I often use a baffle, just something like a plastic lid from a shoe box when I need to get to an hungry/fiesty animal. In my left hand, I hold the baffle above the animals head or between their head and my right hand, and use my right hand to grab the animal. Once I get them picked up, I put the baffle away and handle the animal as usual.
You should not need to touch the animal at all with the baffleWorks great on those animals that have hair-trigger feeding responses and think its lunch time everytime the draw is opened