Trimming cat's nails- never done it before

[talkinboutmykitty]

Hello everyone,
I have an older cat named Obi. It was just a few months ago or so that I found out that you have to trim cat's nails just like dogs. I feel really bad that I was supposed to be cutting his nails all alongHe refuses to use all scratching posts that we have provided but he does scratch on a wood step in my house. That's fine with me, as long as he is scratching something I bought cat nail clipper a while ago and tried to use them when he was laying down and managed to trim about three nails before he got annoyed and moved away. I watched some YT vids on trimming cat nails but all the techniques they use aren't right for my cat because he is
1. grumpy
2. old
3. and unpredictable

He is not a mean cat by any means, though When I say unpredictable I just mean that I haven't trimmed his nails by holding him and I don't know what he is going to do- gently nip me or start thrashing around. I also feel like I'll ruin our relationship by trimming his nails. But I NEED to. Obi's nails are getting caught on everything and they likely bother him and slow him down when trying to escape from the dogs.
So, my questions for you guys are: 1) what's the best way to go about cutting his nails considering that I don't know what he might do next 2) he is very food motivated. How can I incorporate treats into the process 3) how often do I cut his nails. Thank you so so much!

 

[Biomehanika]

Positive reinforcement is the main thing!! And lots of it!! If he’s food motivated, that will be the way.

What I would do is what you did before. Catch him when he’s relaxed and laying down and attempt trimming a nail or two. Then give him some treats and try for another nail or two. It’s OK if you can’t get them all done in one go when starting, the main thing is to keep the sessions positive so he starts to associate nail trimmings with treats, then he’ll slowly start to tolerate more and more being done. You can also just practice getting him using to having his paws and nails retracted as if you were about to trim without the trimmers, and also give some treats when he lets you mess with his paws. He may never love it but will hopefully get to a point where he tolerates it.

As for how often, I have no set time frame for my cats! I just check their nails regularly and when they are getting sharp I give them a trim.

 

[maggie101]

My cats like corrugated cardboard, not sisal which most are made of. Square,flat, or slanted is the best. They love to stretch. I have someone come over to do it. Usually cat will be too nervous and squirm. I keep carriers in my walk in closet and close the door. Then take her to my bathroom and have a friend do it. My cat Maggie is the only one that takes care of her claws. Coco licks my fingers when I try to do it

 

[Margret]

1. I've never used treats to enable claw clipping, so I don't know what to say about that; my guess is that you'd give him a treat every time he lets you clip a claw.
2. Don't go at it too hard. I aim for one paw's worth of claws at a time, and I quit early if Jasmine starts getting annoyed.
3. Those clippers they make for cat claws are, in my opinion, junk. Think of the shape of the claw. You press the toe bean and the claw extends, curving downward. The outer edge of the curve is the top of the claw; the inner edge is the bottom. But the claw also has two sides. When you clip through the claw from top to bottom (or bottom to top), as those clippers do, you're cutting through the thickest dimension. It's better to cut through from side to side, and the easiest thing to use for that is a pair of human nail clippers.
4. The most important thing about claw clipping is knowing where the quick starts and never cutting into it. This is fairly easy if the claws are white; the quick is where the claw stops being translucent and starts looking solid. If the claws are black I have no idea how to tell where the quick is. I would take a cat with black claws to the vet for claw clipping.
5. It may help to let Obi examine and sniff the clipper before you start.
6. Don't forget the dewclaws!
7. How often? Don't know. I clip Jasmine's claws whenever they start being sharp enough that they hurt my lap when she kneads while lying on a blanket in my lap. It varies from cat to cat, and may vary by the time of year; I'm not sure about that. Just notice when Obi's claws seem to be giving him trouble and time it accordingly.

 

[Kris107]

One of mine - he gets excited when I get out the clippers because the treats come out too. He gets one after he gets trimmed. However, this does not mean he doesn't squirm and get ridiculous when I'm cutting. They may never love it but like you said, it has to be done. Most cats are forgiving about it! Once you get them trimmed, I've found they grow back at different rates, so next time you do it you may only have to trim a few. A few at a time is better than none! If you have someone around who can help, a treat or treat-tube can be a good distraction. Oh, and if he's squirming and you're nervous about the quick, better to just nip off the tip than go too far down. Moving target can be hard!

 

[Biomehanika]

If you have someone around who can help, a treat or treat-tube can be a good distraction

Ooooo this reminds me, lickmats (or even just a large plate) covered in very thinly spread out tube treats or high value wet food is AMAZING for the extra squirmy food motivated cats, and makes it so you can easily trim the nails while they are distracted by yourself. I do this when my one is being extra difficult and set him up on an ottoman or side table with the lickmat for easy maneuvering lol.

 

[tabbytom]

how often do I cut his nails.

- I do my boy's nails around every fortnight or I think they are too long and sharp.
- My boy don't like his paws to be touched and so I don't do all the nails at one go. Usually I do it when he's in a deep sleep and I trim off as many as I can go at one shot. The rest I keep it for the next day.
- I don't use a pet clipper. I use a good quality medium size hooman nail clipper. It has a holder (white piece) for the nail clippings so that I don't have to clear the nail clippings after clipping.



Gently squeeze the paw to expose the claws

 

[Kwik]

I've has 4 of mine since they were young so they are all very used to getting their nails clipped ,I just put them on my lap and clip - only my Bella hates it,she doesn't like any kind of " instrument" but she's barely 7 pounds and for the 5 minutes it takes I harness her and put the lead under my leg or she'd take off,this way she hides her head under one arm while I snip with the other,lol

Now my 5th cat,we'll he's my eldest an a pretty recently feral addition so one year later and we are only up to me playing with his footsies - he's cuddly and loveable but fearful of restrainment.....he's sticking to everything

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

- I do my boy's nails around every fortnight or I think they are too long and sharp.
- My boy don't like his paws to be touched and so I don't do all the nails at one go. Usually I do it when he's in a deep sleep and I trim off as many as I can go at one shot. The rest I keep it for the next day.
- I don't use a pet clipper. I use a good quality medium size hooman nail clipper. It has a holder (white piece) for the nail clippings so that I don't have to clear the nail clippings after clipping.

View attachment 489785

Gently squeeze the paw to expose the claws
View attachment 489786 View attachment 489787

View attachment 489788

That's a really good idea to use human nail clippers! I'll probably get a pair at dollar tree. Also, thanks so much for including the helpful images!!

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

I've has 4 of mine since they were young so they are all very used to getting their nails clipped ,I just put them on my lap and clip - only my Bella hates it,she doesn't like any kind of " instrument" but she's barely 7 pounds and for the 5 minutes it takes I harness her and put the lead under my leg or she'd take off,this way she hides her head under one arm while I snip with the other,lol

Now my 5th cat,we'll he's my eldest an a pretty recently feral addition so one year later and we are only up to me playing with his footsies - he's cuddly and loveable but fearful of restrainment.....he's sticking to everything

That's a great idea to put them on your lap to clip the nails. My cat is 16 lbs though and is there anything I can put on to protect myself if he starts thrashing around and accidentally scratching me? Thanks so much!

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

Ooooo this reminds me, lickmats (or even just a large plate) covered in very thinly spread out tube treats or high value wet food is AMAZING for the extra squirmy food motivated cats, and makes it so you can easily trim the nails while they are distracted by yourself. I do this when my one is being extra difficult and set him up on an ottoman or side table with the lickmat for easy maneuvering lol.

This is a great idea! I'll definitely try it. Obi matches all that critera- squirmy and food motivated lol!

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

One of mine - he gets excited when I get out the clippers because the treats come out too. He gets one after he gets trimmed. However, this does not mean he doesn't squirm and get ridiculous when I'm cutting. They may never love it but like you said, it has to be done. Most cats are forgiving about it! Once you get them trimmed, I've found they grow back at different rates, so next time you do it you may only have to trim a few. A few at a time is better than none! If you have someone around who can help, a treat or treat-tube can be a good distraction. Oh, and if he's squirming and you're nervous about the quick, better to just nip off the tip than go too far down. Moving target can be hard!

That's a great thing that you associated nail trimming with treats so that he gets excited when the time comes! Good idea! Obi loves his temptations treats...better pick up more from the store before I trim his nails!

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

Positive reinforcement is the main thing!! And lots of it!! If he’s food motivated, that will be the way.

What I would do is what you did before. Catch him when he’s relaxed and laying down and attempt trimming a nail or two. Then give him some treats and try for another nail or two. It’s OK if you can’t get them all done in one go when starting, the main thing is to keep the sessions positive so he starts to associate nail trimmings with treats, then he’ll slowly start to tolerate more and more being done. You can also just practice getting him using to having his paws and nails retracted as if you were about to trim without the trimmers, and also give some treats when he lets you mess with his paws. He may never love it but will hopefully get to a point where he tolerates it.

As for how often, I have no set time frame for my cats! I just check their nails regularly and when they are getting sharp I give them a trim.

I've only ever got to trim his back feet nails since they are permanently retracted while he is laying down, but not his little hands because I don't know how to retract them lol. He lets me kiss his paws so hopefully he'll let me touch them Good thing that he is an old man so he takes a long time to find his treat and eat it so he'll go thru less of the treats lol!!

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

1. I've never used treats to enable claw clipping, so I don't know what to say about that; my guess is that you'd give him a treat every time he lets you clip a claw.
2. Don't go at it too hard. I aim for one paw's worth of claws at a time, and I quit early if Jasmine starts getting annoyed.
3. Those clippers they make for cat claws are, in my opinion, junk. Think of the shape of the claw. You press the toe bean and the claw extends, curving downward. The outer edge of the curve is the top of the claw; the inner edge is the bottom. But the claw also has two sides. When you clip through the claw from top to bottom (or bottom to top), as those clippers do, you're cutting through the thickest dimension. It's better to cut through from side to side, and the easiest thing to use for that is a pair of human nail clippers.
4. The most important thing about claw clipping is knowing where the quick starts and never cutting into it. This is fairly easy if the claws are white; the quick is where the claw stops being translucent and starts looking solid. If the claws are black I have no idea how to tell where the quick is. I would take a cat with black claws to the vet for claw clipping.
5. It may help to let Obi examine and sniff the clipper before you start.
6. Don't forget the dewclaws!
7. How often? Don't know. I clip Jasmine's claws whenever they start being sharp enough that they hurt my lap when she kneads while lying on a blanket in my lap. It varies from cat to cat, and may vary by the time of year; I'm not sure about that. Just notice when Obi's claws seem to be giving him trouble and time it accordingly.

Thank you so much! For now I'm gonna use my own nail clippers but will definitely pick up a pair just for Obi. That's a good point that you have about the cat nail clippers. They are a pain in the butt. Thanks for splitting it into steps, it made for easy reading

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

My cats like corrugated cardboard, not sisal which most are made of. Square,flat, or slanted is the best. They love to stretch. I have someone come over to do it. Usually cat will be too nervous and squirm. I keep carriers in my walk in closet and close the door. Then take her to my bathroom and have a friend do it. My cat Maggie is the only one that takes care of her claws. Coco licks my fingers when I try to do it

How do I teach him to scratch at it? I'm afraid that Obi will have no clue what to do if I get him one

 

[maggie101]

How do I teach him to scratch at it? I'm afraid that Obi will have no clue what to do if I get him one

Most cats do not need to be taught. They do it to take care of their claws and stretch
Mine are by pet fusion
Also hav their lounger

 

[maggie101]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JK0BX2K/?tag=thecatsite

 

[iPappy]

This is a great idea! I'll definitely try it. Obi matches all that critera- squirmy and food motivated lol!

I have a cat that refuses to allow nail trims unless there is food in front of her. I trim while she eats and the worst she has ever done is move away from me laterally. You could always try that to get him used to it.
IME, as a pet groomer, most pets will be uncooperative for nail trims if you're holding their foot too tight, too firmly, or are holding their foot out and to the side in a very unnatural position. When you handle his paws, remember how the legs move and keep them in line with his natural range of motion.

 

[talkinboutmykitty]

I have a cat that refuses to allow nail trims unless there is food in front of her. I trim while she eats and the worst she has ever done is move away from me laterally. You could always try that to get him used to it.
IME, as a pet groomer, most pets will be uncooperative for nail trims if you're holding their foot too tight, too firmly, or are holding their foot out and to the side in a very unnatural position. When you handle his paws, remember how the legs move and keep them in line with his natural range of motion.

That's really good to know!!! I can see how the way you hold their feet may make them uncomfortable or not, thanks for the info

 

[tabbytom]

The other thing is if I hear his nails clicking on the hardwood floor when he walks, it's time to trim.