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Advice on nail clipper training

post #1 of 5
11/7/11 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 

 Oliver is an adult formerly outdoor kitty. His owner never bothered to trim his nails so now I don't know how to train him! I have a bunny and I don't want her scratched up (though I did a good job proofing her condo). We tried scruffing him, burrito-ing him and talking positively to him and offering treats. I only managed to get maybe half done before he dramatized his way out of it. I want it to be a positive experience but how long will it take?? 

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post #2 of 5
11/11/11 at 7:05pm
I see you posted this a few days ago.... But what I do is use treats in the beginning. All cat's can learn quite easily to have their nails trimmed as long as you don't get close to the nail quick. When you start only take off the very tip of the nail and no more. Start with one or two nails then give a yummy cat treat. Each time add a few more nails giving a treat or two in between each nail trim. Soon they will relax and just look forward to a treat instead of focusing on what you are doing. I groom my cat's outside on the deck in the summer month's on my patio table. Sometimes I will place a leaf or twig in front of them to distract them as well. But always have treats on hand too biggrin.gif
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post #3 of 5
11/11/11 at 9:33pm

I second the use of treats. Also don't worry so much about doing all the claws in one go. Do a few here and a few there, over the course of several days if you have to, making sure not to go past the point where Oliver starts getting annoyed. Practice fondling his feet randomly during petting sessions or when he's sleepy to get him used to having his toes handled. And absolutely make sure you don't cut the quick!! You'll be lucky if you ever get to touch his toes again if that happens. What kind of scissors are you using? I find some better than others and much prefer the scissor style to the guillotine type. Here's a pretty good article that might help: http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm

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post #4 of 5
11/12/11 at 6:59pm
Thread Starter 

 Thanks guys! Since that first nail-cutting attempt I have been trying to squeeze his paws and get him used to getting touched and all but his nails don't spread out as easily as some cats I've known before.. At first I thought he was declawed! But he's sure got nails (look at my poor feet!) so is it possible he's holding them in? I've never known a cat with weird toes like Oliver does! I guess we'll keep at it :/ He seems to get over it pretty quick when we laid him back on the floor and gave him treats ^/^

 This is the type I'm currently usinghttp://www.petco.com/product/10274/JW-Pet-GripSoft-Nail-Clipper-for-Cats.aspx . I have the big guillotine ones which I had for my dog but I'm scared to death to use them on a tiny cat or bunny! I cut my bunny and dog before so Ihave a bit of a nervousness about it. (I got over the bunny quickly and can do her in less than 2 minutes)

  Maybe when we get him to the vet (to check his eyes) I'll ask them to show me to do it confidently. 

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post #5 of 5
11/13/11 at 9:55am

With my cats I do the same thing, handle their paws and nails when they are relaxed. We do 2 person clipping here. My daughter holds the cat and I clip. I use clippers similar to the ones you posted in the link. No way was I using those monster dog sized ones I have on the kitties. Mine squirm some but as long as you hold them correctly it's pretty easy. 

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