Deactivating cats ...........

[wolf63]

The device used in the youtube link seems too good to be true. I have spoken to a vet who said that trying it out on his own cat seemed - strange. He does not consider it to be cruel.

What does anyone else think?

PS - Andrew1707, this would make an excellent gift for your sister for her birthday. Or a puppy ........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9TmmF79Rw0

[bimbo123456]

That is amazing. Probably goes back to when they were kittens. Mother cats carry their kittens by the scruff.

[woofgang]

goodness there are some nasty barstewards in the world......

[boxtops]

what an excellent idea. A kitten will always go limp when its mother picks it up by the scruff of the neck. If you could find a bulldog clip which didn't actually pinch and hurt, it looks like it works. Mind you, No1 Son probably doesn't have that much loose skin on the back of his neck....

[carmalee]

there's something 'not quite acceptable' about it but have to say,the cat didn't look particularly stressed afterwards - although when the clip was on, it's ears suggested he/she wasn't completely relaxed about things. Maybe is triggers some sort of submission response like that a kitten displays when the mother cat carries it in her mouth. Don't know - not sure

[wolf63]

http://store.clipnosis.com/Default.asp

This is the website. I would actually be able to trim claws and groom and still keep my fingers and arms.

;-)

When my brother visited with his first born she crawled past me and in an attempt to stop her I tried scruffing her. It was an automatic thing!

[boxtops]

Perhaps we could cut No1 Son's toenails if I tried this...

[Barmaid]

Right, that's 4 bulldog clips for me then!!!!

[Barmaid]

Does it work on blokes too?!

[Frank97]

How bizarre, I wonder if it works on dogs?

[ChuckFickens]

I'd try it on myself and let you know BM.... but it seems a little risky just in case it does work.... seeing as I'm on my own in the house

[Barmaid]

You could email me your address on my throwaway addy and if you haven't posted in 15 mins I'll send the boys in blue (and a camera crew to video it all for youtube)...............

[scotman]

That is very interesting. It must be the kitten thing. You can do something similar to horses by twisting their upper lips.

http://www.piehtoolco...ents/en-us/d1375.html

[wolf63]

The vet I spoke to said it didn't seem 'fair' to use it - not sure if that is medical jargon.

carmalee - I know what you mean, it seems unacceptable. But as has been said it is only building on the scruffing technique of the mother cat.

D97x7 - at least with a dog you should be able to intimidate it into behaving. Cats are wild and nasty.

barmaid - the plastic ones are said to be 'kinder' so get them for the cats and a metal one or two for your OH.

scotman - yeah - I have seen that done to horses on the TV. Some guy also tried "Bunny Whispering" but it seems that the method used to keep the rabbit still is actually quite traumatic for the bunny. And being a prey animal they can drop dead with fright all too readily.

I think that it is something that could be used but could be easily abused. Putting a clip on Merlin's neck so that she doesn't annoy me when I use the PC might not be acceptable.

.

[carmalee]

It releases endorphins into the bloodstream scotman- been used on horses since Nelson lost his eye - most yards have one.

[Barmaid]

Seriously, I don't think I could actually do this to my cats unless I needed to calm them for some reason to say, remove a tick etc.

[wolf63]

I agree bm - it is a great idea but I don't know if I could use it. All the bites from the last time I clipped Merlin's claws have cleared up and I only had one lot of antibiotics - so maybe I will see if they become readily available - but would it be OTT to render a small lady can into a trance-like state just for a manicure - yep sounds less painful for me !

I am off to find the nail clippers - if this is my final post on AB all I can say was that it has been fun.

[jules77]

Probably similar to when you 'twitch' a horse which releases endorphins to the brain to relax it. Have to say, the cat didnt look in any distress.

[boxtops]

I tried to try it on Black Spot - he bit me....

[daisya]

Oooh does look painful even if it's similar to what the mother does to the kitten, the bulldog clip looks as though it could be painful as carmalee said. I don't know how to react to it really as I know some cats do need calming in certain situations so maybe something different to a bulldog clip (perhaps a padded clip?) might help when really needed.