Trimming cat's nails - how did you get your cat used to it? (kittens, sleeping)
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My kitten (now 18 wks old) hates me to touch her paws and won't let me trim her nails. I've been able to sneak a trim of a nail or 2 while she's been sleeping but lately she won't even let me do that. In the past the vet did it during her visits to get booster shots. Naturally she was pretty good for the vet. For me...not so much.
I enlisted a friend to help me and we wrapped her in a blanket yesterday and that didn't work. She is feisty as they come and neither wrapping her nor a neck scruff hold works with her--she fights it tooth & nail!
I've tried bribing her with treats (no go) as well as changing the tool of choice so as not to tip her off as to what I was doing (no go).
I'm down to having to take her in to the vet and get them to trim her nails (at nearly $15/per trim). I'd like to avoid this expense if possible.
I can't be the only cat owner whose cat refuses to allow nail clipping, right? For those of you who got your kitten/cat to accept this over time, please share your hints/tips. Please. I know how to do the trim I just can't get the cat to cooperate.
I wish there were a pill that would knock her out completely for 3 min so I could do the trim in peace and then she'd wake up with no memory of it. ... sigh ...
Last edited by lottamoxie; 11-23-2009 at 03:48 PM..
My best approach is to hold the cat on my lap, and do the trimming... yes she makes odd noises, and sometimes hisses at me. I catch mine about half asleep when I do it, I have a few of them trimmed before she figures out what is going on. By that time the odds of getting scratched decrease 'cause the claws are fewer in number.
+ 1 to what Dixie said. Sometimes I can get the trimming done without Loki even waking up. If he dose wak up, I get a good hold on him and clip away. Also, when he's relaxed and just chilling out, I pet his paws and gently play with his toes to get him used to having his feet touched. I make sure to gently squeeze each one of his toes to make his claws pop out, as you would have to do when clipping the nails. If he gets annoyed, I stop right away.
I've placed her on my lap and petted her gently, but the minute I touch any of her paws she tucks them away and turns and bites me (not hard, but she's a biter at this young age). I will have to keep trying to do it when she's asleep. She sleeps with one eye open sometimes.
If her feet are that tender, have you checked to see if perhaps she has an injury or irritation that is causing her to react so badly? Or did you (or the vet) clip a bit too close to the quick at some point? Cats generally don't like people messing with their feet, but unless it's actively painful for them, you can usually train them to put up with it. She is still pretty young, too, and will likely become less skittish as she continues to mature.
I echo Sheridan's suggestion, to play gently with her feet when she's feeling quiet and snuggly as a way of helping her become accustomed to it. My little fur kid has gotten so when I start playing with his feet, he'll stretch out his toes so I can rub between them, and when I trim his claws, he doesn't even stop purring.
She has no injury and has never been clipped too closely. She's just really stubborn. Even the vet said she's a real pistol--just knows what she likes and doesn't like. But like I said in my original msg, she's been pretty good for the vet. But now her vet visits are over for the next year as she is up on all her shots, was spayed, etc. And there's no reason why I can't do the trimming from a knowledge standpoint, as I have done it a bit (when I've been able to get to her claws when she's been asleep). She's young and feisty and I think it's just going to take time with her. I've heard some cats just don't like their paws being messed with or their claws trimmed and you can't force a cat to 'like' something they simply don't like. Hopefully as she gets older she'll mellow out because she's your typical kitten (as if she's gotten 3 shots of espresso everyday).
I trained mine using a bath towel. When he gets combative I wrap him up in it with his head and one paw out at a time, then take a break between paws. Better to cut the nails too long than to risk injuring. A traumatic association with it would only guarantee combative in the future.
It's taken about 2 months but he's learned if he doesn't fight with me the towel won't go on him. He doesn't like feeling restrained by it so I use it sparingly. Since I've regularly groomed him he's gotten much better abou being handled. I've also noticed when he gets nervous and turns to make direct eye contact it's as if he's searching my eyes if I'm friend or foe... I have to take the time to reassure him.
We have tried to train ours. We can get away with the front paws but we've got to hold her down with her back paws. She also allows the vet to do it. The reason is that she is scared and stays still (thank goodness). That is why the vet can do it. When we do it at home, I will hold her down while my wife cuts her claws. We do wrap her in a towel or light blanket which helps. If we both do it, I will get behind her, wrap her up and hold her down with one arm around her and my other hand holds both of her front paws. This is an easy way to control them.
As for hissing or growling, I just scold her and tell her its not polite and we're only trying to make her look pretty.
With our senior cat, the more of a production we make of it, the worse he freaks out. The towel/cat burrito method has been an utter disaster every time we've tried it.
What works for the front claws (which generally need more trimming than the back) is to stick the clippers in waistband or back pocket so he can't see them, pick him up and put him on the floor and then 'sit' on him. Which is pretty much kneeling with him between the legs and positioning my feet and shine so he can't get backward and my butt so he can't go upward. So he can only go forward, and the same hand that's popping the claws out from his paw is also restraining him acrss the chest as I clip.
It's something I had to start young with two of mine when they were kittens. My smallest has no problem with nail trims. I get to hold her close and clip the tiniest nails. The other one can be a trip to trim. Sometimes he let me trim no problem, sometimes it's an all out fight to where I can only get the fronts or the backs. I also try to catch that one when he's sleepy.
My third one is the funny cat. He likes to be scooped up, held like a baby and holds his back feet out for the clipping. He just relaxes and looks like he's at a kitty spa. He purrs the whole time.
Of course there's a treat at the end of this too.........
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In the past the vet did it during her visits to get booster shots. Naturally she was pretty good for the vet. For me...not so much.
