... makes me uncomfortable

[sumstorm]

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For just giving me the creepy crawlies and making me way too nervous: scorpions.

Far more likely to encounter, but have a more than healthy respect for: large parrots (I watched a macaw rip a womans ear lobe off.....ugh.)

I like reptiles, comfortable with livestock, wildlife, and exotics. LOVE bats...amazing creatures.

Oh, I have an irrational feer of eels. I love watching them when SCUBA diving, but get one above water and they really freak me out.

 

[pressmom]

Primates and horses. Although I'm getting more comfortable with horses.

 

[LVT2DVM]

Fractious kitties.
Hands down. I think it's the noises that they make.

Wow you surprised me Truth, finally a divergence. At work Im known as the cat whisperer....havent had a cat I couldnt handle....YET.

 

[Poochlover11]

Cats for sure. Those fur balls are so fast and unpredictable sometimes. 😱

 

[VeganSoprano]

I'm a little intimidated by horses, though not afraid.

Give me an angry cat any day! That's my comfort zone.

 

[cozycleo]

Cleo, you're spot on with the logic but:
Folks should stand either very, very close or very far away. There's an intermediate zone of danger that is one horse's leg distance (~5-6ft)...to put it in visual terms: You should be nearly touching (~1 inch) with your upper body to the horse or roughly 6 feet away.

I don't want you getting hurt thinking you can stand close and you're safe. In my estimation, people don't walk close enough to get out of that intermediate zone.

Thanks for the clarification! I'm just getting trained to spend time with horses this summer, so I definitely want to avoid getting injured if at all possible.

 

[SHEEPRL]

I am very fine with any large animal but Ferrets and rats are just a whole different category, some way they slink along (Lady and the Tramp anyone). I know lots of people really like them..but just not me.

 

[InfiniVet]

It's truly my pleasure. I used to teach horse handling & safety lessons.

I'd bet $5 that if some of y'all who said you were a lil iffy about horses took some sort of handling sessions you might gain some confidence - and who knows maybe convert? 😀

 

[DVMorBust]

In my estimation, people don't walk close enough to get out of that intermediate zone.

Yeah. Close means CLOSE. The whole point is to either be out of range, or to be kicked, but not have enough momentum behind it to do serious damage. I usually tell people to keep a hand on them at all times - lets the horse know where they are, and also keeps people in a safer range walking behind.

 

[Truth74]

Wow you surprised me Truth, finally a divergence. At work Im known as the cat whisperer....havent had a cat I couldnt handle....YET.

Ha! We had to differ somewhere! Now, we're bookends. I'm facing one way, and you're facing the other!

I have handled cats before. Lots of them at RAVS trips. Boy am I acquainted with the kitty burrito. I just don't like the spooky moaning growl thing that they do. It creeps me out. 😱 I also had run ins with the silent attacker type of cat who had enough of the poking and prodding and said, "I'm gonna get the next one that opens this cage."

*raises hand* Next person, right here.

 

[Poochlover11]

Ha! We had to differ somewhere! Now, we're bookends. I'm facing one way, and you're facing the other!

I have handled cats before. Lots of them at RAVS trips. Boy am I acquainted with the kitty burrito. I just don't like the spooky moaning growl thing that they do. It creeps me out. 😱 I also had run ins with the silent attacker type of cat who had enough of the poking and prodding and said, "I'm gonna get the next one that opens this cage."

*raises hand* Next person, right here.

Hmmm...I really need to learn this kitty burrito I hear people talk about. How does one do it?

 

[david594]

Man, all the cat hate.

I love the cranky kitties! A towel for the bad cats. A fishing net for the ferals. And a syringe of something good makes all the problems go away.

Bad dogs are also lots of fun. But being a 170 lb male definitely helps in that regard.

 

[oregonhopeful]

It's truly my pleasure. I used to teach horse handling & safety lessons.

I'd bet $5 that if some of y'all who said you were a lil iffy about horses took some sort of handling sessions you might gain some confidence - and who knows maybe convert? 😀

I know that would help me. I had riding lessons for three years and never once learned a thing about horse handling or even what to do if the horse doesn't do everything perfectly. All I learned was to do maneuvers and jumps and patterns. It's on my list of things I need to do to take a horse handling class, as soon as I get some money. 🙄

 

[stick91]

It's on my list of things I need to do to take a horse handling class, as soon as I get some money. 🙄

I'm bringing my horse to Corvallis with me, you can practice on her! She's only 5 but I've had her since she was a baby and she hasn't tried to kick me yet! She is bad about holding her feet up for the farrier though, always tries to jerk her front feet away, bad baby horse.

Angry cats are definitely still a little out of my comfort zone, though I have gotten much better with them (and cats in general) since starting my small-animal job. Pigs too, they make terrible noises when they are frightened/excited/stressed.

Small reptiles can be tricky. I took care of a bunch of anole lizards for our science department and one jumped out of its cage when I was feeding one day and I immediately thought "holy crap how do I catch a tiny, very speedy lizard?!" Worked out ok, managed to get it under a 2L beaker and scoop it up with a petri dish and back into its cage.

 

[CatVet2Be]

I want to add hamsters to the list. Especially dwarf hamsters. Anyone who's ever felt their teeth knows what I'm talking about. 20 years later I still have a scar on my finger.

 

[LadyHitokiri]

A bull or a stallion. Testosterone O My!

Haha,....like the time when some woman wanted the vet and I to rope her loose roaming bull and tie it to a tree to work on it. The vet and I looked at each other and she's just like, "NOOOO, that's not the way we do things nowadays." haha. I'd like to keep my body parts intact, thank you very much.

 

[twelvetigers]

Bad dogs are also lots of fun. But being a 170 lb male definitely helps in that regard.

On the contrary, I'm 115 lbs of pure fury. I manage, for the most part, but if Cookie the 120 lb mastiff wants off the table, well...

At least with large animals, it's not as much of a disadvantage. Yeah, you weigh more, but compared to the 1500 lb stallion, those extra 50 lbs aren't gonna do you much good, really.

 

[ImaJerseyGirl]

Rabbits! I'm nervous holding them because I think they're going to freak out and jump from my hands! I'm somewhat nervous around ferrets too, only because I had one latch on to my fingers when I was 6 and not let go!

 

[1Vista1Grey]

give me a coyote or bobcat anyday without sedation, but emus and rheas.. whooo .. its the big feet i think. I should be afraid fo raptors but Im not. I have a scar on my face from being bit by a turkey vulture. Turkeys kinda gross meout too...

Doves and waterfowl make me really nervous when under anesthesia... its like they have no will to live!

Adult bucks make me nervous... especially when they are in rut... One time I was in the deer yard and this prerelease buck was trying to wrestle with me with his antlers. They vet tech and I had to wrestle him through the gate and release him because he wouldnt let us out.. but then we ended up being locked in the deer yard for an hour while he head butted the other side of the fence... ugh... anything with horns makes me nervous i guess..

There is a lot of squirell hate on this thread.. dont let philomycus see ;-)

 

[sumstorm]

1Vista1Grey, I had forgotten the joys of rut! Have to agree with you on the giant birds...I really, really dislike ostriches. There is a reason their brain is so small compared to the body!

You also reminded me of a time before the completion of a new exhibit when a bison dropped her calf a month early. It wasn't getting up (though was alive) and the bull was being ornery and acting threatening towards it. So, of course, we had to go get it....but the bull wasn't at all interested in entering any of the holding pens. We did get it, but the truck took a nasty beating from that big old bull.

 

[1Vista1Grey]

haha... anyone with testicles is someone to be wary of in my opinion... my family motto.. "no boys allowed".. All female pets.. haha

 

[Fairyblastt]

Wow I wish I wasn't surprised at all the people who aren't comfortable around birds. 🙁 Birds are awesome, and once you learn how to read and hold them correctly, they're much better patients than cats (disclaimer: I'll admit that there's nothing wrong with cats, I like wild animals just fine). hehe. I will say that I am at my most (bestest!) careful around hamsters. Those things, I think, will try to kill you as much as look at you. Mice are somewhat close behind that on the violent scale of doom.

Fun fact: When doing the wild trapped birds, I didn't know that birds only had ONE jugular. Thought I could "hit the other jugular" after blowing the previous (only happened once) - Wow, that was embarrassing, as I got the gig due to my vet tech skills.

*Cough* Sometimes I wonder why people who don't normally seem very gullible will believe anything (the stranger the better!) as long as it's about a bird. 😉 Birds do indeed have a left jugular vein... it's just usually smaller and a little deeper than the right jugular. If you had searched around a bit, I bet you would have found it eventually. Now the issue with wild (and I'm assuming rather small) birds is that you probably didn't have the time to find it... and it might not have been big enough around to do you much good once you did.

But yeah, speaking of crazy, did you know that I've been told that you simply *can't* do jugular on a chicken? Yeah, that one's not quite true either.

 

[StillDreaming]

for me it's probably birds... i just haven't really had luck whenever i handle them...

 

[Fairyblastt]

Haha,....like the time when some woman wanted the vet and I to rope her loose roaming bull and tie it to a tree to work on it. The vet and I looked at each other and she's just like, "NOOOO, that's not the way we do things nowadays." haha. I'd like to keep my body parts intact, thank you very much.

Oh come on, be reasonable. I'm sure it's simply the sweetest, most even-tempered bull around. You've never met such a well mannered gentleman. Doesn't have a single malevolent bone in its entire body. Would never dream of ripping you in two and exploring a carnivorous moment. 🙄

That said, I've heard gawd-awful rumors about dairy bulls and how they like to make human pancakes for breakfast. Something about a complete lack of fear when it comes to people, apparently kenneling calves has a down side to it...

 

[No Imagination]

Birds do indeed have a left jugular vein... it's just usually smaller and a little deeper than the right jugular. If you had searched around a bit, I bet you would have found it eventually.

I stand corrected. Now I want to know WHO told me they only had 1 jugular. I obviously didn't look it up, or I wouldn't have egg on my face now. And it def. wasn't my boss, because he is the "bestedest vet eva" and would never, could never, make such a mistake.

...

On hind sight, it probly was him. Probably said soemthing like "Bird? As in not a dog or cat? I dunno, maybe they only have one jugular?, Yeah, I seem to remember something from vet school about some animal only having one jugular, it was probably birds"

He did however teach me that bird blood is nucleated and commonly form... Rouleaux


Damn it - Whats the name of the formation RBC's can sometimes form - where they stack on top of one another - like a rod or stack. It's French sounding?

nm - Rouleaux

 

[Ninnerfish]

Okay, I know it's not an animal, but can I add children to the list? Give me an angry cat, large aggressive dog, or the most violent hamster on the planet over someone's kid asking questions and staring at me any day. I cringe every time I call a client in and see they've brought their kids. Just because I'm female doesn't mean I think all kids are cute, and it certainly doesn't mean I'd like to babysit for you while the vet looks at your animal! *rant over*

 

[Fairyblastt]

lol No Imagination, you know I've been told that too... it's like these avian anatomy rumors never die. My favorite is is vet who upon being corrected, promptly told me that after blowing the vein on the right side, I must have somehow rolled it completely to the other side of the neck... where it magically not only was no longer blown... but was also half the size in diameter. But she was completely certain, no reasoning with her on it... (and she's board certified in exotics).

 

[aspiringDVM]

Okay, I know it's not an animal, but can I add children to the list? Give me an angry cat, large aggressive dog, or the most violent hamster on the planet over someone's kid asking questions and staring at me any day. I cringe every time I call a client in and see they've brought their kids. Just because I'm female doesn't mean I think all kids are cute, and it certainly doesn't mean I'd like to babysit for you while the vet looks at your animal! *rant over*

Amen!

But on the topic of being weary of intact male animals, am I the only one who would generally prefer a stupid colt to a ticked off filly? Sure, the boys will be idiots and sidle around and strike the ground and try to take chunks out of you, but at least they're up front about the whole thing. Mares just stand there and look mildly annoyed until WHAM!!! You've got a monstrous purple and green saucer sized bruise to show off the next day.

 

[WildlifeSaver]

Squirrels.

So fast and angry. Such sharp teeth.

I handled lots of squirrels, but they were babies and they are really cute and nice. At a certain age, they hold their own bottles basically!

 

[WildlifeSaver]

If I went wildlife...Id say def elephants and hippos. The males are really scary during musk for the elephants and hippos are just the most dangerous things that can break you with one bite!

 

[robeezy08]

Primates...i work with cynomologus macacas, they are intimidating little guys. Sharp teeth, can carry herpes B, and pound for pound about 10x as strong as humans. The other day I had one pull my hand into her mouth, luckly I was wearing leather gauntlets at the time.

Ditto! Hasn't been a death from herpes B exposure (urine, feces, saliva) from macaques in the US for awhile...but if you're infected and aren't treated quickly, your chances of survival are slim. 😱

 

[1Vista1Grey]

did anyone else have a "macaque exposure kit" at their work 🙂

 

[incendium04]

On the contrary, I'm 115 lbs of pure fury. I manage, for the most part, but if Cookie the 120 lb mastiff wants off the table, well...

Actually happened to my coworker. Poor girl is barely pushing 115 too and a Tibetan Mastiff decides that jumping off the table is what he wants (oh yea, an aggressive dog who just got bit by a snake and is painful...)... she almost got clobbered trying to break the dog's fall a little bit.

Hmmm...I really need to learn this kitty burrito I hear people talk about. How does one do it?

I can't find where this is answered... so here's my take. It's just taking a large towel and wrapping the cat's whole body in it (besides the head, which sticks out one end) very tightly. Takes care of the claws, you just have to worry about the head. Makes it easy for jugular sticks in fractious cats. One of the vets I work with loves cat bags, which work similarly

For me it's horses. I've worked with a fair amount of them... but they've all been really nice and calm. I have no idea how to deal with an unruly one.

 

[karmapple]

I have developed a reasonable comfort zone around dogs, cats, small mammals ("pocket pets"), birds, reptiles, and amphibians. (Although I have encountered a few cats that chill my bones with the "from the depths of hell" sounds they can make! )

What am I uncomfortable around? Anything that is massively bigger than me! Cows, horses, etc. Probably because I have such little experience with them, and I get visions of them crushing my flimsy body without much effort. I'm afraid my large animal clinical rotations in vet school will be very embarrasing for me. 😳

 

[No Imagination]

I can't find where this is answered... so here's my take. It's just taking a large towel and wrapping the cat's whole body in it (besides the head, which sticks out one end) very tightly. Takes care of the claws, you just have to worry about the head. Makes it easy for jugular sticks in fractious cats. One of the vets I work with loves cat bags, which work similarly

I don't get peoples problem with feral cats. I've done a bit of work with 'trap, spay/neuter, release', cats from NYC, and they are pretty bad.

I would just scruff with one hand, hind legs with other hand (finger between legs), and stretch out...

I imagine a really fat cat can be difficult, but once you have him scruff and stretched... its game over.

 

[redsteven]

I am always uneasy walking behind a horse, even if I let it know I am there. I usually walk in a large arc around the hind-legs!

Other than that, nothing but a roach. I can't stand a roach. I'd rather have a giant spider on me than a roach!

surprised nobody's said "humans" yet

 

[Poochlover11]

I can't find where this is answered... so here's my take. It's just taking a large towel and wrapping the cat's whole body in it (besides the head, which sticks out one end) very tightly. Takes care of the claws, you just have to worry about the head. Makes it easy for jugular sticks in fractious cats. One of the vets I work with loves cat bags, which work similarly

Thanks! Im wondering though, if a cat is upset enough that you need to do the burrito-how do you manage to wrap them up? Im trying to envision it in my mind, but it would seem pretty easier for the cat to scamper off while you are trying to wrap him in a towel.

 

[lunazzurra]

I work with small birds quite regularly and have no issues, but nothing gets my fight-or-flight going like a male swan that's protecting a nest. Last year I had a cutaneal nerve in my shin ABOLISHED when a cob winged me. It was like a crazy move out of Mortal Kombat...he drew energy into his wings from some invisible lightning bolt and then BAM! I was on the ground. I scrambled to get up and he chased me for half a mile, no exaggeration.

I still have no feeling in that shin.

 

[sumstorm]

Thanks! Im wondering though, if a cat is upset enough that you need to do the burrito-how do you manage to wrap them up? Im trying to envision it in my mind, but it would seem pretty easier for the cat to scamper off while you are trying to wrap him in a towel.

Well, kind of depends. If someone already has the cat by the scruff, we put the center line of the towell just behind the scruff, then wrap by tucking under and tightening. If the cat is in a carrier, we take the top off, lay the towell over, take a best guess at where the scruff is, and quickly grasp it through the towell, then wrap. It is generally a two person job for us. Also, if it is a really difficult critter, damp towells are heavier and more difficult to shake lose.

There are some cats that are just amazing at getting out of scruff holds. Kind of like an alligator's roll to escape. Some cats just don't have as much scruff to grab.

 

[LVT2DVM]

There are some cats that are just amazing at getting out of scruff holds. Kind of like an alligator's roll to escape. Some cats just don't have as much scruff to grab.

In those cases, you can use a towel, rolled up lengthwise and then wrap it around the head/neck area and scruff the towel just behind the head. This works great for cats that like to bite and grab with their front feet but dont care too much around what your doing in the back end. That way you can draw blood (saphenous v) and give sedation if needed. They can bite and claw the towel all they want, doesnt hurt me a bit.

 

[BR549]

1Vista1Grey, I had forgotten the joys of rut! Have to agree with you on the giant birds...I really, really dislike ostriches. There is a reason their brain is so small compared to the body!

All you need is a big stick, if you want to keep them away from you. One of my female ostriches tries to attack me when I go in the pasture during egg-laying season. It can be intimidating (when they stand erect at 8-9 ft), but a nice stick always seems to do the trick. They are not that smart! One of my males attacked a man before (Landed him in the hospital) and we used to have a male rhea that would attack you. I remember having to hold him by his neck one time to keep him from kicking me. My emus never tried to attack me, but they would jump the fence if they were scared. Even then, I love my ratites!

If you are trying to work with the birds, you want to put a sleeve over their head and pull their neck (head towards the feet) down in front of them. This keeps them from being able to kick you, which is the dangerous thing.

 

[aspiringDVM]

In those cases, you can use a towel, rolled up lengthwise and then wrap it around the head/neck area and scruff the towel just behind the head. This works great for cats that like to bite and grab with their front feet but dont care too much around what your doing in the back end. That way you can draw blood (saphenous v) and give sedation if needed. They can bite and claw the towel all they want, doesnt hurt me a bit.

Sounds awesome, going to have to try this one!

 

[guppy73]

I want to add hamsters to the list. Especially dwarf hamsters. Anyone who's ever felt their teeth knows what I'm talking about. 20 years later I still have a scar on my finger.

Oooohh..Those chunky cheeks & beady little eyes--so cute, and yet so fierce! But I have to admit that I'm OK with them, since Siberian dwarf hamsters (the nastiest ones, I've found) are dropped off at the shelter all the time. It's no help that at least one pet store up the street sells them.

Large birds (e.g., cockatoos & macaws) make me nervous. A potty-mouthed cockatoo almost gave me another cartilage piercing last year, then wanted to be my friend again. Seemed shifty to me. 🙄

 

[sumstorm]

All you need is a big stick, if you want to keep them away from you. One of my female ostriches tries to attack me when I go in the pasture during egg-laying season. It can be intimidating (when they stand erect at 8-9 ft), but a nice stick always seems to do the trick.

The ones at the zoo couldn't care less what you carried! Probably because they see big sticks (rakes, shovels, etc) all the time...and the fence was within arms reach of the public...which means people liked to feed them things. No fear of humans whatsoever. Thought they were personal feed machines!

 

[incendium04]

I don't get peoples problem with feral cats. I've done a bit of work with 'trap, spay/neuter, release', cats from NYC, and they are pretty bad.

I would just scruff with one hand, hind legs with other hand (finger between legs), and stretch out...

I imagine a really fat cat can be difficult, but once you have him scruff and stretched... its game over.

There are fat cats who don't even have a scruff. 🙁 We have these "scruffers" that just pinch the skin and help you get a hold of a cat and even those have no purchase on some of these obese monsters.

Personally, I have no problem with feral cats. I like telazol. 🙂 Scruff-and-stretch doesn't work too well for me. How do you place an IV catheter, venipuncture, etc? It's good as restraint to prevent the animal from killing you (so does hanging the cat by its scruff until it calms down...) but I don't use it very often. Also, scruffing is only useful if you can do it. Some cats are too fast, too aggressive, etc.

Poochlover11, burritoing a cat can definitely be a two person job. And it doesn't always work. I wish cats had a calm down button.

 

[critterfixer]

Squirrels are just crazy little buggers. They scared me most at the wildlife refuge.

Of the animals I am likely to encounter in vet school, I'd say boars are at the top of my list of animals I am wary of handling.

 

[robeezy08]

did anyone else have a "macaque exposure kit" at their work 🙂

Yes! Although, its been awhile since I looked inside it, guess I should do that this week 🙂

 

[No Imagination]

Scruff-and-stretch doesn't work too well for me. How do you place an IV catheter, venipuncture, etc? It's good as restraint to prevent the animal from killing you (so does hanging the cat by its scruff until it calms down...)

Well, i've had plenty of cats get their hind legs up on my hand trying the scruff and hang - I always grab their hinds

As far as IV cath, venipuncture, yeah, you'd certainly want to knock them out before trying that - I just meant a way of initially grabbing them to present to the Dr.

I commandeered a pair of (orange, similar to welding) autoclave gloves - thick enough to take a bite, but allow enough dexterity to get the scruff.

Fat cats I usually pin to the table while wearing gloves - Hate fat cats, but they usually are not as feral/aggressive

 

[bunnity]

Personally, I have no problem with feral cats. I like telazol. 🙂 Scruff-and-stretch doesn't work too well for me. How do you place an IV catheter, venipuncture, etc?

At the shelter we would use scruff and stretch to do blood draws (some feral, some not). One person would have the scruff in the right hand and the cat stretched out on its side on the table with its back along the person's arm. The holder's left hand would fold up one back leg and press down on the other leg (the one we were drawing from) to act as as tourniquet. The person drawing would just have to hold the one leg out straight and do the draw. It worked pretty well although mostly because the vet techs were really good at drawing fast. It's also definitely a shelter-style way of doing it that might not be as easy to do in front of the client... I can see how a client would think the cat was being hurt even though it wasn't.

 

[david594]

I don't get peoples problem with feral cats. I've done a bit of work with 'trap, spay/neuter, release', cats from NYC, and they are pretty bad.

I would just scruff with one hand, hind legs with other hand (finger between legs), and stretch out...

I imagine a really fat cat can be difficult, but once you have him scruff and stretched... its game over.

Are you confusing feral with stray cats? Big... no HUGE difference.

I've worked with a fair number of feral cats in the last year and its a huge NO to ever try and touch one awake. You run the risk of them biting you, and since they are usually not candidates for quarantine it means euth for rabies testing.

Never mind that a truly feral cat wont allow you to take blood unsedated. Or really in any way allow you to handle it.