long slow blinking session!! However he also humps my leg (and yes he is castrated!)!!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:51:44 GMT

I do the eye contact and slow blinking too, this settles a lot of cats, and half the time they dont even realise you have taken the blood.

Scruffing- only if the cat totally flips out and is going to injure me do I scruff a cat.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Ceri Boyd — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:23:11 GMT

Ahh unnecessary scruffing annoys me so much! I'm only a 1st year SVN but I'm a cat lover and have had cats all my life, and I think I handle them pretty well. When asked to assist with bloods etc I always pat and make a fuss of the cat first, sure it takes a few minutes but the cat is much more relaxed! It's usually easy then to get a sample, I find talking gently to it or giving it a good scratch helps. If the cat gets stressed I wrap it in a towel and only scruff when really necessary. I also like to make a fuss of them afterwards, again helps them to calm down. I find that too many vets and nurses who have been qualified a while scruff cats routinely & unnecessarily and kind of grab them out of their kennels...ahhh whyyy???

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Steph Worsley — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:11:44 GMT

we have a notice up in our cat ward that says....We have a no scruff policy....if in doubt the towel comes out

I have to agree with dippy and the 30 minute rule, especially when they are really freaked. We always try softly softly initially then we can get firmer and if needed we do towel wrap our cats...saves lots of scratches!!!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Nicola Smith — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:45:16 GMT

I am really lucky and our vet hates scruffing and we generally do the less is more approach and works really well, very few things we have to give up on!! Had a loum the other week though and he let a cat run round the room thrn couldn't catch it so picked it up by scruff and a further handful of skin down its spine, wondered why it freaked!!I spent ages settling it before he did iv on it, he was prob getting mad but I don't care. I think he got the hint by the end of the week with me walking round muttering!! I almost said something but just difused the situation by talking to the cat instead. I find that helps - and you are talking to the animal notthem so they can't say anything. Like oh dear has that man upset you now, horrid man!!!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Siobhan Steven — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:24:54 GMT

Before anyone suggets PC record should have noted on his record he was a Psycho Cat we had never had any problems with him prior to this, and never asked the owner what it stood for.

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Siobhan Steven — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:22:18 GMT

I use the Supernanny approach, the 'Reflection Room' i.e Isolation, for a while, of course as long as its not occupied! Or even a dark consult room away from dogs and othere cats. Let them think about their 'unasseptable behaviour' (kidding). We did have a cat called P.C that used to come in for regular bloods, on the departure of myself and another nurse I heard through the grapevine that the cat had put the new nurse in hospital during blood time, the owner then told the vet PC stood for 'Psycho Cat'! Apart from being shredded by PC she fainted during the attack, got blood poisoning...

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Dippy — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:13:14 GMT

Sarah Heath reckons that if they do freak out, putting them back in the kennel for 5mins as a lot of people do is no good, it needs to be about half an hour or so, otherwise they're still in their heightened state. I also hate when vets don't give you the time you'd like to get them chilled first cos they're in such a rush to get blood or whatever they're doing.

There's always the exception to the rule as well. Funny this should come up now as I was called into the cvonsulting room to assist last night, giving a cat a booster (you know you're in trouble when the vet asks for help with that!) It's a British Blue with a temperament just like my old one when she used to go to the vets - the notes said I'd had her in for a nail clip previously and given up before starting! The short version is, 15mins later, box of cat treats spilled all over the floor, owner scratched, blanket and gauntlets used, cat had booster and went home. Nightmare!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Siobhan Steven — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:26:58 GMT

Yippee!! Nurses who don't think cats are a set of bag pipes! I had the wife/prac manager/head nurse of a nearby clinic drop in one day (she had been working as a nurse for far longer than me), and we chatted about this and that, you know when someone's working their way up to asking you something? She then asked me how I go about restraining cats because her husband/vet was getting to the point where if he saw a cat consult for anything that may lead to bloods being taken he was stressing (yeah, probably didn't help but its a bit self perpetuating isn't it?). My thoughts are firstly, they are not bagpipes, secondly, if they are going to go off they will, scruffed or not. If they go off, put 'em back in the cage to chill for a while. They have five weapons of mass destruction! I go with what you all have said above, and its heartening to see there is a growing band with this approach. Viva la passive kitty restraint!

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

Laura Ringsell — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:24:19 GMT

I agree with everything said - I am definately a less is more, softly softly approach person, building it up as necessary and depending on the cat. Another issue for me is when you have a lovely chilled out cat presented perfectly for its sample and along comes the 'i'm in a hurry and you've taken far too long' inpatient vet with a stabbing approach to blood samples - cat hits the roof and you get shouted at for not restraining properly. One of these days I will shout back 'well learn how to take a sample then' - makes me mad.

I also have the same problem with feeding and am frequently removing a smorgasboard of bowls - why is it we learn all this stuff to get ignored? it is so frustrating and demoralising. Oh well off to work now for me - yiphee

Re: Restraining cats.... thoughts please..

janie550 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:47:43 GMT

Agree loopylou - your own body language makes such a huge difference to your patients.

If you are relaxed and chilled it rubs off on them. I use a light touch with cats and rarely had problems, however I have a little story...I moved to NZ to take up a job as head nurse in a practice. it was all quite scary coming from the UK to a new country, and a new clinic where I didnt know anyone. There was also quite a bit of pressure on as they had been awaiting my arrival!! Anyway when I started in the clinic I just seemed to have completely lost my cat handling skills...the cats were all psychotic and I blamed it on the fact they were all hopelessly spoilt by their owners (it was a wealthy area and 90% of the cats were pedigrees). Well, turns out it was just becuase I was so wound up it was affecting my cats! As soon as I found my feet and calmed down a bit - hey presto! Purring happy kitties again!