I'm not new to owning cats, I've owned them my whole life and have had at least 12 that I can remember and lost many to cancer and old age from ages 14 to 20. Most I had from kittenhood on but I've also taken in a few feral kittens, a couple of adult strays who were abused and even one adult feral cat who I eventually managed to tame and strongly bond with..
I've always managed to trim their nails at some point, not always frequently but to some degree. Once I tamed my feral cat he even let me trim his nails.
I currently have two cats one lets me trim his nails and is absolutely perfect for it so I trim his nails probably once a month. No issues. He's 11 and I've had him since he was 3 months old.
My other cat is probably 3.5 now. I've had him since I got him from a rescue at 8-9 months old. He'd been living on the streets with his brother and sister and they were separated, neutered and adopted. I kept him in the bathroom for the first month to get him used to living inside and bond with him and gradually introduce him to my other cat and large dog. He's pretty bonded to me, absolutely loves my other cat and is fine with my dog but not as bonded to him. He likes and is friendly with most dogs because I used to watch a lot of new dogs as a fun side job so he's outgoing and social with any new dog that comes to the place. If any new person comes to my place he hides and won't come out except to walk by. Occasionally he'll be visible and let someone new pet him but he's pretty skittish. He likes my father because my father was visiting for a few weeks when I first adopted the cat so was in the bathroom during that initial time
Even after over two years this cat will come to me when I call him and do a cute trick of standing on his hind legs if I say up and jump on the bed and sit with me and demand pets and give me love bites so is very affectionate. But if I move when he's lying down, even just to roll over he immediately runs away then comes right back. So he's still somewhat scared of even me.
I think he has some kind of PTSD because he absolutely panics and literally flips out if he's picked up the correct way with me trying to hold his back feet. If I do that and try to carry him to another room I've learned the hard way he flips and thrashes and if he feels cornered he then starts literally attacking scratching and biting and won't let go until he's free.
The first time I tried to cut his nails and tried to hold him so as not to reinforce that he'd learn he can escape I literally had bleeding open wounds all over both my arms and legs.
Second time I somehow got him in a carrier and the vet got him in the back with two people and they cut his nails and he was perfect. I've cut his nails a couple of times since then by picking him up like a sack of potatoes with back legs loose he's calmer that way and taking him into the bathroom and locking him in with me. In that small confined space I can pet and praise him and do one paw at a time and he's been ok.
Normally his personality is laid-back, affectionate and playful, not at all aggressive to people or other animals. Curious and a bit timid except with dogs and his buddy cat he's very bold and playful and lives to stalk him and steal the best spots to sit on and steal the food and best catnip toys.
However now he knows the routine and avoids letting me pick him up at all.
It's been months to over a year since I've been able to get his nails done.
Since last night I had him locked in my bedroom with my dog and other cat. There's a water bowl and there's some dry cat food in the bathroom but he won't come out and go to eat it. He's come out and even jumped up to sit with me a couple of times but the second I move he runs back under the bed.
I have regular cat food and water in the kitchen so I've just been letting my other cat in and out when he wants and feeding my dog as needed. But it's ridiculous that I've been barricaded in my room with this stubborn cat and long-term he's going to have to deal with regular nail trims unless I just neglect them for the rest of his life.
After over two years of living with me he should be less timid and more social.
The way he freaks out when picked up or if he feels cornered is not a typical reaction. Like I said I've had at least twelve cats, three dogs, three horses and I've probably boarded around fifty dogs in my place and am a certified licensed horseback riding instructor so I know about horse training and I've never seen an animal flip to attack so instantly with no warning signs.
I've never believed in declawing a cat before but I'm not seeing a way to keep his nails healthy and safely and I can't spend days barricaded in my room every few weeks.. it's not right to just neglect his nails for the next ten to fifteen years either.
I've tried the vet giving me a sedative go put in his food too. Problem is when I try to separate the cats they both freak out and won't come out for hours and I work full time so can't spend hours trying to coax them out. If I lock one of them in a room away from the other they make a racket screaming and jumping on the door which doesn't go over well on my apartment building.
So I've already tried a lot of obvious solutions. I think I'm just burned out with timid feral shy cats and miss my outgoing bold super outgoing friendly cats who never used to hide from anyone.
I picked this specific cat because he was actually very friendly in the shelter cage and affectionate with me and I actually got him more for my other cat. All of my other cats had died of cancer and he was the only cat for the first time ever and he was grieving and literally screaming whenever I left him alone, especially if I took my dog anywhere so I thought he needed a buddy. He also can be a jerk and a bully to timid cats so I looked for a kitten/adolescent who was easygoing, social with other cats but bold and not aggressive and this cat was perfect for him. They're best buddies and play and wrestle and chase each other all the time. You'd never know my older cat is 11 for his energy level. And this cat is great with calming him down, he literally holds him down and grooms him when my older cat gets too hyped up playing and starts biting and getting too rough. He's amazing with other cats and dogs. Just awful with how timid he is with people. I've tried to socialize him but the pandemic doesn't help. I guess I'm also frustrated that he's still so scared of me I've never done anything harmful to him.
I've always managed to trim their nails at some point, not always frequently but to some degree. Once I tamed my feral cat he even let me trim his nails.
I currently have two cats one lets me trim his nails and is absolutely perfect for it so I trim his nails probably once a month. No issues. He's 11 and I've had him since he was 3 months old.
My other cat is probably 3.5 now. I've had him since I got him from a rescue at 8-9 months old. He'd been living on the streets with his brother and sister and they were separated, neutered and adopted. I kept him in the bathroom for the first month to get him used to living inside and bond with him and gradually introduce him to my other cat and large dog. He's pretty bonded to me, absolutely loves my other cat and is fine with my dog but not as bonded to him. He likes and is friendly with most dogs because I used to watch a lot of new dogs as a fun side job so he's outgoing and social with any new dog that comes to the place. If any new person comes to my place he hides and won't come out except to walk by. Occasionally he'll be visible and let someone new pet him but he's pretty skittish. He likes my father because my father was visiting for a few weeks when I first adopted the cat so was in the bathroom during that initial time
Even after over two years this cat will come to me when I call him and do a cute trick of standing on his hind legs if I say up and jump on the bed and sit with me and demand pets and give me love bites so is very affectionate. But if I move when he's lying down, even just to roll over he immediately runs away then comes right back. So he's still somewhat scared of even me.
I think he has some kind of PTSD because he absolutely panics and literally flips out if he's picked up the correct way with me trying to hold his back feet. If I do that and try to carry him to another room I've learned the hard way he flips and thrashes and if he feels cornered he then starts literally attacking scratching and biting and won't let go until he's free.
The first time I tried to cut his nails and tried to hold him so as not to reinforce that he'd learn he can escape I literally had bleeding open wounds all over both my arms and legs.
Second time I somehow got him in a carrier and the vet got him in the back with two people and they cut his nails and he was perfect. I've cut his nails a couple of times since then by picking him up like a sack of potatoes with back legs loose he's calmer that way and taking him into the bathroom and locking him in with me. In that small confined space I can pet and praise him and do one paw at a time and he's been ok.
Normally his personality is laid-back, affectionate and playful, not at all aggressive to people or other animals. Curious and a bit timid except with dogs and his buddy cat he's very bold and playful and lives to stalk him and steal the best spots to sit on and steal the food and best catnip toys.
However now he knows the routine and avoids letting me pick him up at all.
It's been months to over a year since I've been able to get his nails done.
Since last night I had him locked in my bedroom with my dog and other cat. There's a water bowl and there's some dry cat food in the bathroom but he won't come out and go to eat it. He's come out and even jumped up to sit with me a couple of times but the second I move he runs back under the bed.
I have regular cat food and water in the kitchen so I've just been letting my other cat in and out when he wants and feeding my dog as needed. But it's ridiculous that I've been barricaded in my room with this stubborn cat and long-term he's going to have to deal with regular nail trims unless I just neglect them for the rest of his life.
After over two years of living with me he should be less timid and more social.
The way he freaks out when picked up or if he feels cornered is not a typical reaction. Like I said I've had at least twelve cats, three dogs, three horses and I've probably boarded around fifty dogs in my place and am a certified licensed horseback riding instructor so I know about horse training and I've never seen an animal flip to attack so instantly with no warning signs.
I've never believed in declawing a cat before but I'm not seeing a way to keep his nails healthy and safely and I can't spend days barricaded in my room every few weeks.. it's not right to just neglect his nails for the next ten to fifteen years either.
I've tried the vet giving me a sedative go put in his food too. Problem is when I try to separate the cats they both freak out and won't come out for hours and I work full time so can't spend hours trying to coax them out. If I lock one of them in a room away from the other they make a racket screaming and jumping on the door which doesn't go over well on my apartment building.
So I've already tried a lot of obvious solutions. I think I'm just burned out with timid feral shy cats and miss my outgoing bold super outgoing friendly cats who never used to hide from anyone.
I picked this specific cat because he was actually very friendly in the shelter cage and affectionate with me and I actually got him more for my other cat. All of my other cats had died of cancer and he was the only cat for the first time ever and he was grieving and literally screaming whenever I left him alone, especially if I took my dog anywhere so I thought he needed a buddy. He also can be a jerk and a bully to timid cats so I looked for a kitten/adolescent who was easygoing, social with other cats but bold and not aggressive and this cat was perfect for him. They're best buddies and play and wrestle and chase each other all the time. You'd never know my older cat is 11 for his energy level. And this cat is great with calming him down, he literally holds him down and grooms him when my older cat gets too hyped up playing and starts biting and getting too rough. He's amazing with other cats and dogs. Just awful with how timid he is with people. I've tried to socialize him but the pandemic doesn't help. I guess I'm also frustrated that he's still so scared of me I've never done anything harmful to him.