There's something I'm curious about.
I know that mother cats of all species will pick up their young by gently clamping their mouth onto the neck scruff. I was always under the impression that it was ok for humans to pick up a cat by the neck scruff, but I only recently read online that it's inadvisable. I've never picked up a cat's full weight by the neck scruff, I've only held them by the scruff when the most of the weight is still on the rear half (which is supported by the floor, furniture, lap, etc) and that's only to immobilize them, for instance when they're overly-hyper, or it's claw-trimming time. I've read that that's ok.
My question, which I can't seem to find anywhere on google, is whether it's ok to pull them out from under something by the neck scruff. For example, if they know it's vet time because the carrier has come out and so they hide under the bed, or if they get themselves underneath something that's potentially dangerous. In these situations, when you try to grab the cat, it may squirm out of the way, sometimes while clawing or biting. I find the easiest thing to do is to quickly get a grip on the neck scruff, and gently drag the cat out from under wherever it is, usually on its side with the feet not touching the floor. It works better on a hard-surface floor rather than a carpet. Once the cat is clear of the object, I'll pick it up by a safer two-handed way.
Does anyone know if this is ok? It certainly doesn't seem as dangerous as picking up the full weight by the scruff, and I'd only recommend doing it if it's the only option.
I know that mother cats of all species will pick up their young by gently clamping their mouth onto the neck scruff. I was always under the impression that it was ok for humans to pick up a cat by the neck scruff, but I only recently read online that it's inadvisable. I've never picked up a cat's full weight by the neck scruff, I've only held them by the scruff when the most of the weight is still on the rear half (which is supported by the floor, furniture, lap, etc) and that's only to immobilize them, for instance when they're overly-hyper, or it's claw-trimming time. I've read that that's ok.
My question, which I can't seem to find anywhere on google, is whether it's ok to pull them out from under something by the neck scruff. For example, if they know it's vet time because the carrier has come out and so they hide under the bed, or if they get themselves underneath something that's potentially dangerous. In these situations, when you try to grab the cat, it may squirm out of the way, sometimes while clawing or biting. I find the easiest thing to do is to quickly get a grip on the neck scruff, and gently drag the cat out from under wherever it is, usually on its side with the feet not touching the floor. It works better on a hard-surface floor rather than a carpet. Once the cat is clear of the object, I'll pick it up by a safer two-handed way.
Does anyone know if this is ok? It certainly doesn't seem as dangerous as picking up the full weight by the scruff, and I'd only recommend doing it if it's the only option.