Louise is WILD

[toughCookie]

tonight I cut the cats claws...all 5 cats, both front and back!! whew what a job! in fact, there were a few claws missed that I will have to go back and cut tomorrow...the cats move around so much! I will cut one cats claws a day from now on, not all 5 cats. even Muffin tonight let me know that she wanted to bite me! she didn't actually do it but I got the idea.she has never done that before, maybe it was because I had squirted her with water,(for scaring Charlie) and the others were in the room, usually when I do her claws, she is alone. she sure didnt like the water, she gave me such a look after that! good thing she didn't , or there was a squirt bottle with her name on it! Charlie growls the whole time, its funny, he growls as if saying, Im a tuff guy, you better stop that. and Patches plays, tries to bite the clippers, its hard to do his because he is always putting his mouth in the way, or a paw.
then there is Emma and Louise, they are so scared, they shake, and Louise is just downright wild. 2 of us can't handle her, she is just going to have to have them done professionally. we have been scratched, clawed, so many times.and tonight she almost scratched my mothers eye!
she is just plain wild. I have to scruff her but I can't do that and cut her claws, I need both hands, and it takes both my moms hand to hold her down, we are just doing something wrong,

how do you cut your cats claws?

my mother holds them, in her arms , on their backs. I know at the vets one holds the scruff and the other cuts the claws...
just now, Louise threw up. she is so stressed about this, I hope it doesn't bring on the herpes back to her eyes. I gave them catnip, of course the kittens are still too young, they don't like it yet.
I am going to check into some services this week, because either we have to have someone come out here or we have to take them to the vets. and I know the carrier and being in the car will stress her, maybe it would be easier if she just got used to someone coming here and doing that...

does anyone know if there are services like that, like a dog groomer but for cats? I will look it up this week, just thought I would ask.

[wolf_Q]

Do you have a Petco near you? I work there as a bath and brusher. I know we groom both dogs and cats. They will clip the cats nails for you. It is $8 for a dog, I think it is the same price for cats.

[neko1]

Wow what an ordeal!! The best way is to have someone scruff them while the other clips. I'm very thankful that my cats don't mind having their nails cut. They just lie there on the floor. Maybe try calling your vet to see if they know of any places that will do it.

[jenluckenbach]

Just call any pet groomer in your phone book and ask them if they do cats, Not all do. Your vet's office might also provide the service. I am a groomer and even I have a cat that I cannot do (yet). He is still too terrified of being held. I am not sure how even the vet's office will handle him, but we will see soon. (I have not had him long enough for them to need to see him yet). But I also have a cat that was very much like Louise in that at first I needed someone else to scruff while I clipped and now he calmed to the point that I can do it on my own. So there is hope.

[Miss Meow]

My nan's chihuahua was like that. It took three of us to handle this tiny dog just to clip his nails. He'd squeal like nothing we'd heard before In the end when he had heart problems we'd take him to the vet to be mildly sedated and let him cut the nails.

There is already some good advice here, so I will just say good luck. I hope Louise calms down a bit. Mini is a bit of a panic merchant, so Shane wraps him in a towel and I pull one leg out at a time to trim the nails.

[Uabassoon]

I'm glad I'm able to cut both Tibby and Corkscrew's nails. My moms cat is so wild, we tried taking it to the vet once to get it's nails trimmed but I think she's even to wild for the vet because the vet handed the cat back to us saying the only way to trim it's nails would be to sedate it. We figured it wasn't worth it to sedate her everytime we wanted to cut her nails. So we haven't tried since.

[wayne0214]

Trying to cut my furkids claws is something I havn't tried. But I did make a scratching post from a 4' length of seasoned oak, It seems to work OK for them to keep ther claws in good condition, especially Tiger's.

[toughCookie]

but doesn't the post just help to shrpen them? my cats use theirs all the time, and somethimes they are so sharp, and hook shaped!

I asked the vet for a sedative, they wouldn't give to me. the vet can do it but Ihate to stress Louise out(and me!) by putting her in her carrier and taking her there. I think I will try the way the vets do it next time. I have also tried the towel thing, and you can't believe how she wiggles and waits for her chance to jump down, as soon as you aren't expecting it...I've never seena cat like her before, even after all these months, she is still like that.

I can tell when it is time to cut their claws, becase when they play with each other, one or the other will do a kind of hurt cry, or whine, even thoughthey are just playing, so I know the claws are too sharp!

[jenluckenbach]

a scratching post will not prevent the nails from growing. One way or another, stress or not, they MUST be clipped. Did you ever notice how as they grow the curve under?? well after too long of a time, they WILL grow into the flesh of the pad and puncture it. A very bad situation! I would suggest possibly putting it off for as long of a time as possible (minimizing the number of times she needs to be stressed) but realizing the heath risks of not doing it in time.

[Felicia's Mom]

I have to have the vet or assistant do Felicias claws. With Beau I hold him on my lap on his back. I can't imagine doing five cats claws.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have never attempted to trim my cats claws. I know that they wouldn't stay still long enough for me to trim them safely. I had the vet do it once but they charged a lot to do it. Now I go to a pet groomer about once a month. The cats do get stressed out on the way over to the groomer but they seem to calm down on the way home. Good luck.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Hi ToughCookie,

The only time I can clip Emily's nails is when she is asleep. Otherwise I take her in to the local PetSmart and have them done there ($8/cat). I know in Baltimore there are some mobile cat groomers who will come out to your house. I would expect that Tuscon might have them also. Take a look in your yellow pages or at www.411.com and that might give you some leads.

[toughCookie]

she doesn't wake up when you cut her claws?? I can just imagine Louise's reaction if I tried that! or any of their reactions !
your cat must be very calm?

[emily_the_spoiled]

Hi,

When Emily is really asleep there is nothing that can wake her up (except the sound of a can of cat food being opened up ). I can't get near her claws when she is awake, so this is the easiest way for me to do it.

It did take awhile before she was comfortable enough with me around her feet. Since she likes to sleep in my lap or right beside me on the couch I could get her used to me working with her feet just by spending time stroking them (the can be very sensitive). It is kind of like rubbing her under the chin

[toughCookie]

thats a great way to get them cut! My Cookie, was good about that, I could be on the phone(if I held it against my shoulder) and her in my lap, I could cut the claws, what a difference from these cats.