Tamed Feral - Nail trimming

Hi all,

I am new on the site and I have a question.

I have 3 male cats in my home and one includes a tamed feral. 

It has taken me around 5 months to tamed him.  He won't sit with me but he loves to be petted and all.  He's part Maine coon.

I need to trim his nails but I don't want to hold him down.  He would loose his trust in me if I do.  I believe he has been abused in the past and he might have been abandoned.  I rescued him from a shelter.

How can I manage to trim his nails?  He is having bad issues with them.  He's hanging himself up on the carpet and so forth.

Thank you for your help -

Mark

A friend of mine does her's while her husband scruffs the cats. They all recover, so I do not think it will traumatize him as much as you fear. I have never trimmed my cat's nails for the same reasons you have. But we have six large posts/cat trees, so they basically do it themselves.

There is a "cat sack" one can buy that keeps them confined. Not sure if that might work. Personally, I can't imagine getting any of my cats in something like that but it might be worth looking into.

You might also try giving him a really favorite treat afterwards as a reward for good behavior.

Good luck!

Ondine said:

There is a "cat sack" one can buy that keeps them confined. Not sure if that might work.

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I think it is something you put on their head, so they get blindfolded.  Like you do on birds of prey whom you are trying to train. Falcons, and so on, you know.  

A standard tip is otherwise, to wrap him up in a soft thick towel, like a toga or a burrito.  Immobilized, they cease resistance, and you can do what need to be done, like clipping nails.  MUCH better than to try and handheld them by force. Which is almost impossible with an adult cat who dont wants. Besides, it would traumatize him.

This works excellently also on home cats who hate to have their nails clipped.

Good luck!