Plunket is 17 or 18 years old. He was never a lap cat and his nickname was Grumpy Old Man even at the tender age of 5. Aside from his thyroid and arthritis, he’s doing OK. However, he’s not scratching the post much and his nails have grown so long he can no longer retract them all the way and it is obvious that they are causing him some discomfort. The problem is, he just will not let us clip them.
When we last took him to the vet, we asked if they would clip them. He doesn’t do very well at the vet’s. The blanket trick does not work on him. The vet and the technician always take him into a different room to deal with him even though me and my son tell them we know what he’s like and perhaps we should be around to help because it’s going to to take more than the two of them to deal with him but it’s like they forget what he’s like. The vet could not clip his nails. She said, “That’s not a cat, that’s a tiger.”
Anyways, on our last two visits the vet recommended we cut down on visits since they stress him out so much and he’s getting too old for this shit. Since then his nails have gotten even longer. Any ideas on how we can cut his nails, keep him calm enough so his heart doesn’t explode and save our own skins in the process?
I had the same problem with my older cat, I never got it dealt with. I watched them pretty close and they never got to the point it caused him any problems so I let it go. He died at 18.
My DH and I do ours all the time. We have an island in the kitchen and I get a cat (we have 2) and cuddle him over to the island, then lay him down with one foot sticking out and me draped over the rest of him, holding onto the elbow of the loose foot to stabilize it. (Can you picture this?) DH takes the one paw and clips. I recommend a clipper from a pet store that is nice and sharp; we had a dull one once and didn’t realize how dull it was until a cat nearly killed both of us. I felt bad because it probably hurt him more than us.
Anyhow, once one foot is done I sort of roll the cat around to get the other foot loose and then repeat. Mostly they don’t fight much any more; they are pretty resigned to it. I’m pretty sure the little girl kitty can count to five since she seems to know when one foot is finished.
I think using the island is good because it’s up high and well lit so DH can see what he’s doing, it’s a hard surface so they can’t squirm loose, and there’s no fabric or soft surface for them to grab onto with claws (except me, heh). Main key is don’t clip the nails too far down as you can cut the blood vessel and they’ll bleed. (There are video’s on youtube to show you that part.)
Good luck. I always give mine treats when we’re done so that probably sticks in their fuzzy minds too. They may not remember everything but they do remember treats.
ETA You do know you only cut the front claws, right?
Oh kayT, you do not know what it is like to have a tiger instead of a cat.
I, too have two cats. Camry is either two or three years younger and your method would work well on him. Not Plunket. Plunket will see you in hell first.
Wrap him securely in a blanket with one paw sticking out. His head can stick out as you have him immobilized and can avoid his fangs. Do one paw and let him go, he probably can’t take much more excitement than that. In a few days do another paw.
My ancient cat would yowl and piss herself when I did her claws, but if I didn’t they would grow into her pads. She was blind, deaf, and crippled and she still put up a fight like you wouldn’t believe. Grumpy didn’t begin to describe her.
She was 20 when she died and that was only because 20 was my limit, not because she conveniently died without help. She put me off cats completely, I’ll never have another.
You need to very careful not to cut the claw quick ! It would be best to have someone help you or go to your vet if you think your cat going to fight you .
Sorry you have a tiger! You might also be aware that cats shed the outer part of their claws by scratching. I notice you say your big guy doesn’t scratch any more. You might try him on either sisal rope or cardboard scratchers with catnip which most pet stores have. This might encourage a swipe or two to remove some of the buildup from his claws. You might also see if any groomers do claws. I know mostly they are dog groomers but I had a friend who used a dog groomer to clip her cat’s claws. She said the cat was so scared of all the dogs he barely moved. Doubt that would work on your tiger but you never know.
This is what I was telling my son. Don’t just cover him with the blanket, immobilize him it. Which is easy to say. . … And I hope my Plunket will break the world record for cats. I’ve been steeling myself for the inevitable, though.
P.S. If your not trying to do things to him, he’s the best. "Things’ being: pick him up, carry him, make him sit on your lap, pet him after he’s made it clear he’s had enough, take him to the vet and try to cut his nails.
My cat only ever gets wet food as a treat, after she’s had her claws trimmed.
I open the pouch and dump the food in a bowl on the counter first, so she knows it’s coming. When she runs in to the kitchen to beg for the food, I scoop her up, sit down on the floor with her on my lap, and use the toenail clippers on her.
After the ordeal is over she’ll run and hide in the next room for a few minutes until I put the wet food on the floor.
Of course, I’ve been doing this since she was a kitten, so she has the routine down. If this is your first time trimming an old-ass cat’s claws, you may be fucked.
I’ve gotten cats to succumb to the nail cutting by trying the blanket wrapping idea, doesn’t work all the time though, I put on a crappy jacket (no skin scratches, getting hooked is a different story) and then do it while reassuring them and giving them a treat afterward (not cat treats, i mean a piece of steak or pork chop or something), they get less fidgety after a while and just relax, probably dreaming about the piece of meat that comes after. Not all cats though, some will as an above poster said, will see you in hell first.
Particularly since he’s older now, I’m sure it aggravates his arthritis to be handled. It’s probably why he’s not scratching. Do you think you could get him in a cat bag? It will be painful at first since he’s gotten those layers built up, so try to keep up on it.
KayT, I’ve been trimming my cats’ nails for years and years and have always trimmed the back ones. I’ve never heard otherwise. The humane society even has instructions on how to do them. Why do you say that? If my cats went outdoors I wouldn’t, but they don’t.
My cats don’t go outdoors either, except one escaped and was on the loose for three days. I am pretty sure he got shut in someplace and finally escaped but I’m glad he had his back claws since there were about 10 feral cats in the area. I just don’t assume they’re never going to escape.
He’s a 9/11 cat found wandering Manhattan soon after. The rescue agency I got him from said he had two shattered teeth and broken back legs. They think he fell out of a window. They weren’t sure but they thought he was between 1 and 2 years old at the time.
I don’t get it. My vet told me she often has to put cats under just to trim their nails.
Since I’ve never had to do that myself, I have no idea how expensive that is.
Kneel with supplies nearby in a small room (bathroom) with good light and closed door. I require reading glasses to see the claws now . Place cat between legs, facing front—they try to back up, but there’s nowhere to go, and the scary clippers are in front of them, so they more or less stay still. I find it works as well as the towel but is less scary.
I use human nail clippers.
I sometimes skip the dewclaw—it depends on the cat’s mood. Usually it’s the others that get too long / catch on things.
It’s pretty easy. Mine hate it, but they put up with it. I’ve also done much more intractable cats, including my father’s elderly tom who had never had it done before.
. Place cat between legs, facing front—they try to back up, but there’s nowhere to go, and the scary clippers are in front of them, so they more or less stay still. I find it works as well as the towel but is less scary.