Handling a frightened or injured cat increases the clinic staff’s chances for being bitten. This potential for risk requires taking safety precautions to ensure the safety of the handler.

Safety Precautions to Avoid Cat Bites

Feline Mood Indicators

No one ever plans to get bitten, but it does happen, so it is important for staff members to learn to recognize the mood of a cat in order to watch for the danger signs.

• Ears
• Not only do cats have good hearing, but their ears also provide great visual indicators of their mood, for instance:
• Ears forward and up
• The animal is relaxed
• Ears swiveling
• The animal is listening and is interested
• Ears turned sideways or turned back a little bit
• The animal is becoming agitated
• Ears flat back against the head
• The animal is frightened, aggressive, and defensive
• Tail
• The way a cat holds its tail is also a good sign of the way they are feeling. For instance, signs that the animal is friendly and feels safe include:
• Tail loose, straight up
• Tail up, quivering
• Tail straight out as if continuing from its body
• However, the tails that staff members want to focus on include:
• Tail up, but hooked
• Indicate cat is friendly, but not comfortable
• Tail thrashing from side to side
• Indicate animal is excited, angry, irritable
• Bristling tail, held straight up
• Animal is angry, scared
• Stiff tail, held down and out from body
• Indicates animal is becoming aggressive

Handling a Friendly, Non-injured Cat

Even when an animal shows no sign of illness, injury, fear, or aggression, staff members must still take safety precautions before attempting to pick them up.
When approaching the animal, always:

• Speak in a pleasant, soft, upbeat voice
• If the animal is in a carrier or is in a cage, hold fingers up to opening to allow them to sniff them from between the bars before attempting to open the door
• If there is information available that discusses the animal’s behavior and mood, read it

Use the following technique for handling friendly, cooperative, and non-injured cats:

• Place one hand around the animal, beneath its chest
• Using this hand, grasp the front legs so they cross over each other
• Using the same hand, securely grip the legs by placing your index finger between them
• Pick up the cat and pull him close to your body
• Support hind legs, if necessary
• Cradle his chin with your other hand

Handling a Fearful or Injured Cat

When approaching the animal:

• Speak in a pleasant, soft, upbeat voice
• Stand sideways or crouch down if animal is in a cage as standing over the animal may increase its fear
• Avoid direct eye contact
• Move slowly and quietly and in a gentle manner

Use the following method when handling a mildly fearful cat:

• Grasp the cat as its mother would have, by grasping their scruff at the back of the neck with one hand
• Hold the front paws with the other hand
• Hold the rear of the body against your side by using your elbow

If cat is frightened, handling can be helped by the use of a large towel or blanket:

• Cover animal and leave alone until it calms down, usually a minute or two
• Slide the cover underneath the animal
• Lift the animal up in a bundle

When handling an aggressive cat, the same method for a frightened animal can be used, but the staff member may want to use a thicker blanket or towel and wear leather gloves. If this does not add enough protection, one other option is to place the animal in a small squeeze cage or squeeze box. These devices are often used when examining and treating feral cats.

Clinic staff members who are able to recognize the signals that indicate a change in the mood of a cat will be better able to handle them in a way that avoids being bitten.

Interested in additional ways to keep your clinic staff safe? Contact your Covetrus  representative at 855.724.3461, we’d be glad to help!

Source:

https://www.vetinfo.com/how-to-physically-handle-an-aggressive-cat.html

http://www.hillspet.com/en/us/cat-care/behavior-appearance/cat-tail-language

https://www.petfinder.com/cats/bringing-a-cat-home/how-to-read-cats-body-language/

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