UNITED KINGDOM – When Chrissy MacPherson clips a few clothespins onto the back of a cat’s neck, a good portion of her clients whip out their cameras in amazement.
The Mobile Vet nurse has been pegging cats to help them calm them down for six years.
She started using this particular method to ease the nerves of her furry clients.
“I saw it done by a specialist in a vet clinic I used to work for.
“The cat was 19 years old and quite difficult to handle.
“He needed to be still for an x-ray but wasn’t cooperating so the vet went out to the washing line and got five pegs, placing them on his scruff and he was relaxed instantly,” MacPherson explained.
Once the pegs were removed, she went on to say, the cat “reverted back to his grumpy self”.
“I thought it was brilliant, absolutely, this cat was ready to take anyone on.”
Chrissy MacPherson, The Mobile Vet, prunes the claws of five-year-old 9.5kg Maine Coon cat Odin while applying the peg method.
Cat owners were “absolutely fascinated” by just how the pegs calmed their pets, with many getting out their cameras to capture the process.
“They know how normal cats are [when being groomed], they are a little anxious.
“That’s the whole reason we are getting it out there – to make it easier for the cat,” MacPherson said.
The method does not harm the animal, she claims.
“It’s basically putting the same amount of pressure on when their mums pick them up as kittens. It’s just a very calming position.
“The pegs I’ve found are quite soft,” she stated.
The peg method calmed the cats MacPherson worked with approximately “99.9 per cent of the time”.
The method did not work on cats which were more “scruff sensitive”, which were usually older animals.
MacPherson stated she could sense whether the method would work on a cat when she arrived at a job.
“Fearful cats will take off,” she explained.
The particular technique is used worldwide with several vets displaying the technique online.
***We here at The Best Cat Page DO NOT encourage pet owners to try this on their own pets.
