Nail Clipping

[Megan]

How do you get your cat to calm down while you clip his/her nails? Mine just freaks out when I get out the clippers - I can barely get half a paw done before she manages to escape. Any tips?

[Anne]

I have the same problem with one of my cats (I have two).

Mishmish thinks we shouldn't clip her claws. We can't get even one claw clipped ! I'm afraid we just gave up on that one and decided to sacrifice the couch and suffer some scratches instead...

I think animal behaviorists will tell you to go about it gradually, helping the cat associate the whole procedure with positive things. You should approach her when she's sleepy and relaxed, clip just one claw (and resist the temptation to continue to the other claws). Then, you should praise Tabby and possibly even give her a nice treat. You should do that for several times, until she's more relaxed when you approach her wit the clippers. Only then can you go on and try clipping two claws a time for a while. After a few times, continue to clip three claws at a time and so on.

This is what I read in cat books – tell me if this works!

[Megan]

Worked like a charm! I didn't even have to keep trying - just a couple of times like that and she's fine with it!

[Anne]

Wow!

I'm impressed! I never actually tried this, just read about it in books! Looks like those behaviorists know what they're talking about