Oh, the joys of trimming nails

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I feel like I am always trimming someone's nails. If I'm not doing one of my own, I am most certainly clipping a pet's nails at work. Tons of clients bring their pets in for nail trimming. For me, the cost of having it done outside of my home is a deterrent, but we get a lot of clients who would rather pay us to upset their pets than do it themselves. And, even though I'd gripe about the cost, who could blame them?! Cutting nails is not fun...for anyone. But, it is one of the necessary evils of pet ownership. Sigh.
I do my cats' nails once a month and the dogs' nails about ever six weeks. Then there is the bird (a cockatiel) who gets his done on an as needed basis along with the little critters (a Syrian hamster, a Robo hamster, and two gerbils). The bird and the small furries usually wind up being done about every 2-3 months -- I get on it when I notice Duncan's wings need to be clipped. All in all, I can get through everyone. But, they don't all make it easy. Cassidy is an angel about having her claws trimmed. She just sits in place and doesn't try to wiggle or squirm. Occasionally, she'll emit a small meow, but she really is very easy to take care of. Delaney and Emory can be a bit more trying. Both will fuss, meow, and growl. But, since I've started using the cat bag for them, I've not gotten bitten or scratched. They never aimed to hurt me, but they did let me know that they weren't pleased. Finnegan is another story altogether. He's fickle -- sometimes he sits and lets me clip his nails and other times he throws a fit. It's just the Finny way. But, all in all, my dogs are the worst when it comes to trimming nails. Madeline got nicked by a vet when she was young and is now forever scarred emotionally. She keeps her nails short by chewing on them, but the only way for me to clip them is to swaddle her in a blanket and have someone else get her nails. Mackenzie is worse as she will bite, but, with a treat in front of her face, we usually get through it no worse for the wear. My bird is terrible when it comes to wing and nail trims. He has tantrums that cause me to lose my hearing for a day or two after the fact. But, I know he's dramatic going into it. The little ones are easy -- two minutes and they're all done. If they could all be that simple...
I'm sure Katie has forgiven you and moved on by now. Hopefully, in time, she'll become more accustomed to having her nails trimmed and will be less squirmy. But, if not, I can't recommend the cat bags enough. They help for the wiggly ones, for sure. And, in the meantime, relish the fact that Abby and Spencer are well behaved when it comes to grooming. You're certainly a good meowmy and Katie knows that. Good luck on round two (whenever that is)! Speaking of which, my kitties are due this weekend for nail clipping. It should be fun. Yeah, right

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