With Natasha, she doesn't mind me clipping her front claws too much,
but absolutely hates it whenever anyone messes with her back legs.
Much yanking the foot out of my hand, yowling, hissing, spitting,
wiggling, squirming, etc ensues. I used to wrap her up in a towel, and
have the foot I was working on poking out with the others inside the
wrap. She wasn't to happy with that arrangement, though, and almost
always wiggled her way out. So here's the alternative method I've
worked out to do this over the years. It works for us, but it requires
a kitty that doesn't mind being on her back...

I sit on the floor, legs out in front of me. I put Tasha on her back
along the length of my legs, then cross my legs at the ankles or
higher to support her head. She's not touching the floor, my legs are
completely supporting her, and her back legs are closest to me.
There's nothing holding her down into position, other than her being
on her back and me skritching her from time to time.

I clip her front feet first, with much praising and petting as I go.
She gets a treat after I finish each foot. Between front claws I'll
reach down and stroke one of her back feet (remember, that's her main
problem area) to get her used to the idea that I'm going there next.

Because of the way she's positioned, when I do her back feet I don't
have to actually move them around very much, and she doesn't squirm
too much either. Again, much praise and stroking, but this time
(because I know she hates this part so much) I give her a treat after
every claw or two, even if she's being squirmy. (no, she doesn't seem
to mind eating while on her back)   I do all of the trimming as
quickly as I can, but most definitely try not to be rough about it.

Of course, your best bet is probably trial and error in finding out
what works best for each of your kitties as an individual. Good luck!

Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

============
http://www.jhedge.com

This is a good question - I have the same problem. Roxy will usually let
me get up to one front paw done before she runs off (and I can later get
the other paw), but Smudge starts squirming, meowing and hissing
immediately, so I don't even try with her anymore. And with Licky, who I
think has a bit of the feral in him, it's absolutely out of the question.
One time he saw me clip Roxy's claws, and then I came toward him with
the clippers. He gave me a look that said, "Are you out of your MIND?"
and was then outta there in a flash.

I always hear that it's best to start them getting used to claw clipping
when they're kittens. That's all well and good, but I've got 3 adult cats,
so what do I do now?

I don't consider it urgent, as I don't get scratched very often. Roxy
does the most "damage" to me with her claws, as she loves to knead me
around my neck and collarbone while cuddling, but then she's also the
easiest to clip, so it pretty much works out. Still, it would be nice
to know how to do it successfully, on cats who've grown up unaccustomed
to having that done.

Joyce

Silver isn't happy about having her claws clipped but she'll let you
do it by yourself... I pick her up and lie her in my lap on her back
and put my arm across her chest to reach her paw so she can't wriggle
too much... Scouty won't have a bar of it!
You could try sneaking up on a cat and doing it one paw at a time
while the cat is asleep and in a suitable position. There's no law
that says you have to do all the claws at the same time, you can
rotate... and I never clip the back claws at all - they don't get
nearly as long or as sharp as the front ones.

I have twelve cats - about half spend enough time outdoors that their
claws seldom need clipping.  The other half contains a couple that
simply have to be overpowered: wedged between my body and the chair
arm, and held securely by my left arm while my left hand holds the paw
tightly - I still have to retuck the cat a couple of times.

A friend of mine swears by a sock pulled over her cats' heads.  That
would be like the hood.  However, when I go over the process in my
mind, I see more opportunity to get hurt than when just overpowering
the cat.

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.

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.

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?

It's a muzzle.  They work.  They are only about $5.00.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7253&Ntt=cat%20muz
zle&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

(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.

They actually calm the animal.

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:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244417
77735&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025565&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=253437430202
3690&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673267835&bmUID=1090435597134

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.

HTH,
-L.

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

When I got Corky from the shelter, she didn't trust humans very much.  The
first time I tried to clip her she struggled quite a bit, and from there it
started to escalate.  I decided that I wanted clipping time to be enjoyable
for both her and me, and I wanted her to learn to trust me, too.

I started by going up to her when she was sleeping.  I'd clip one claw,
then immediately say "Good girl!!!" and give her a Pounce treat.  I did one
claw a day, mostly just the front paws.  If there wasn't a claw that
actually needed clipping, I would still go through the motion of clipping,
along with the "good girl!" and the treat.  I don't remember how long I did
this for, maybe a month or so - I just wanted to be consistent in order to
establish a positive association.
 
When she was quite used to that, I tried something different.  I rattled
the can of treats and she came running.  I sat her upright on my lap with
her back to my tummy.  I clipped one paw at a time, saying "Good girl" if
she sat quietly, and gave her 2-3 Pounce treats per paw.  She took to this
very well - if she hadn't, I would have tried sitting her in my lap and
doing just one paw a day for a while.

Now she purrs the entire time I am clipping her claws.  :-)

Dee

Well, I have two that refuse to be clipped, a couple that will get up
on the couch and let me do it without fanfare, and the rest have
various stages of reluctance.

My method for those I *can* clip who are more difficult is to get on
the floor, get them between my knees (so they can't back up or go
sideways), and then trim their claws from the front of my knees.
Usually works very well, except on Cosmo and Arthur, who act like I'm
killing them and manage to wriggle enough to escape.  Brando and
Internet just let me do it, and the above method works for the others.

My neighbor has me come over and hold his cats up, under their front
arms, and trims them that way, and it seems to work fairly well.

Make sure you have a good, sharp claw trimmer, too.  The faster you
go, the better.  And they say doing it just as they are waking up is
an excellent time to try.

I also almost always give my guys catnip after the Big Ordeal ;-)

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
 http://www.moonsummer.com
 http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy)
 http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
                        Animals in Movies Website)

I've never clipped Otis's claws, just as well really as I don't think
I'd have got very far!  Mind you, he is shredding the furniture at the
moment but he's too old for me to try now I think, I'd never heard of
anyone doing it until I came on this group.

Marcia