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deborah, I think it depends on where you pinch yourself (or your cat). I pulled out a smaller clip and pinched my finger, which hurt a bit. But then I pinched the webbing between my thumb and pointer finger, and it didn't hurt at all. Also, I've gently lifted my adult cats by the scruff of their necks, and they didn't seem bothered.
That looks to be, roughly, the same area where a mama cat would carry her kittens by.
That said, I'll sit here patiently while one of you folks go try this on your cat.
Color me amazed. And planning to go home and try this on my least favorite of our kitties. (It's already mutual dislike, so she won't be disappointed in me.) But looks to me like the clip in this video is actually about an inch behind the scruff of the neck.
I'm not up-in-arms, folks. The cat really doesn't seem to be bothered by it and I'm more curious than anything. I've pinched my fingers in binder clips, but they do have a lot of nerve endings.
I was quite astonished when my cat's vet showed me this trick. For some reason, I had assumed the "scruff reflex" was somehow deactivated once they became adults... imagine my surprise.
Cat the Cat was a total rag doll, despite being a GIGANTIC Maine Coon, she was not only totally fine with being picked up, but she enlisted people to carry her places by pawing at their legs while looking up. Despite this, she would only allow herself to be picked up if we pulled her by the scruff, anything else was met with anger so I figure it's something cat's like, it's what their moms did, and it's a "okay we're moving but don't freak out" signal.
and yes, that is a cat who is used to being handled by people and well socialized. I don't think it would go nearly so well with a cat that wasn't as cool with being touched or being around people.
Quantity of nerve endings is one of the variables. Conditioned response is another. It does not hurt the cat. But it brings up a conditioned response. The response is, grabbed there equals mother carrying me.
Interesting. I think I need a stronger clip but Sookie chilled right out. After I removed it, she gave me an undeniable look of WTF! If I would have tried to clip it on her anywhere else, I would be getting stitches.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
