oh joy, trimming cat claws . . . (update in first post)

[gardenmom5]

The vet has only ever trimmed his hind claws - unless he was fully sedated.   There is a cat groomer, who will do claws . . . ."fractious kitties" are extra.

  Yeah - he's "fractious" all right!   The vet gave me sedatives for him when he get's his claws trimmed.  (at least he's not terrible about taking it.)  He's currently in his crate while it takes effect.  - he normally loves his crate - but right now, he wants to rip it up.   (he will climb up inside furniture to take naps, so I don't want him loose in the house.  Dh sat on the sofa last night- and he came slithering out from underneath.)

I have a "cat bag" (it even came with a mask).  I do good treats . .  salmon treats, roasted chicken . . .   He once tried to claw me through the bag, and I took advantage to trim a claw . . ..He promptly retracted the rest. . . . .sigh.

I was holding him, and petting his nose/between his ears (one of his favorite places- he's not much on being petted.)  then he started crying like a baby because he wanted out.  But those claws have to be cut.  It's been months since the front claws were trimmed.   Nice little curved needles . . . . 

 

UPDATE: about 35 minutes after I gave him the sedative he was quiet, so I thought he'd gone to sleep.  no.  But I put him in the bag, still had to use the mask for his front claws (and a rag between his mouth - despite the cat muzzle - and my arm - he tried to bite through the mask), held him like a baby, and got his front claws trimmed.   Definitely easier holding him like a baby.  He still argued about each toe but slowly calmed down as I made progress.  I gave him chicken after each paw.  He was downright tolerant (for him) when I did his hind claws.  (some of them through the bag where he'd extended them.   It's just going to be really good treats every time - and I should probably do a treat for every front toe at this stage.  Next time.

I'll keep him in the house the rest of the afternoon until the rx wears off.  He's sitting at the door - glaring.

Actually it kind of reminds me of some of the seal rescue videos, where after they've cut the free of whatever they were tangled up in (usually some sort of fishing line, but not always) and then let them go -  most will take off like a bat, but some of the seals will turn around and stare at them like: you mean you weren't going to eat me?

Edited July 7, 2021 by gardenmom5

[Pawz4me]

I've never had a cat whose claws I couldn't trim, but if I ever did I'd be really tempted to find a nice barky (and bug free) log, bring it in and prop it up somewhere and see if kitty would use it and keep the claws trimmed himself.

[gardenmom5]

11 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I've never had a cat whose claws I couldn't trim, but if I ever did I'd be really tempted to find a nice barky (and bug free) log, bring it in and prop it up somewhere and see if kitty would use it and keep the claws trimmed himself.

He's been good about only using cat poles to claw, but not nearly enough to keep up with their growth rate.  I've also seen him jump up on his trees (he has three in different parts of the house), he he's NOT meaning to claw - but they're so long, he can't help it sometimes.   and I'd like him to adjust to it before he starts clawing furniture.  He's still a kitten.  (he'll be a year next month.)

 

and while 1dd's dogs are very good with him. (they play wrestle, they chase, they examine each other's food, and no claws come out) - but I'll be honest I wouldn't have minded if the claws had come out with sil's dog yesterday.  He's half the size of 1dd's dogs, and notoriously crotchety. (*very* territorial. whether it's his territory or not.) I just happened to catch him serious barking at the cat  (I didn't even know the cat was there it happened so fast), who promptly took off to hide under his favorite hemlock in the yard.  I was not amused.  I admit I would have taken satisfaction if the cat had whacked him across the nose with full claws . . .  

[MEmama]

One of ours is difficult, but I can usually get one paw at a time. The other one loves to be held in DH's arms like a baby and will willingly get hers cut in that position. 
 

Both kitties know that any success for one means treats for both. 😻

[TheReader]

We've always managed with the towel method, and kitty tucked in like a football. Your kitty sounds so hard! The good treats for each clip sounds like a good plan to get him used to it.

[Farrar]

I'm glad you managed it!

Our cat was always so good about it. It was the only thing he was great about because he was mostly a real jerk. I'd get him on my lap, pull out the clippers, and he'd start purring like crazy as I clipped. He was a real weirdo.

[MercyA]

Reminds me of a Herriot story:

“I think it was the beginning of Mrs. Bond’s unquestioning faith in me when she saw me quickly enveloping the cat till all you could see of him was a small black and white head protruding from an immovable cocoon of cloth. He and I were now facing each other, more or less eyeball to eyeball, and George couldn’t do a thing about it. As I say, I rather pride myself on this little expertise, and even today my veterinary colleagues have been known to remark, 'Old Herriot may be limited in many respects, but by G-d he can wrap a cat.'"

[Tap]

I have never, ever in my life clipped a cats claws. LOL Do you really have to do this on a regular basis? That sounds horrible!  I don't remember having a cat that needed it done. 

[MerryAtHope]

Wow, sounds tough! Our cat doesn’t like it, but she’s mellow. I wait until she’s sleeping and try then if she’s tired enough, she’ll still resist but I can get it done. 

[fraidycat]

22 minutes ago, Tap said:

I have never, ever in my life clipped a cats claws. LOL Do you really have to do this on a regular basis? That sounds horrible!  I don't remember having a cat that needed it done. 

We do our cats front claws about once/month and back claws about once every 3 months. They love to walk/sit on our shoulders, so we know when they need to be done. 
 

The trick is to touch their feet a lot when they're young so the get accustomed to us "playing" with their feet.

[KSera]

2 hours ago, Tap said:

I have never, ever in my life clipped a cats claws. LOL Do you really have to do this on a regular basis? That sounds horrible!  I don't remember having a cat that needed it done. 

That’s what I’ve been thinking through this thread. My mom always sounds horrified we don’t do them, but it’s never seemed necessary. Our cat would be awful about it. She has long fur and sometimes gets something stuck in her bloomers and we have to clip it out. She’s typically a fluffy baby, but she turns wicked at the scissors. We tried burrito wrapping her and she peed all over once she was tightly wrapped. I felt so bad for her—she must have been terrified (or ticked off?) to have done that. Fortunately, I discovered she doesn’t care at all if we use the electric razor on her backside, so we do that instead. I don’t dare try claws though. 

[Alte Veste Academy]

I feel like I’m being punk’d. I’ve had cats my whole life (have five now!) and have never trimmed a claw. There are scratching posts in almost every room, and I see little lost nails around them pretty frequently, but that’s the only attention I pay. They climb all over us, and only use their claws if they feel like they are falling, which isn’t often, and we certainly don’t fault them for it. Their claws are fully retracted when not in use, never growing too long like our dogs’ claws.

Seriously wondering, what is the purpose of trimming them? 

[Pawz4me]

5 hours ago, Tap said:

I have never, ever in my life clipped a cats claws. LOL Do you really have to do this on a regular basis? That sounds horrible!  I don't remember having a cat that needed it done. 

I've yet to meet an indoor only cat who didn't need it done. Thankfully other than getting kitty to cooperate it's super easy. Much easier to snip a cat's nails than to trim a dog's.

 

2 hours ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

I feel like I’m being punk’d. I’ve had cats my whole life (have five now!) and have never trimmed a claw. There are scratching posts in almost every room, and I see little lost nails around them pretty frequently, but that’s the only attention I pay. They climb all over us, and only use their claws if they feel like they are falling, which isn’t often, and we certainly don’t fault them for it. Their claws are fully retracted when not in use, never growing too long like our dogs’ claws.

Seriously wondering, what is the purpose of trimming them? 

The nails get super razor sharp before they lose them. When we have cats I always keep plenty of scratching posts, but their nails have all still needed occasional trimming. Just like dogs, some need it more often than others. Of our two most recent cats (both now departed) one needed her nails trimmed about twice as often as the other. If I didn't do it once a month or so I could actually--when I listened carefully--hear her nails on the wood floor just like you can a dog's.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Pawz4me

[MEmama]

4 hours ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

I feel like I’m being punk’d. I’ve had cats my whole life (have five now!) and have never trimmed a claw. There are scratching posts in almost every room, and I see little lost nails around them pretty frequently, but that’s the only attention I pay. They climb all over us, and only use their claws if they feel like they are falling, which isn’t often, and we certainly don’t fault them for it. Their claws are fully retracted when not in use, never growing too long like our dogs’ claws.

Seriously wondering, what is the purpose of trimming them? 

Their claws get stuck in things if they get too long—recently one our kitties got her claw stuck in a window screen, and they can get really stuck in the rugs. Also, even though we have lots of scratching posts, they can get so long they start to curl inward.

 Nails that get too long are clearly painful for them;  although they don’t enjoy getting their nails clipped they are both happier after. I try to clip them once a month.

[TheReader]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

Their claws get stuck in things if they get too long—recently one our kitties got her claw stuck in a window screen, and they can get really stuck in the rugs. Also, even though we have lots of scratching posts, they can get so long they start to curl inward.

 Nails that get too long are clearly painful for them;  although they don’t enjoy getting their nails clipped they are both happier after. I try to clip them once a month.

Yes, this. Our Indoor only cat gets hers stuck in the carpet when she walks if we go too long without trimming. So she'll be walking along and you'll see/hear her pulling the carpet up with each step and disengaging her claws. 

We have scratching posts in several places, and she does use them, but.....

The outdoor/indoor cat doesn't need hers trimmed as often. 

[gardenmom5]

On 7/8/2021 at 5:44 AM, TheReader said:

We've always managed with the towel method, and kitty tucked in like a football. Your kitty sounds so hard! The good treats for each clip sounds like a good plan to get him used to it.

When the vet won't cut them unless the cat is drugged . . . . . 

tbh: I think during one of his vet checks when I had them trim his claws, they got too close. (and they could only trim the back ones before they gave up.) There was some blood on one toe. He was even more fractious after that.

6 hours ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

I feel like I’m being punk’d. I’ve had cats my whole life (have five now!) and have never trimmed a claw. There are scratching posts in almost every room, and I see little lost nails around them pretty frequently, but that’s the only attention I pay. They climb all over us, and only use their claws if they feel like they are falling, which isn’t often, and we certainly don’t fault them for it. Their claws are fully retracted when not in use, never growing too long like our dogs’ claws.

Seriously wondering, what is the purpose of trimming them? 

I have scratching posts in the main rooms where the cat is likely to be.  and he uses them.  he also wants to use the carpet .. . . . (he'll even use the carpet platforms on his towers. which is better than my rugs.)

 I'd like to keep them short enough he never starts on the furniture.

4 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I've yet to meet an indoor only cat who didn't need it done. Thankfully other than getting kitty to cooperate it's super easy. Much easier to snip a cat's nails than to trim a dog's.

 

The nails get super razor sharp before they lose them. When we have cats I always keep plenty of scratching posts, but their nails have all still needed occasional trimming. Just like dogs, some need it more often than others. Of our two most recent cats (both now departed) one needed her nails trimmed about twice as often as the other. If I didn't do it once a month or so I could actually--when I listened carefully--hear her nails on the wood floor just like you can a dog's.

once he's contained (the hard part) . . . super easy to do the actual cutting because they're so tiny.

dd got a dremmel.  but, she's working again, so she takes them to the groomer every month.  but they jump on my lap, and their toenails dig in - boy they're hard!

 

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Their claws get stuck in things if they get too long—recently one our kitties got her claw stuck in a window screen, and they can get really stuck in the rugs. Also, even though we have lots of scratching posts, they can get so long they start to curl inward.

 Nails that get too long are clearly painful for them;  although they don’t enjoy getting their nails clipped they are both happier after. I try to clip them once a month.

nice little curved needles. 

and yes, the claws do get stuck in things. 

after I cut the front claws, he hardly even uses his scratching posts.  The vet did his back claws in april? - they were still fairly good but needed trimming.  But it's been way too long since his front claws were done, mostly because he'd get so violent.  and the med I was on was making me so tired.