I'm no help, but I just had to comment on the pictures. konagirl, your kitty looks like she's a bit of a rascal nawteekat! I too have a couple of different cat scratchers for my two, the usual tall pole thing and then one that hangs off a doorknob that my RB Goldie used to love; my current two haven't figured that one out yet, but Mitzi is working on it slowly.

As for the nail clipping, at first I took my two to the vet to have it done - $14 per cat and I was spared bloody limbs. Now they have calmed down a bit and let me do it, so I get to save some money. Have the vet show you how. Actually I know of no cat that likes having their claws clipped, but it's just a fact of life that we get to deal with

and I always love seeing pictures of that beauty, Freckles.