Claw clipping question

idontmind...

Corn starch can be subsituted in a pinch.

Cheryl Sellner...

Chak, don't get this kind of styptic powder. I hurridly did a
web search for "styptic", but when looking at the image I
noticed it has benzocaine for pain relief. A couple of articles say
that benzocaine can cause methemoglobinemia (don't know what that
is, but it doesn't look good; I'd avoid that type of styptic
powder.

This article is good, (below) and it says if you don't have styptic
powder, cooking flour will do? Interesting!

It shows pictures with the quick clearly visible.

badwilson...

I don't agree with this article where it says you can use regular nail
clippers. I used to use those and even very sharp, brand new ones
crushed the claw and it became very ragged and splintery. I bought some
cat claw trimmers which look like scissors except that there's a little
hole like indentation in it where the claw goes. Those work much better
because they cut the claw from all directions.

Cheryl Sellner...

I don't agree with that either. I started out using those
guluitine (SP) type trimmers, and they seemed to crush the claw
rather than cut. I also now use the small ones that look like
scissors. I've read many posts where people use people toenail
clippers, but I've just never tried them. They don't even look like
they'd work.

Funny story from Rhett's last vet visit for his eye problem - he'd
just had his claws clipped when he got his shots. 2 weeks later was
when he got the eye injury. TED clipped his claws again
(complimentory, I was very pleased. She's our NEW ted since our old
one retired) and she started clipping his claws with dog claw
clippers. He's a BIG cat, so I didn't think anything of it, but the
tech who's been there for years commented on it. I'm sure part of
it was 1) he's a big cat and 2) she's new, and was nervous

It's just me and the two cats, and they have shown a marked reluctance to
hold each other down while I trim claws. So how does one person manage a
claw clip on a reluctant cat?

I have in the past tried to wrap one in a towel (prewarmed for his
comfort) but I can only manage maybe two claws that way, before the
intrepid feline manages his escape.

My vet, when I told her he was a biter, produced a cloth hood-like thingy
which she said made the cat quiet, but I think that would be even more

idontmind...

It's a muzzle. They work. They are only about $5.00.

(Ok, $6.00 - I was only off a buck!) You can buy a used (or new) one
on ebay for a buck or so - be sure to wash it and sterilize it bfore
use.

stressful. And I'd have to make my own, as I am cash-poor for the

idontmind...

They actually calm the animal.

foreseeable future.

If you're one of the lucky ones who has a cat that doesn't object to claw
clipping, well, pbthbththbbtth to you.

Do you have a method I can try? Have you ever used a hood? Help!

idontmind...

My experience is that the more you do it, the more they get used to
it.

Good technique and tools are esssential. I like to use the
small, blunt-nosed, notched, scissor-like clippers (Groomax Cat Nail
Clippers:

as they are less obtrusive and easier to handle. I've trimmed claws on
hundreds of cats (used to be a groomer), and those work for me. You
will
eventually find a set of tools and a routine that works for you, if
you stick with it long enough. Also, the vet can give you lessons in
technique if you need them.

The method I use is this:

While standing, place the cat on a folded towel, on an *unfamiliar*++
table, with his head to your left. Put his body close to yours so
that you can lean to the outside (furthest from your body) and clip
first the fronts, and then the backs (or vice-verse - I do both).
When clipping the fronts, I pull the paw up and out, and kinda behind
their head, so that if they do try to bite, they have to go past their
own arm to do so, which gives me enough time to get away. When
clipping the backs, I just pull the foot out, or in some cases, I
gently flip it back. As I do the backs, I block the head with my arm
and elbow, so that the cat can't reach around and bite.

Flip kitty 180 degrees (this is why you have him on a towel), and
repeat the procedure on the other side. Let go, and watch him fly!
;o)

Obviously, if you have any cats that are real biters (rather than
nippers), you have to have someone scruff them while you trim their
nails. If the cat remains difficult to trim, I suggest having your
vet do it for you (should be free or less than $10). Also, the vet
may be able to help you improve your technique so that it becomes
much easier for you.

++The reason you put the cat in an unfamiliar place to do the
trimming is that it distracts the cat, and allows it to focus on
something other than biting you. If you trim in the cat's own
"territory" it knows exactly where to move, where to jump to, and
where to hide. I do the trimming on my kitchen island, since that is
a place the cats are not familiar with. A folding table in an
attached garage would serve the same purpose.

-L.

[key words: cat claw trim method nail fly Groomax muzzle]

Monique Y. Mudama...

Oscar's my first cat, and I never clip her claws. A vet did it to her
once, and she would jump up on the couch and slide right off! It
seemed downright humiliating, so I never let them do it again.

Marina...

Aww, poor Oscar. Very humiliating indeed! I've never clipped my cats'
claws either. The vet clipped Frank's a couple of times last autumn,
since hyperthyroidism can cause the claws to grow too quickly, and I
could hear him clicking when he walked. But I never clipped them earlier
in his life.

I guess we're just lucky; she seems fine. She does have a plethora of
scratching posts that she uses enthusiastically, so maybe that's why
it doesn't seem to be a problem. Do your cats enjoy any form of
scratching device?

Cheryl Sellner...

I can relate! It's just me and the four cats! Of the four, I can't
clip Bonnie's at all. She's a former feral and I can't even pick
her up. Her claws are only clipped once a year by the vet. The
other three are difficult, but managable. With Shamrock, I put him
on the kitchen counter and he mostly cooperates for the front
claws. I rarely clip the back ones on any of them because they're
just too thick. Vet does those. For Scarlett and Rhett, the
youngest ones who've been with me since they were 9 weeks old, I
clip theirs on my bed. We do cuddles and they get relaxed and I can
usually manage most of them. When any of them get too squirmy, I
just quit and do them another time. Even if you can do 2 or 3 claws
at a sitting, you're making progress. Try not to look at it as an
"all or nothing" endeavor.