The ability to quiet animals and make them less sensitive to sights and sounds has been found in many different kinds of animals, including insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. For example, baby animals, including kittens, become limp when their mothers pick them up by the neck in their jaws to move them. This is called the “scruff response.” The kitten’s tail curls up between the legs, the back rounds as the kitten pulls its legs in close to its body and becomes passive. Veterinarians and other pet care professionals sometimes use this response to their advantage when they grasp the skin on the back of a cat’s neck (an area called the “scruff”) with their hands, producing the same response seen when mother cats grasp their kittens.
The Clipnosis® Gentle Calming Clip causes a similar calming behavior when clips are applied to a cat’s scruff. In fact, the result is almost identical to that seen in kittens when their mother picks them up by the skin of their neck to move them from one nest site to another. Clipnosis provides a safe and effective alternative to scruffing and harsh restraint methods and allows you to have both hands free for grooming tasks, such as clipping nails and brushing, exams and minor treatments, like vaccinations.
We recently distributed 500 Clipnosis sample kits to veterinarians and vet techs for them to use on cats and give us their feedback. 80% of those who tried Clipnosis rated it as "effective." Furthermore, about two-thirds of cats tend to respond to the calming effect of Clipnosis. A good rule of thumb is that if a cat responds to scruffing, they will respond to Clilnosis. It's a great tool to have in the clinic!
