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Claw retraction

post #1 of 10
3/2/11 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
My cat seems to have trouble retracting her claws. She's always getting them stuck and freaking out. Sometimes she licks at her scrunched up toes and appears to be experiencing some discomfort.

Does anyone know anything about this?
Is there some kind of condition?
If so, is it treatable?

Thanks ^_^
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post #2 of 10
3/2/11 at 11:21am
Are you clipping the claws?

Claws that are not clipped regularly (once every two or three weeks) get very easily stuck in everything and cats have a big problem getting free. The result is pain and worse. Serious injury can result.

Start clipping the claws and if this doesn't solve the problem a vet visit is in order.
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post #3 of 10
3/2/11 at 1:25pm
Some people don't have to clip their cat's claws, but I found out I do after my oldest cat nearly broken his back when his scratching post fell on him as he was trying to free himself from it's sisal grip.
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post #4 of 10
3/2/11 at 2:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violet View Post
Are you clipping the claws?

Claws that are not clipped regularly (once every two or three weeks) get very easily stuck in everything and cats have a big problem getting free. The result is pain and worse. Serious injury can result.

Start clipping the claws and if this doesn't solve the problem a vet visit is in order.
Clipping cat's claws? Wow, I'd never heard of that. I was just about to launch into a 'that's-crazy-talk' rant, but I googled it. Now my cat's gonna hate me, because she's the kind that'll need to be wrapped in a towel; she doesn't like having her paws played with. She doesn't even really like being picked up.

Thanks ^_^
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post #5 of 10
3/2/11 at 3:17pm
One of ours was a biter, a really really bad biter when we adopted him. Handling him? Clipping his claws? No way. A groomer I talked to about him advised using a cat muzzle. It covers the eyes and when the eyes are covered the cat doesn't get upset, it doesn't freak out from fear. The cat can be handled, the claws can be trimmed in a couple of minutes.
I can tell you, the cat muzzle was a life saver for us.

So, the best advice I can give you, get a cat muzzle either from a pet supply store in your area or online. It will be a simple, beautiful solution to this problem. I think eventually your kitty will relax, realize nothing terrible is happening to her when her claws are getting trimmed and you won't even need the muzzle any more. Until then it will make things very easy for both of you.
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post #6 of 10
3/2/11 at 3:18pm
I'm the claw clipper for my friends and family, and I'm generally in charge of clipping claws for seven different cats in four different households. For the ones that don't like being picked up, I don't pick them up. Instead, I leave them on the ground and sort of straddle them so they can't back away. I then pick up just one foot at a time to clip their claws. I'd suggest that when you first start, just get the kitty in that position and handle her feet. Do that a few times, and follow it with a treat or some petting so she starts to associate having her feet touched with good things.
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post #7 of 10
3/2/11 at 4:07pm
When I first started clipping Holland's claws, I held her by her scruff in my mouth, so I'd have both hands free to press the paw and clip. And something about scruffing them makes them still... I didn't like doing it, and I don't EVER scruff her now, but it worked. And now, she will let me hold her on my lap and clip, clip, clip, she's done in less than a minute. I think she just eventually figured out that it doesn't hurt and it's going to happen whether she likes it or not. And I always give her treats after clipping.
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post #8 of 10
3/2/11 at 4:09pm
Iggy,

since I don't care for a lot of the cat muzzles they are selling and wouldn't use them myself, I was wondering if I could find the same one I've been using, the kind of muzzle that's really safe and comfortable and I could recommend without reservations. Here it is

http://www.fourpaws.com/products/qui...cat-muzzle.htm
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post #9 of 10
3/3/11 at 4:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for your advice ^_^
And thanks Violet for the link, she's more of a struggler, a slippery contortionist, but I'm glad for the option in case it does come to that
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post #10 of 10
3/3/11 at 6:10pm
You can try a cat sack as well if you're worried about her struggling. They're useful to have around in case you ever need to give your cat liquid medicine during an illness.

http://www.fourflags.com/s.nl/it.A/i...&category=4190

They're easy(ish) to put on and you can pull out one paw at a time to avoid struggling.
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