cant get nail caps on

I am trying soft paws, I want to put them on Kipper so bad, but he will not let me near them claws of his. Maybe that's because by husband makes fun of his "toe furs". Them hairs that hang off thier feet....he's a long long haired cat, so there is hair everywhere on him.

Anyway, I have to try and clip those nails, and THEN somehow put the nail caps on. YEAH RIGHT!!!!

I called all the local groomers, but I am getting the feeling that this might cost me like an extra 20 bucks to have them help me do this. I have an appt. at Petco Grooming on Thursday, but they say around 28 bucks, but she wasnt sure...Havahart grooming says "I have never done that" and then I asked if they just hold him with thier leash thing, or a collar thing, and they said "yea, even then, we dont know anything about this" So they arent any help.

Then I called some local private groomers, and none have answered the phone yet. Hmmm....

Any Idea on how much this might cost?? Or any tips on getting him in one spot to do this...I have tried doing it while he was sleeping, and he bit me, tried giving him catnip while doing it, and he bit me, tried doing it plain as day, and he growled and bit me. So this might be impossible for me. My husband says he wont help me because he thinks it is mean to put them on his cat.

I am simply doing this because I brought a new kitten into the home a few weeks ago, and kipper has been pretty mean about the whole thing, and went after all of us, with full forced claws and growls. And one time, he spotted the kitten through the crack of the door, and was trying to "stab" the kitten. It's like he uses those claws to kill. lol. Im hoping soft paws is my alternative to de-clawing.

Any info would be great...Thanks so much, sorry bout the long post, once I get going, I cant be stopped. lol

Oh yea, Has anyone looked at the back of the box of soft paws???!!!!! Do you see that cat sitting there all quiet and content??? Is that REAL? lol, I dont know if anybodys cat would be that still.

When I trim Blaze's nails, I wrap her in a towel.Have you tried that?Or have your hubby hold him while wrapped in a towel while stroking him and talking to him.Do one or two and let him down if you have to or give him a tastey treat.

Are you doing this by yourself??? Probably impossible if thats the case. We always did it with one person holding the cat (scruffed and pinned down) while I applied the caps. It wasn't without difficulty.

I know at vet offices you can get them put on for about $20 but remember within a few days about half of those will be chewn off as they need to adjust and you need to be right there to reapply them or they think they can get away with it. It would be worth learning how to handle the cat. Have you looked into blindfolds? If you blindfold a cat they don't know what to do and are quite amenable. You can buy some that are really secure or you can rig something up yourself.

Blindfolds for cats?? wow, that is something I've never heard of. But will look into. Do you know if they have them in pet stores?

Im hoping that something works. He really needs these things. I didnt know that they were able to chew them off. Hmmm...that's crappy. Because it might just be worth de-clawing him. But I just feel like it's a bad thing to do because of all the speculation about it. Feel like I'd be a bad meowmy.

We wrap the kitties in a towel, flip them upside down, and clip the paw all at once, and then stick the caps on. We give them back each paw when we're done and trade for another ^.^

It is easier with 2 people, but possible with one.

Well, I took him to the appt. at the groomers today so they could teach me how to do it.

LOL!! Kipper just sat there all contently, and let them do it all, we were in and out of there in 7 minutes. They were like "Well if he's like this at home, you should have been able to do it." LOL!! He was such a mean kitty when I tried to do it myself. heh.

So he doesnt walk funny like I thought he would. He hasnt YET tried to bite them off...so that's good. Now I just have to try & get him to like the new kitten.

Yay, Kipper!

Gar hates having his nails trimmed. I catch him when he is quiet, and only do one or maybe two paws at a time, and he gets treats when we are done. I think the same would be true of doing softpaws at home. Just do it at his pace. (Although if he is so great at the groomers, maybe just keep going there. )

If the only reason you need Softpaws is to keep your cat from scratching the kitten, a simple nail trim would probably be sufficient to blunt the claws. A vet tech or groomer can usually do a nail trim for you for a small fee - I think it's usually around $10 where I live.

Nail caps are usually only needed to prevent damage to furniture by determined scratchers, or to save ultra-fragile skin - nail trimming alone can prevent most damage to your skin or to other cats.

As far as his behavior toward the kitten goes, a slow careful introduction as outlined in the Introducing a new cat to your household article and thread will head off a lot of problems. It takes time for cats to adjust to having a new cat in the household. With a territorial cat, you can expect it to take even longer - proceed very slowly for best results.

Before you consider declawing, please read this article (click here) about cat scratching behavior and declawing. A lot of scratching problems can be headed off with other more humane measures.

If you think you do need to use the soft paws, after having a vet apply them (it cost me about $20, I think) you can apply a bit of bitter apple spray or cream to the caps to keep him from chewing on them. If he does manage to get one or two off, it won't be too hard to apply them, if you just do a little bit at a time as Beckiboo said.

Then you'll want to start getting your cat used to allowing you to handle his paws gradually: When he's relaxed and enjoying being petted, touch one of his paws gently, and only for the briefest moment, stopping before he gets agitated, while you continue petting him elsewhere. The next day try again, a tiny bit longer - try to gradually increase the amount of time you can touch his paws, always making any paw touching that you do part of a positive experience (the vet is a different matter, and he'll know the difference).

Eventually he should reach a point when he'll allow you to handle his paws and clip his nails at home yourself without too much struggle - especially if it's paired with some nice treats.

OOOH! I just put on my first set of SoftPaws! I hope I got them on good, it was hard to know how much glue to use. I used a little more than I think they would normally need because they're just a tad too big. I did trim them down though. My roommate held Chloe wrapped in a towel and she cried some while we did it (Chloe, not my roommate!) She pretended to bite me some too just to let me know how she really felt about it but I think it was more of a diversion for her than anything. It doesn't really hurt cats at all having those put on, right? I sure hope not! I just can't wait until she's out of the kitten size and I can get her some pretty pink ones!

Originally Posted by lilleah878

Oh yea, Has anyone looked at the back of the box of soft paws???!!!!! Do you see that cat sitting there all quiet and content??? Is that REAL? lol, I dont know if anybodys cat would be that still.

Click to expand...

Haha, yes! That's the first thing I noticed! LOL

Oliver wears Soft Paws, but he's good about his paws... the first time I did it, I harnessed and leashed him, since he calms down when he's harnessed - some people have a friend (since your hubby wont do it, do you have a friend or neighbor that could help?) place a towel over the cat while he's on the floor so he cant bite, then your helper should kinda sit on top/around the cat (kinda hard to explain, like put the cat between the knees and sit on your feet so he cant back up)... it's kinda involved, but if you're willing to try it may work... also, have you called your (or area) vet? Often times you can make an appointment just to see a vet tech and they can assist with the application of nail caps (although some vets will try to convince you to declaw, I'm SOOOOO glad youre trying an alternative! ) Also, have you tried something like felaway (sp?) to help reduce your cat's stress (re: the new kitty and the nail caps)? This may help calm him down overall and make your life a little easier!

i put chloe's on in about 5 min while she slept; i also trim her claws while she sleeps.

I read somewhere ages ago that no matter what, don't let the cat go once you've started, or they learn that if they struggle they can get away. I always put them on alone since I live alone-- basically I put on old clothes (otherwise I can kiss whatever I'm wearing goodbye due to claws), wait till he's sleeping, and jump him. I do all the clipping in one go, then all the application a little later on. Don't get me wrong, its not easy, but if you trust your cat not to bite you its not *too* horrible-- just a battle of strength and determination

Yay! good for you for trying soft paws. i like them and my cat odesnt seem to mind them although she does chew them off. i started by touching her paws a lot. But when you are touching them make sure your retract the claws so they get use to that to. then clip (i do Phenom's on the weekends when she is calm and sleeping because weekdays all she wants to do is play when i get home!!) then give her a rest. it can be stressful for them the first go round. then do the soft paws/claws as quickly as she will let you. be careful though one of my kittens fell of before the glue had a chance to dry enough and her fur got stuck to her claw... that was interesting!

Once you have the whole set on they come off one or two at a time usually.
My cats don't like it, but I try to first trim the nails when they are at ease, and then I get the caps ready with the glue, and then get the kitty and apply.
I set my cats on the bathroom counter where they are at my level. Mine are pretty good, but like to cry and hiss while I'm putting them on. They get over it, and I reward them after I am done. Sometimes I have to stop and calm them for a minute, butI do not let them go free until I am done.

Poe is a devil to me when I try to do anything but take him to the vet? *cat rolls on back and expects to be loved on*