... makes me uncomfortable

[Caninerepro]

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surprised nobody's said "humans" yet

No no, humans are my greatest fear, even above cats! 😱😱😱 No way, no how.

As for my reticence around large animals, one must remember, I have to deal with the business end of stallions and bulls (and that is NOT the head end). The only good thing about bulls (and cats) is you do get to jam a large electric rod up their butts to get them to do their thing!

 

[No Imagination]

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

I dunno. I consider all feral cats strays (for the most part), but no, not all strays are feral.

by my definition, not sure its accurate, but feral = wild, living on their own, little or no previous human interaction

In terms of dealing with them unsedated - yeah, i'd certainly want them sedated, but when we had to work with them unsedated, eventually they come down (tire out), and you can do some stuff with them.

 

[incendium04]

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.

We use the same technique at the hospital I work at... I don't consider it scruff and stretch, IMO. 😳 I just wasn't sure how someone would have a hand on a cat's scruff and on both the hindlegs... while simulataneously holding off a vein. Talented person!

The truly feral cats (the ones that think you're going to kill them if you even approach them... and therefore try to kill you), I have never worked with except under sedation.

 

[eventualeventer]

That reminds me of a friend's method for sedating feral cats on her own, which she once described to me. Reach in and grab the scruff with L hand, use R hand to stretch one hind leg up, grab said hind leg with L hand while still holding scruff, stick cat in now-stretched hind leg.

 

[No Imagination]

I just wasn't sure how someone would have a hand on a cat's scruff and on both the hindlegs... while simulataneously holding off a vein.

Reminds me of a story...

I worked for a short time for a vet who was absolutely horrible to work for. Would yell for no reason, chastise someone if a cage was dirty (regardless if you were working on something else and/or just finished cleaning the cages), was OCD and expected everyone else to follow those idiosyncrasies.

Well, I was told to go take blood from a dog with the other tech - the other tech was on a house call and I told the vet that. Said "Ok". About 5 minutes later I got yelled at for eating when the blood hasn't been drawn yet? Was like, WTF?! Ok

So I go a start taking blood by myself - used a tourney to hold off vein, cradled dog (very friendly pit), and positioned for the stick... then just waited... waited till the vet came into the room (no client).

When the vet came in, yelled at me. I shouldn't be doing this by myself, I could get bitten. So irresponsible of me... blahh blahh blahh.

Well, I just snapped. Got in the vets face. Said you told me and just got done yelling at me to get it done. "You knew I was the only tech". Mix of rage and passive aggressiveness on my part.

After that, I got left alone. Was the only time that vet ever apologized to a tech (so im told). Gave my 2 weeks a month later... erghh - hated that place.

 

[BR549]

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!

Yeah, mine walk the fence line waiting for feeding time. They always peck the clips out of my mom's hair. It's hilarious! She can't do anything without them following her around and pecking her hair clips. They never bother her, but she's with them on a daily basis. The biggest female is moody and ornery with me sometimes, but she always runs when I wave a stick and yell "Ha!". I would have to say, if it came down to me being attacked or the ostrich, we would have a lean red meat to eat that night!😛

 

[eventualeventer]

Ha! Reminds me of that old joke where the punchline goes, "You don't eat a pig like that all at once."

 

[DrVegan]

Snakes and Horses Im not scared just need more experience.

 

[DVMhopeful]

For me it's turtles, I have an inexplicable fear of the little critters.

 

[meadow36]

Having worked with birds, I would still put them pretty high on the list.

You look at the wrong and they will drop dead on you.

Haha, I second this. I see a bird walk in the ER clinic and I suddenly make myself sparse ...

 

[Trilt]

For me it's turtles, I have an inexplicable fear of the little critters.

But turtles are so coooool.

 

[feadog]

I like birds! They're fragile but I've been lucky so far when handling them... no catastrophes.

At this point, I'm least comfortable with iguanas. Nothing against them, just haven't handled any.

 

[Gordo]

Some of these responses are making me laugh.
But hands down cats. I would be fine without ever having to deal with a cat in my life again. And the bad thing is I have never been biten bad by one. I just can't stand them, unless they are good of course.
I work at a hospital that treats domestic animals along with birds, wildlife, reptiles and pretty much everything else besides livestock. I also have a horse and have been raised aound them. You be amazed at how some people are petrified of horses, its kinda of strange to me. Whenever I have a bad day or just need some relaxing time thats were I go, to ride my horses or just hang out with them. They are the best method of relaxation.
Birds aren't to bad, I will handle them. Its just those ginormous (sp?) beaks on the Harlequine(?) macaws that scare the crap out of me. One wrong move and those things are taking off you hand. But for the most part if you know how to handle the birds correctly you should nt have a problem.

 

[McVillesMom]

Am I the only one that is totally freaked out by llamas? I just don't trust them, and I can't figure out how to read them. They just stare at you with their big beady eyes...in any other species that would be confrontational. Give me a really pissed-off cat or a horse any day!

 

[oregonhopeful]

But llamas are so easy to read. They have two moods: hungry and irritated. When they're irritated they fold their ears way back and glare at you. If said irritation continues for very long they dance around a bit and spit. If you keep irritating them, the spit keeps coming and ultimately changes colors. It's very amusing and almost 100% predictable.

 

[HopefulAg]

Cats....cats....oh, and cats....

I hate those things, they are evil incarnate and little legs that can bend at impossible angles to scratch you don't help the situation. Worse, they can probably sense my discomfort and that makes them rub their little paws together in glee at the prospect of me restraining them.

And their body language is so subtle I often miss it. One vet who works solely with cats once went 'it's quite obvious the cat was angry and was gonna lash out at you'. Then me "Huh? How could you tell?" Her: 'It flicked its tail when you touched it' Me: *stunned expression* 'What?'

Oh and once they catch onto the kitty burrito tactic, there's no stopping them. Thank god for mesh nets else some of them would be impossible to inject.

And they can hock up a pill like a champ.

 

[Perfbird]

SHEEP. They have such a strong herd instinct that when you have to separate them to do an exam, they will do anything to get back to the herd including (but not limited to) butting, kicking, rearing (into your face), barreling past you, and charging. And let me say that they are powerful little suckers that can leave you gasping for breath on the floor. I hate dealing with them because they are constantly struggling to get free, and I have a difficult time getting them onto their backs.

Mice, to a lesser extent make me nervous. I work a lot with mice since I work with a lab animal health department, and these mice are always quick to turn and bite. After you scruff them, if you don't have a vice-like grip they will continue to bite, and heaven forbid you loosen your grip...the bite doesn't hurt so bad but it's the anticipation of the bite that makes me flinch.

 

[eatpinkpenguins]

Mice, to a lesser extent make me nervous. I work a lot with mice since I work with a lab animal health department, and these mice are always quick to turn and bite. After you scruff them, if you don't have a vice-like grip they will continue to bite, and heaven forbid you loosen your grip...the bite doesn't hurt so bad but it's the anticipation of the bite that makes me flinch.

I haven't dealt much with sheep, but I definitely agree with this one! 👍 Plus , I'm always terrified that I'll get bitten, accidentally drop the mouse, the mouse will run out of the hood and no longer be sterile/usable/worth anything/completely disappear and then I will have to explain what happened to it. I wear 2 or 3 gloves sometimes on my left (scuffing) hand, but you're right, it is the anticipation! And they run around insanely when you open the cage and I feel like a terrible person. Sigh. Give me a horse/dog/cat/cow (but not a bull=death) anyday. Although I hear monkeys are bad too and can bit off fingers. Anyone ever deal with those?

 

[WannaBeVet]

I would have to say that cats make me uncomfortable.

I just have not been around them much and I don't really know what to expect with them. Though I am glad to say that I am working on this...Been volunteering and spending some time in the cat colony at a nearby shelter. =)