Scruff Dog
Tonje Bernardin
It should not be mimicked in a grooming salon unless there are extreme circumstances, such as when a cat needs to be removed from a high-risk situation. There are usually alternatives such as using a towel.
The proof is in the Veterinary and Behavioural Science. It is no longer standard practice to scruff a cat for Grooming and Veterinary treatment, as it can have repercussions on the health and well-being of the cat.
I read classic dominance-oriented books by the renowned upstate New York trainers The Monks of New Skete, among others, to teach her I was the leader of her pack, even when that meant stern corrections, like shaking her by the scruff of the neck.
"nape of the neck," 1790, altered (by influence of scruff "crust") from scuft, skuft (1787), a provincial word of obscure origin, but probably related to North Frisian skuft "back of the neck of a horse" and Dutch schoft "withers of a horse," all from a common Germanic source (compare Old Norse skopt "hair of the head," Gothic skuft, Middle High German schopf, German Schopf). Another theory holds it to be from a metathesis variant of scurf attested from late Old English.
late Old English scurf, "scaly or flaky matter forming on the surface of the skin," also "exfoliated epidermis," earlier sceorf, from Proto-Germanic *skurf- (source also of Old Norse skurfottr, Danish skurv, Swedish skorv, Middle Dutch scorf, schorf, Dutch schurft, Old High German scorf, German Schorf "scurf"), which probably is related to Old English sceorfan "to gnaw," scearfian "to cut into shreds" (from PIE *skerp-, from root *sker- (1) "to cut"). The form of the word likely is influenced by Scandinavian cognates. The scruff in scruffy is from a variant form.
When being handled by people in an unfamiliar setting, cats will almost always be stressed. This is because cats are a territorial species, and so being taken out of their territory and placed into an unfamiliar environment is a great source of stress to them. Furthermore, they may associate the setting (eg, a veterinary clinic) with previous unpleasant experiences.
The goal of professionals when handling cats in these situations, therefore, must be to reduce this stress as much as possible, and not to escalate it, in order to improve cat welfare but also to protect staff.
Queens will carry kittens by the scruff if they need to move them to safety (eg, return them to the nest or move them to a new nest site). This is often the reason given by people defending the use of scruffing. However, being scruffed as an adult cat by a human is an entirely different matter to being carried gently by the scruff of the neck as a kitten by its mother. Being scruffed as an adult can be highly intimidating, and, as explained above, may lead to negative emotions such as fear and distress. Indeed, immobilisation from heavy restraint is known to elicit fear in other animals and is a common method used to measure stress in many species. Being lifted up by the scruff as an adult is especially inappropriate: although a kitten is small enough to be supported by just the scruff of its neck, an adult cat is not.
There are also methods of handling and restraint that do not involve scruffing or heavy restraint, but can be used in situations where defensive aggression is already present, such as towel-wrapping, and using gauntlets when removing a cat from its cage, which are more respectful, reassuring and renders scruffing unnecessary.
International Cat Care, along with its veterinary division the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), has produced multiple resources to help veterinary and cat care professionals (as well as cat owners) handle cats in a gentle and respectful way, including handling aggressive cats. These resources are as follows:
By developing a cat-friendly attitude and a greater understanding of cats, all those working with them will be able to avoid the routine use of scruffing, creating safer, easier and more pleasant working conditions, as well as, importantly, improving feline welfare.
References
1. Moody C, Picketts VA, Mason G, Dewey C, Niel L. Can you handle it? Validating negative responses to restraint in cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2018 Apr 17.
Your purchase directly supports the leading global cat welfare charity, International Cat Care. They provide cat owners, veterinary professionals and those who live and work with cats the resources, support, and advice they need to better care for cats.
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Whiff is extremely busy at his waste dump, so when Thomas tells him the Fat Controller has brought another engine in to help him out, he is very excited. Thomas puffs quickly to the Docks where Scruff "the Scruncher" is waiting for him. Thomas is not very impressed; Scruff is small, square and very scruffy. Thomas feels that a scruffy engine cannot be a really useful engine, so he tells Scruff that he is going to fetch a "welcome to Sodor surprise." Thomas collects a flatbed of buckets, sponges, soap suds and a workman and takes them to Scruff. It turns out that Scruff does not like his "surprise", having never seen soap suds and brushes before. They prove to be too scary for him and he runs away, which shocks Thomas who chases after him.
After a short while, Scruff slips into an overgrown siding and hides. Thomas knows he is there, but he cannot make Scruff come out, he is too scared to listen to Thomas. Then, Gordon arrives with the express. Thomas asks Gordon for help, so the big blue engine asks Scruff to come out of hiding to see the magnificent express carriages he is pulling. Scruff is too scared to reply and Gordon steams away. Henry puffs up and Thomas asks him for help. Henry tries to entice Scruff out by offering to take him to see his special coal, but again Scruff is silent. Percy then arrives with his mail coaches. He offers to show the Mail Vans to Scruff, but yet again, Scruff is not interested. Finally, Whiff arrives pulling a long line of rubbish trucks. He tells Thomas how excited he is to meet Scruff and then leaves. This gives Thomas an idea; he offers to take Scruff to collect some trucks of rubbish. Scruff is delighted and immediately comes out of hiding.
So, Thomas and Scruff set off to collect rubbish from the Steamworks, Knapford and the Slate Quarry. They then take the rubbish trucks to Whiff's Waste Dump. Whiff is very impressed with Scruff's load and calls him a "Really Useful Engine."
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