elderly cat needs nails trimmed- help!

catnapt

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my 19 yr old girl has thick and very brittle nails
fortunately they grow pretty slow and up to now, she has been at the vets so often, that i just get them to do her nails

(she has only lived with me for 3 yrs and in all this time i have never been able to trim her nails by myself, she is one fiesty girl!!)

i can hear her click click clicking when she walks, and am worried that these long nails may be hurting her.

(do you think they are?)

she does not use a scratching post any more, seems not to have the strength for it. she doesn't bite off the nails on her back paws like she used to

so far i have been able to do two nails and she bit me when i did the second one

there is no one who can help me, so does any one have any ideas on how i can restrain her to do these nails?

(taking her to a groomer is not an option, for health reasons)


or should i just let her be?
 

goldenkitty45

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Try wrapping her in a towel or cutting one or two nails while she's asleep. You can't find a friend to help hold her or to trim nails while you hold her?
 

dusty0463

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Originally Posted by catnapt

my 19 yr old girl has thick and very brittle nails
fortunately they grow pretty slow and up to now, she has been at the vets so often, that i just get them to do her nails

(she has only lived with me for 3 yrs and in all this time i have never been able to trim her nails by myself, she is one fiesty girl!!)

i can hear her click click clicking when she walks, and am worried that these long nails may be hurting her.

(do you think they are?)

she does not use a scratching post any more, seems not to have the strength for it. she doesn't bite off the nails on her back paws like she used to

so far i have been able to do two nails and she bit me when i did the second one

there is no one who can help me, so does any one have any ideas on how i can restrain her to do these nails?

(taking her to a groomer is not an option, for health reasons)


or should i just let her be?
wow, 19 years old???? I didn't know a cat can even live that long!!!! That's awesome she's had such a long life. Have you tried the cat nail clippers.?
I know I had the same question about my cat and someone advised to get the cat nail trimmers you can find in a pet store that suppose to be super easy to use with a cat, just don't clip them past the "Quick" (blood vessel area), just clip the tips...
 
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catnapt

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thanks!!

well i ended up calling our vets office because i liked the type of nail trimmers they used and wanted to know what they were called and where they got them.


and i asked for ideas on how to do this- talked to one of the techs and she offered to come out to my house to show me how to do it!!

and to show me ways to restrain my girl so that i can do it safely.

how cool is that?? i love our vets office!

i'll let you know how it goes and if i get any good tips i'll be back to share them

oh,yeh, this is the first cat i PERSONALLY have ever known who lived past 14

but i have cyber pals with several cats who lived to 18 and 19, and one who has a 21 yr old!!!

just amazing!

even though my girl has CRF i think she may live another year, maybe two....

well maybe not two.... i used to be afraid all the time that she would just "drop dead" one day, now i have more hope- she is doing really well.

 

kluchetta

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Ok, you're gonna think I'm weird - but it's an interesting thought.

My vet tech wanted to teach her cat to walk on a leash. So she bought him a harness. As soon as she puts his harness on, he instantly goes boneless. So rather than walking him, she now uses the harness to trim his nails...seriously!
 

stormysmom

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

Ok, you're gonna think I'm weird - but it's an interesting thought.

My vet tech wanted to teach her cat to walk on a leash. So she bought him a harness. As soon as she puts his harness on, he instantly goes boneless. So rather than walking him, she now uses the harness to trim his nails...seriously!
lol that is weird but I could totally see that happening. I may try it with my fiesty lil young things at nail trimming time. We do have a cat harness... hmm
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by Stormysmom

lol that is weird but I could totally see that happening. I may try it with my fiesty lil young things at nail trimming time. We do have a cat harness... hmm
...guaranteed to make the cat play dead!
 
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