Cayko Scared Me

I don't know what it is about these kittens, but they make my heart skip a beat constantly... Last night I went to weigh Cayko and I usually scruff them when I pick them up. I placed her like this onto the scale. I used to put a towel over the scale but now that they are older I don't see it as necessary. When I set her in there she was sort of sitting with her nose to the ground. At first I thought she was smelling but she was so still. Chris was watching too. Then as her weight was over to one side a little she just fell over, absolutely in the same position. She didn't move...like she was frozen. Since one of our cats has seizures sometimes, Chris thought she was having a seizure. I panicked and picked her up and set her on the floor and she jumped up and ran off like nothing had happened.

I think the combination of scruffing her and the strange feeling of metal maybe caused her to be still (that survival instinct in teh kitten I think somehow kicked in, where if you are not still then something will get you)... At least its easy to weigh them like that but still, that made me nervous.

Yikes, that must have been scary! Glad to know it was just a scare though, and nothing bad! Cayko, you shouldn't scare Meowmy like that!

I had heard that scruffing could (for lack of a better term) cause temporary "paralysis". Maybe "stillness" would be a better word. But I'd never come across that myself.

yeah, you really shouldn't pick up a cat by the scruff of the neck, even if it is a kitten. They need to be supported properly.

i'd certainly never pick my girls up like that

Isn't it natural for kittens to be held in such a way? I know it is calming. When I give kitty massages I usually work the scruff extra and it seems to be very pleasant. I thought as kittens this is a very natural state for holding. When I pick them up the regular way they are still in a freak out mode, but getting better about that, where if I scruff them they are calm and still.

and if it was so bad then y do there mum's do it , i have alway's done this with my kitten's and like ur's they scream blue murder if i pick them up normally lol

I always picked our kittens up by scruffing them till they were between 6 to 8 weeks old. Any other way and they would flail about and cry and cry.

I think scruffing causes, or tells the kitten to be still while being carried. In the wild, if mom cat was moving her babies due to danger, the last thing she wants is twisting, fussing kittens who can alert predators to their location. So my assumption is it's a survival instinct (either physiological or psychological or both).

The same is true for ferrets. When we need to clip our ferrets nails, I scruff him and lay him along my arm backwards to support him. When he's scruffed he can't really move or fuss about vs when I just hold him, he's a squirmy tube of fur!

There are many different animals that have this reaction. I've heard about holding chickens upsidedown puts them to sleep (or in reality triggers some sort of paralysis) and some reptiles may "zone out" when rolled over or held in certain ways.

~Julia

I had always heard you should not scruff kittens unless they are very tiny. After awhile, probably about the same time mom stops scruffing them, it should no longer be done, and they should be held with their little bottoms supported.
My vet says it is very painful to lift a cat after it gets too heavy for that small area to support it.
That made sense to me, so I have never done it. I grasp that area and hold it when I have to do something and need to control the cat while it is on a steady surface.

I forgot to ask in the previous post, how are Cayko's little toes doing? Does she get around ok for her age?

Well the kittens are only 5.5 weeks old and mom moved them all upstairs the other day so they are all fine with being scruffed. After a while yah you don't want to scruff them anymore. They are small for their age so they probably have quite a bit of time left in that regard.

Cayko's toes are completely healed! Well there is a smidgen of a scab left on one toe. I was shocked to find almost the whole pad grew back (I would be even more shocked if the claw grew back but I doubt that will happen), where it originally looked like at least half the pad was gone. The stumpy toe has also grown a conseriderable amount considering I didn't think there was anything left of it. It healed the cleanest. It turns out it was only those 2 toes affected. She gets around like nothing ever happened. She just has a little less leverage when she climbs and htat foot tends to slide quite a bit. That dosen't stop her one bit!

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

Isn't it natural for kittens to be held in such a way? I know it is calming. When I give kitty massages I usually work the scruff extra and it seems to be very pleasant. I thought as kittens this is a very natural state for holding. When I pick them up the regular way they are still in a freak out mode, but getting better about that, where if I scruff them they are calm and still.

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there is nothing wrong with scruffing kittens or cats. as they get older you need to make sure you hold their bottoms so there isnt too much stress on the neck line. but scruffing is actually good for them! it's releases endorphins to calm the kitten/cat and keeps them less stressed in situations that they could harm themselves by moving about. with kittens it does paralise them a little because the endorphin release is more than it would be in a cat for their size. sometimes it can stun them if they have low blood pressure massaging the neck line can increase the blood pressure and 'wake' them.

Originally Posted by ocicat_steph

there is nothing wrong with scruffing kittens or cats. as they get older you need to make sure you hold their bottoms so there isnt too much stress on the neck line. but scruffing is actually good for them! it's releases endorphins to calm the kitten/cat and keeps them less stressed in situations that they could harm themselves by moving about. with kittens it does paralise them a little because the endorphin release is more than it would be in a cat for their size. sometimes it can stun them if they have low blood pressure massaging the neck line can increase the blood pressure and 'wake' them.

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Steph, I couldn't have said it better. I agree with everything you have said in your post. I weigh the same way as Solarity does, and a few of the kittens will just relax and lay still for a few seconds, and then again will hop up again. It does make weighing easier...LOL