diff --git a/docs/plugins/petcapRemover.rst b/docs/plugins/petcapRemover.rst
index 65ebaeeab..e3ce47916 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/petcapRemover.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/petcapRemover.rst
@@ -1,19 +1,32 @@
 petcapRemover
 =============
-Allows you to remove or raise the pet population cap. In vanilla
-DF, pets will not reproduce unless the population is below 50 and the number of
-children of that species is below a certain percentage. This plugin allows
-removing the second restriction and removing or raising the first. Pets still
-require PET or PET_EXOTIC tags in order to reproduce. Type ``help petcapRemover``
-for exact usage. In order to make population more stable and avoid sudden
-population booms as you go below the raised population cap, this plugin counts
-pregnancies toward the new population cap. It can still go over, but only in the
-case of multiple births.
+Tags:
+:dfhack-keybind:`petcapRemover`
+
+Modify the pet population cap. In vanilla DF, pets will not reproduce unless the
+population is below 50 and the number of children of that species is below a
+certain percentage. This plugin allows removing these restrictions and setting
+your own thresholds. Pets still require PET or PET_EXOTIC tags in order to
+reproduce. In order to make population more stable and avoid sudden population
+booms as you go below the raised population cap, this plugin counts pregnancies
+toward the new population cap. It can still go over, but only in the case of
+multiple births.
 
 Usage:
 
-:petcapRemover:             cause pregnancies now and schedule the next check
-:petcapRemover every n:     set how often in ticks the plugin checks for possible pregnancies
-:petcapRemover cap n:       set the new cap to n. if n = 0, no cap
-:petcapRemover pregtime n:  sets the pregnancy duration to n ticks. natural pregnancies are
-                            300000 ticks for the current race and 200000 for everyone else
+``enable petcapRemover``
+    Enables the plugin and starts running with default settings.
+``petcapRemover cap <value>``
+    Set the new population cap per species to the specified value. If set to 0,
+    then there is no cap (good luck with all those animals!). The default cap
+    is 100.
+``petcapRemover``
+    Impregnate female pets that have access to a compatible male, up to the
+    population cap.
+``petcapRemover every <ticks>``
+    Set how often the plugin will cause pregnancies. The default frequency is
+    every 10,000 ticks (a little over 8 game days).
+``petcapRemover pregtime <ticks>``
+    Sets the pregnancy duration to the specified number of ticks. The default
+    value is 200,000 ticks, which is the natural pet pregnancy duration.
+
diff --git a/plugins/petcapRemover.cpp b/plugins/petcapRemover.cpp
index 7d6588cbc..2c1de318d 100644
--- a/plugins/petcapRemover.cpp
+++ b/plugins/petcapRemover.cpp
@@ -36,18 +36,8 @@ DFhackCExport command_result plugin_init ( color_ostream &out, std::vector <Plug
 {
     commands.push_back(PluginCommand(
         "petcapRemover",
-        "Remove the pet population cap by causing pregnancies.",
-        petcapRemover,
-        false, //allow non-interactive use
-        "petcapRemover\n"
-        " does pregnancies now and schedules the next check\n"
-        "petcapRemover every n\n"
-        " set how often in ticks the plugin checks for possible pregnancies\n"
-        "petcapRemover cap n\n"
-        " sets the new cap to n. if n = 0, no cap. Caps between 1 and 50 effectively don't do anything because normal DF pregnancies will continue to happen below that cap.\n"
-        "petcapRemover pregtime n\n"
-        " sets the pregnancy duration to n ticks. Natural pregnancies are 300000 ticks for the current race and 200000 ticks for everyone else.\n"
-    ));
+        "Modify the pet population cap.",
+        petcapRemover));
     return CR_OK;
 }
 
@@ -204,6 +194,10 @@ DFhackCExport command_result plugin_enable(color_ostream &out, bool enable)
         is_enabled = enable;
         if ( !is_enabled ) {
             EventManager::unregisterAll(plugin_self);
+        } else {
+            // start the cycle
+            vector<string> params;
+            return petcapRemover(out, params);
         }
     }