My feral needs a manicure - badly

Hi again, I'm back with another question. Hershey Rose has very little feral left in her. Since I adopted her in Sept 2012, she has come such a long way that I would not refer to her as a feral at this point, but a loving kitty that has a few hang-ups. She is now at the point where she has become a lap cat, willingly accepts petting anywhere on her body, no longer bites or scratches me, and follows me around the house. 5 months ago she was a wild animal with a deadly fear of humans. It's amazing what one-on-one time, love, and extreme patience can do. Okay, enough of that. My problem is she needs her nails trimmed. Being an ex-feral, this is not something she is willing to submit to. I tried the sedative my vet gave me. Even though she had trouble walking straight, she was still strong enough to make it impossible to hang onto her foot to clip her nails. She is used to having her feet touched, as I started this foot petting months ago knowing the day would come when I would have to do battle with her over those daggers on her toes. I cannot transport her yet, she has a fear of carriers. I cannot have someone else aid me, or have a professional clip her nails as she will not let another human near her without trying to rip them to shreds. I am the only human she accepts at this point. My vet's assistant said they could put her out and clip them, but she was concerned about my having to cage and transport Hershey Rose, it may scare her enough to send her back into her feral ways. Anyone have any suggestions? Leather gloves (necessary to keep my fingers during this process) are too cumbersome, and she does not like the smell. But I need to get her used to having her nails clipped as I am going to be buying a new couch soon. She sharpens her nails on sisal rope, which she shreds constantly and which I replace constantly, but lately she has taken to trying out the couch as a scratching post.

Lei Ann

Does she ever fall alseep on your lap, a really deep sleep?  That's how and when I cut Ritz' nails.

And, I don't think having another person would send her back into her ferality; she may be upset with you a few days, but continued food and lovin will go a long way. 

Other than that, I would keep on touching her paws and playing with her claws (and hold off on the couch).

I wish you lots of luck with this - me, I gave up.   My Patches will never be a lap cat so her only chance for a claw trim is during a vet visit.  She has damaged the carpet (in preference to scratching posts) but fortunately it's old enough my apartment won't charge me for it.    As for your situation, you could provide more scratching alternatives and put things on the sofa - double sided tape? - to make it discouraging.  And congratulations - she sounds like she's coming along wonderfully!

I have the same problem. Have a feral for 8 years and she started coming in last year. She does not let me touch her and recently she got stuck twice in the carpet. I don't like this and neither does she. It's upsetting to see especially since she doesn't let me touch her. The one time she did let me help her somewhat and the other, she got out herself. I went to Home Depot today looking for a fake brick wall. Didn't have it. Then, went to the garden center and saw these bricks to build patios. One was 2"x15". Heavy as sh*t. I passed. Then, I thought of buying shingles that they put on roofs. Didn't seem to be scratchy enough, so I passed. I do have a mesh type of mat that I glued to the fridge and she likes that, but it doesn't file her nails. I would like to find some typ of (thin) brick thing. She does scratch the wood outside, when she goes out. She's getting older now, so slowing down (inside). I doubt that there will be a day that she will let me touch her. I mean, how ungrateful, but she needs those instincts for when she goes outside. I live in Baltimore City. Mmm, I know. No country side around here, haha. May just go for the brick. I think it weighs about 40 pounds. So, let's keep brainstorming. Glad I found someone with the same situation. Love Google.

Mike

I had a cat I tried for months to do nails.  I gave up.  Called vet and had them knock her out.  She had SLOW growing nails.  She was trimmed at spay and then months later. She adjusted somewhat after some time to having a few nails done in one day and I was able to keep up. She sadly died very early as a direct result of the poor care she got from her first home.

This made me smile as I have not thought of that appointment in a long while!

Sorry I have nothing to really offer short of a vet trip

Ritz said:

Does she ever fall alseep on your lap, a really deep sleep?  That's how and when I cut Ritz' nails.

And, I don't think having another person would send her back into her ferality; she may be upset with you a few days, but continued food and lovin will go a long way. 

Other than that, I would keep on touching her paws and playing with her claws (and hold off on the couch).

Click to expand...

I agree. Even if you can just get 1 done at a time. Slowly getting her used to you touching and retracting her claws would be how I'd do it. We are currently working on doing the same with a stray we recently took in. His claws are getting caught on stuff even with him starting to use a scratching post.

There are scratchers that have whats basicly like nail file material. https://www.emerycat.com/?tag=im|sm|go|gn&a_aid=011&a_bid=9817dd55&chan=G&data1=GN ,but mine won't use. Maybe you could try that.

boymike said:

I have the same problem. Have a feral for 8 years and she started coming in last year. She does not let me touch her and recently she got stuck twice in the carpet. I don't like this and neither does she. It's upsetting to see especially since she doesn't let me touch her. The one time she did let me help her somewhat and the other, she got out herself. I went to Home Depot today looking for a fake brick wall. Didn't have it. Then, went to the garden center and saw these bricks to build patios. One was 2"x15". Heavy as sh*t. I passed. Then, I thought of buying shingles that they put on roofs. Didn't seem to be scratchy enough, so I passed. I do have a mesh type of mat that I glued to the fridge and she likes that, but it doesn't file her nails. I would like to find some typ of (thin) brick thing. She does scratch the wood outside, when she goes out. She's getting older now, so slowing down (inside). I doubt that there will be a day that she will let me touch her. I mean, how ungrateful, but she needs those instincts for when she goes outside. I live in Baltimore City. Mmm, I know. No country side around here, haha. May just go for the brick. I think it weighs about 40 pounds. So, let's keep brainstorming. Glad I found someone with the same situation. Love Google.

Mike

Click to expand...

Can you get treated wood/bark at a garden shop and bring that in?  It might be used as decorating material in a lawn.

Also, there are some cat trees that have bark as a scratching surface.

Also--and really thinking outside the box here--how about a mulch that has a lot of wood in it.  Maybe your cat would like to scratch on that.

And, I say "treated" wood because my friend brought in a huge tree trunk with naturally forming tunnels (for her squirrels) and a few days later, she had an infestation of some type of flying insects that had been in that tree trunk.

Katluver4life said:

I agree. Even if you can just get 1 done at a time. Slowly getting her used to you touching and retracting her claws would be how I'd do it. We are currently working on doing the same with a stray we recently took in. His claws are getting caught on stuff even with him starting to use a scratching post.

There are scratchers that have whats basicly like nail file material. https://www.emerycat.com/?tag=im|sm|go|gn&a_aid=011&a_bid=9817dd55&chan=G&data1=GN ,but mine won't use. Maybe you could try that.

Click to expand...

Hi Ritz

I have every scratcher made, including the emery type. She tears up her sisal and the cardboard ones, making her nails razor sharp. She does not scratch the furniture. She tries to hold my finger and "kiss" it, but her nails are so long and sharp they pierce my skin. Still working on this.

I once asked a female friend how to trim my late Hershey's nails as she would not sit still for it. She told me it was very easy. I asked her to come over and show me. And that she did! She took little Hershey (Burmese, 7.5 lbs) and put her in her lap, on her back. Then she took one boob and laid it on her. Poor cat couldn't move if her life depended on it. No problem cutting her nails. Big problem for me. Mary was an F cup. She has watermelons. I have oranges. My boobs wouldn't even reach the cat! Every time I put her on the cat tree "U" bed, she'd take off after one nail got clipped. I had to chase her all over the house, and eventually gave up the chase. The next time the chase would last longer, I would finally get her and put her back on the cat tree and do a few more before she got away. She got used to this, thinking if she ran off and hid Mom would leave her alone. One day she hid under the bed. That day I was determined to clip all her nails at once. She got herself between the plastic storage bins, dead center under the bed. I couldn't reach her no matter how much I tried. But she wasn't as clever as she thought she was. Imagine her surprise when suddenly the mattress disappeared! I reached down, picked her up, brought her back to the cat tree, and cut her nails. The next time she needed a clipping I went over to the tree and to my surprise she just put her paw out. She never fought me again! Cats. Gotta love 'em.

Lei Ann

Lei Ann

Ritz said:

Can you get treated wood/bark at a garden shop and bring that in?  It might be used as decorating material in a lawn.

Also, there are some cat trees that have bark as a scratching surface.

Also--and really thinking outside the box here--how about a mulch that has a lot of wood in it.  Maybe your cat would like to scratch on that.

And, I say "treated" wood because my friend brought in a huge tree trunk with naturally forming tunnels (for her squirrels) and a few days later, she had an infestation of some type of flying insects that had been in that tree trunk.

Click to expand...

Her scratching is not a problem. She uses sisal rope and cardboard scratchers. But they only make her nails sharper. I need to get them cut before she rips off my skin when she climbs up to my lap. Ouch!

Lei Ann

Hersheys Mom said:

Hi Ritz

I have every scratcher made, including the emery type. She tears up her sisal and the cardboard ones, making her nails razor sharp. She does not scratch the furniture. She tries to hold my finger and "kiss" it, but her nails are so long and sharp they pierce my skin. Still working on this.

I once asked a female friend how to trim my late Hershey's nails as she would not sit still for it. She told me it was very easy. I asked her to come over and show me. And that she did! She took little Hershey (Burmese, 7.5 lbs) and put her in her lap, on her back. Then she took one boob and laid it on her. Poor cat couldn't move if her life depended on it. No problem cutting her nails. Big problem for me. Mary was an F cup. She has watermelons. I have oranges. My boobs wouldn't even reach the cat! Every time I put her on the cat tree "U" bed, she'd take off after one nail got clipped. I had to chase her all over the house, and eventually gave up the chase. The next time the chase would last longer, I would finally get her and put her back on the cat tree and do a few more before she got away. She got used to this, thinking if she ran off and hid Mom would leave her alone. One day she hid under the bed. That day I was determined to clip all her nails at once. She got herself between the plastic storage bins, dead center under the bed. I couldn't reach her no matter how much I tried. But she wasn't as clever as she thought she was. Imagine her surprise when suddenly the mattress disappeared! I reached down, picked her up, brought her back to the cat tree, and cut her nails. The next time she needed a clipping I went over to the tree and to my surprise she just put her paw out. She never fought me again! Cats. Gotta love 'em.

Lei Ann

Lei Ann

Click to expand...

omg thats hysterical!

I went to Home Depot and bought 3 cinder blocks. I put one across and the other 2 on top vertically. I smashed cat nip on it. She sat near it and I am hoping one day she will figure it out. I think that would be puuuurfect for her. I had a mesh mat that I glued to the fridge and it took her a while to figure out, but she did, but started to get stuck to it. Her nails get stuck every step she takes on the carpet. I'll just have to give her some time with the cinder blocks. I also thought of getting a few 15"x15"x2 inch patio blocks, but I thought scratching the wall (cinder blocks) would be easier on her pads. I'll let you know if she starts to scratch the blocks. She has yet to yank any nails out. I don't even know how possible that is. I hope it isn't. But, when she gets stuck, it's painful to watch. She doesn't let me touch her, but is almost 100% indoor now (1 year). I doubt that she would let me take her to the vet, either. That option is out for me. I just pray to God to keep her healthy and so far, so good.