Video on bathing a young rescue cat by holding the scruff throughout

This is a slightly intriguing video. It took me about 10 seconds to realise that throughout the entire bathing of this young rescue cat (who was a bit grimy) the caregiver held the cat in her right hand by the scruff of their neck. And this accounts for the pliable and accepting behaviour of the cat. 

We all know that holding a cat by the scruff helps to pacify them because they are mentally reduced to being kittens held by their mother when they are carrying their offspring from an old down to a new one. This is the 'kitten reflex response' when carried by mom.

Images and video

Both images below are screenshots from the video. The video is below the images. It comes from TikTok where they allow visitors to download videos which implies that they allow them to be used under a creative commons license.

This woman has decided that the best way to bathe cats is to subdue them with the scruff-of-the-neck hold and it certainly works well as we can see in the video.

Cooking pot?

It's intriguing too that she used what appears to be a cooking pot in which I presume she added lukewarm water and some soap. On reflection, I think the reason why she used a large cooking pot is because she wanted to pour it out into the sink for the video. This allows us to see the dirt in the water. Neat idea.

Drowning fleas?

How effective is bathing a cat to get rid of fleas? You are effectively trying to drown them. Can you drown fleas? The woman who bathes this cat thinks that this is an effective way to get rid of them but is it?

My research indicates that you can indeed drown fleas, but it might take 24 hours. That would be untenable while bathing a cat and therefore I think when you bathe a cat you do get rid of some fleas not by drowning but because they are washed out of the fur into the water. 

Some fleas will probably remain on the cat, and they can be removed with a flea comb I would suggest. I would certainly check for fleas after bathing a cat like this especially when they are rescue cats because they are going to have lots of fleas normally.

Scruffing adult cats

Towards the end of the video, we see her holding this young cat up by the scruff of the neck. In fact, her hand has gone around the neck to the side. The entire weight of the cat is pulling downwards from this hold. 

I would not do this for an adult cat. It is going to stress the cat's body and neck too much. But for a young cat it is acceptable. You would simply support the cat by the legs if the cat was an adult and if you wanted to use this scruff technique when bathing.

Can and do domestic cats sulk?

I have conducted some research on this. The first point perhaps worth making is that 'sulking is a variation on jealousy' according to Dr, Brue Fogle in his book Complete Cat Care. And he goes on to state that 'jealousy is not as common in cats as it is in dogs'. 

Annoyed, jealous or sulking cat? Image assessed as being in the public domain.

D. Fogle strongly implies, therefore, that cats can feel the emotion of jealousy. And therefore, bearing in mind the link between jealousy and sulking, have the capacity to sulk. Sulking can also overlap with annoyance and cats can be annoyed.

RELATED ARTICLE: Cats Feel Jealousy but Not Grief.

Today I went for two walks in Richmond Park. My non-attendance at home was almost twice as long as normal.  My cat often waits for me when I go out on my own (he joins me when I buy the newspaper). 

Therefore, he had to wait a lot longer as I did not turn up when he expected, and I think he was sulking when I returned. That was judging by the expression on his face and general demeanour and body language.

However, it is very easy to project one's feelings and thoughts onto one's cat and dog companions. And sometimes feline anatomy gives the impression that a cat is sulking or annoyed when they are not. 

Anecdotal evidence (non-scientific and based on personal accounts) about cats sulking is all you will see on the internet. 

There are no hard science studies on this possible feline emotion. Yes, Dr Fogle is a very well-respected author and vet, but he is not God. He could be wrong.

And I can't be sure that I am right when I say that domestic cats probably have the capacity to sulk. There are lots of confident statements on the social media sites that cats can and do sulk.

I have lived with domestic cats for decade and studied them for 15 years. We can't say with complete confidence that domestic cats can sulk when they are upset, jealous or disappointed.

Let's be more cautious and circumspect and say it is very possible and there are signs that cats and other animals both domestic and wild experience far more emotions that we imagined. If cats can and do sulk it is likely that the emotion is experienced for a relatively short time. 

Cats have the capacity to move on and live in the present.

For instance, in The Times today is an article about a study on the social skills of pigs. The author states:

"These are important and very complex abilities. What is suggests is they have the ability to be sensitive to the emotions and internal state of others, and then to react to somehow intervene and restore calm to the group".

For far too long humans have been chronically ignorant of the capacity of animals to experience a range of emotions. It is only now dawning on us.

Cats are NATURALLY aggressive. Discuss.

Dr Bruce Fogle in his book 'Complete Cat Care' makes a statement which caught my attention: "Cats are naturally aggressive". We don't think of it like that very often. But it is true. And it is a source of potential trouble in the human-to-cat relationship. 

Despite the beautifully relationships between cats and their caregivers all over the world, the domestic cat is a top predator armed with weapons: claws and teeth. 

And they like to use them in play because play for domestic cats is play-hunting. All play is centred around hunting and hunting employs sharp canine teeth and even sharper claws on their forepaws.

They are programmed to hunt and kill. It is their major activity in life. And we know how cats act on instinct. This makes their genetic programming more effective as it is not tempered by rational thought.

Man used hand as a cat toy. Bad idea. Image in public domain and modified by MikeB.

Sometimes a cat caregiver can become annoyed and emotionally hurt by their cat as they feel that they've been respectful and gentle with them only to be scratched or bitten in return. 

Perceived behavioural problems can lead to a breakdown in the relationship and the surrender of the cat at a rescue centre or to a neighbour. Aggressive behaviour is in the top 10 reasons for giving up a cat. Understanding the deep emotional need to be aggressive for cats helps to restore the relationship.

The classic form of feline aggression that pops up from time to time is the 'love bite'. It sounds innocent and loving but the cat love bite is not the same as the human version. We know that.

Another description of 'love bites' is 'petting aggression'. Your cat is relaxed and enjoying your company. You gently pet your cat without thinking too much about how you are doing it and wham, your darling cat companion crunches down on your hand with her sharp canine teeth while holding on with the forepaws.

To release from this uncomfortable situation, distract your cat with the free hand and in that window of opportunity release the trapped hand slowly. Or use the free hand to scruff your cat's neck and then release the other.

RELATED: 11 types of domestic cat aggression and how to resolve them.

Cats' teeth are designed to pierce the skin and break the spinal cord of prey animals. Stroking triggers mixed emotions. Domestic cats enjoy touching their human caregiver and other pets normally.

My cat likes to reach out with his paw to touch my hand when he is with me. They like to be physically connected with their human companion, but they can become worried by it because the domestic cat's adult wildcat ancestor does not make physical contact with others except to mate and fight (normally). 

Although community cats and domestic cats form friendships and can rest together in close contact. But there is a different relationship between cat and human. And there is a big size difference which can work against the relationship. Humans can be intimidating to cats.

When a domestic cat becomes 'emotionally confused' during petting, as Bruce Fogle describes it, they may start to become instinctively aggressive. 

Human caregivers need to spot the signs of feline irritation such as a flicking tail and a tenseness developing in the cat's face and general demeanour. Your cat is warming up for an aggressive act by our standards. Not hers. It is play but all cat play is aggressive.

For people it is all about understanding cat behaviour and respecting it. All feline aggression in the home towards humans can be avoided and should be avoided by reading cat body language and understanding feline behaviour and their deep-seated instincts inherited from their wild cat ancestor which are just below the surface.

Use cat litter in tights to help prevent car windows fogging up!

Yep, this makes sense. First thing is that, in the UK, if you are driving with fogged up windows it is illegal. The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 regulations 23 and 27 and the Highway Code state that 'windscreens and windows must be kept clean and free from obstructions to vision'.

Cat litter in tights can help reduce condensation on car windows. Image: MikeB.

That does not mean that you'll be nicked for this minor crime, but it is possible. And if it happens you could be up for a £2,500 fine plus 3 penalty points. If the fogging causes an accident, you could commit a much more serious crime. It is dangerous to drive with a partly fogged up windscreen. 

Secondly windows fog up in cars because of condensation. Evaporated water in the air from damp clothes and objects such as wet umbrellas and the breath of the passengers and driver condenses on the cold windows. This converts the moisture in the air to liquid water on the window.

Wet dogs come to mind. There are a lot of wet dogs jumping into the back of estate cars at the moment. I am sure they are the cause of a lot of fogging.

Thirdly, you can help prevent this annoying condensation by filling some women's tights with clay cat litter and placing it in the car ✔️👍. Clay based litter is sodium bentonite, a highly absorbent material which is why it can be dangerous to cats if it is very fine and the cat breaths in the dust particles. The particles become a ball of clay inside the cat's lungs. Highly dangerous.

Watch out for clay-based litter with is too fine. It is light but I say it is dangerous.

As cat litter is designed to absorb liquid (urine) it will absorb some of the moisture in the air that is trapped inside the car. It may help in reducing the fogging.

You can buy commercial products that are better looking which contain absorbent materials which do the same thing only you need more money I suspect.

Here is an example available in the UK:

Car dehumidifier. Image: Amazon.

Perhaps some cars have dehumidifiers!

In the era of the so-called cost-of-living crisis in the UK, cat litter will be cheaper only make sure it is the unused variety!

Another possibility would be to leave the doors and windows open after you return for a while to allow the moist air inside the car to be removed by drafts. This could work if you have a garage.

Rescue centre insists people contact them if they want to relinquish their cats

North Wexford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NWSPCA) ask people to contact them if they want to relinquish their cats and not dump them in the car park!

Joe Murray, the chairperson of the NWSPCA is upset because when people just dump cats near the rescue centre that he manages it creates all kinds of problems because they are suddenly presented with a large number of cats. It upsets the management of the cats currently in their charge and those cats due to be taken in.

Cats and kittens dumped at NWSPCA in sealed containers. Image: NWSPCA.

And of course, the dumped cats can be at serious risk of harm. He prefers it if people contact the rescue centre and discuss the matter with them so that the cats can be handed over in a controlled way which is good for the health of the cats and good for the management of the rescue centre.

What sparked this request was a couple of incidents in which sealed boxes were dumped on the premises with mother cats and kittens inside. The fact that the boxes were sealed is I think unforgivable because the cats inside could have been harmed.

RELATED ARTICLE: Cat rescue centres in London, UK – mapped to facilitate finding them.

Joe Murray said that it was extremely hot day. Two adults and ten kittens were dumped. The second incident involved two adults and four kittens. It seems certain that this was a failure to sterilise cats. This happens far too often, and it is due to carelessness and ignorance.

Joe Murray said: "They weren’t left at the cattery, they were left in the car park, and it was only by chance that one of us noticed the boxes and decided to look in. If it wasn’t for that, they probably wouldn’t have survived the night in that heat."

Rightly, he said that dumping cats in this way is unacceptable and that it hinders the operation of the rescue centre and therefore the service that they can offer other animals and other caregivers.

The North Wexford rescue centre has limited resources and they are trying to service as many people as possible. They have a waiting-list. They only have a certain amount of space and dumping cats leads to the dumped cats jumping the queue. 

This means that people who want to relinquish their cats in a reasonable way and who are working with the rescue centre are then pushed back which is unfair for both people and cats.

They are forced to turn away people who are doing the right things he said. He further added that "Dumping cats like this is selfish of people because they're not giving us a choice."

RELATED: A cat rescuer describes what she faces when those who won’t spay/neuter are part of the problem.

He said that the cats were probably fine where they were, and they could have stayed there for a week or so which would have enabled the rescue centre to organise themselves and help with food and then use crates when they took them in at the next opportunity at a time when there was space available at the centre.

The key point that Joe Murray wants to make is: "The answer is to contact us and work with us."

As anybody who follows cat rescue knows, it is quite commonplace for people to dump cats at rescue centres either over the weekend or at night even in freezing weather in order to avoid meeting with the rescue staff because no doubt the person relinquishing the cats is embarrassed.

They should swallow their embarrassment and take courage to admit that they can't cope and then make arrangements with the rescue staff to hand over the cats in a controlled manner.