Dear Sparkle,
I have the awesomest paws ever! I love to groom them and keep them pristine, especially the webby part between my toes, where litter and other things sometimes get stuck. There are a variety of scratching surfaces in my home — a couple of cat towers and a bunch of cardboard scratchers — and I use them to keep my claws in fine shape. I admire my paws often. But one thing I never, never tolerate is my paws being touched by human hands! My human is allowed to pick me up, pet me, even squeeze me or hold me upside down. But if she goes anywhere near my perfect paws, especially with those evil clippers, she gets a growl and a good whapping! In spite of making my paws-off rule absolutely clear, however, she persists. How can I make her stop once and for all?
Signed,
Slappy Sadie
Dear Slappy Sadie,
So no mani-pedis for you? Some kitties are like that. Personally, I enjoy having my claws trimmed, but my roommate Binga is like you, and fiercely protests having her paws messed with. When my human tries to clip her nails, you would think she is being horribly tortured! I know she isn’t… but what about you? Is your human using proper form with those clippers? And as a matter of fact, is she using the right kind of clippers? If she is doing it wrong, I can totally understand your extreme dislike for getting manicures. There are clippers made especially for a cat’s claws, and the best way to do the trimming for most of us cats is for the human to get behind us and then reach for our front paws — it’s less threatening that way. Then she should hold one paw and gently press on it so that the claws are extended before trying to trim them. Your human also needs to watch out for the quick — the pink vein that can be seen running from the base halfway up the nail. (It may be a little harder to see in kitties who have black claws.) She needs to be careful not to cut into that because it hurts and it will bleed. Supposedly your human should have a styptic pencil or powder on hand in case this happens, but in all my human’s years of claw trimming, she has only nicked the quick once — on me! — and it was not enough to make me bleed.
Of course, your human could be doing everything perfectly and you might still loathe it. In fact, I wonder if this is true in your case, since you mentioned hating anyone even touching your paws. Keep in mind that for your paws to be perfectly groomed, you do have to keep an eye on your claws — they could become overgrown and actually start curling around and turning back into the paw pad, and that is very painful! My human usually catches Binga for a nail trim when she is sleepy and is less likely to protest, and I know some other humans with cats like you wind up taking them to the vet to have their nails trimmed! So maybe you want to rethink the paw touching thing. I would much rather have a home manicure than get dragged off to the vet and be at the mercy of strangers.
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OK, I KNEW I wasn’t the only Cattie who maintain strident mental allergy to this. Trouble is, me just yearling when Momma first brought me home from noisy cage place so she let me ride on her shoulder all day…but then I get bigger, I still jump up there but Momma SCREAM something about Sharpies.
I never want hurt Momma but sometimes it’s so sweet curled up behind her neck…if she plead with me to jump down I just can’t bring myself to. I have to grow up, realize I could hurt her. Lately, she seems to have learned how to telepathically ‘speak’ garbled version of Cattish, if she keeps simple just thinks of Thing doing Act to Other Thing it comes through…if she ask if I ‘get that’ I wink eye, twitch ear. Seven times now this work!
She think if me forget be careful I could cut important thing on Momma neck called Vein and make her real sick and even maybe die…at first me think she just being crazy. Me never hurt Momma! But stuff happen without me wanting to, I learn, get scared…gotta get over dumb obsession with her no clipping my sharpies!
A couple of things she start out with…She does it one or two at a time then lets go of my armleg…later on does another one, and every time I don’t spazz out she shower me with promises…if she lets me get all 5 on one armleg I can eat my cattie junk food (Fancy Feast, beef-liver slices I love, but not good for me to eat all the time, only get to have that for reward or feeling guilt for spending too much time staring at weird window with pictures and words moving on it, and the funky tappy thing in front plus thing called ‘mouse’ that is NOT mouse, I know mouse smell like, this not mouse! I have to walk in front of window or step on tappy board or non-mousy mouse. Remind her to PAY ATTENTION TO ME! ME! ME! after hours on that fiddly thing…
Momma love me so darn much she stop “computer” thing, lay down to give me her belly to do the Paw Thing on. I go up and down, up and down, she sings in tune with the up and down part. And she lets me do it even though it make little red spots where my “sharpies” prick skin. Take me long time realize Momma no have fur! When me just tiny little kittie cattie-mom let us play… their claws never hurt me, mine not hurt them, but things different with two-legged no-furs. Trust me!
I thank Bast, Goddess of Catness that Momma so special that she learn to talk to me in Cattish teeny bit. Make me tired if try too hard understand that garbled babble but if she real quiet inside and me quiet too, I hear and see it. I not think other cats do this with their humans. Do they?
Yesterday she showed me how clipping her own paws not make her go ‘owie!’. That maybe help now. Me still scared. More scared of hurting Momma though!
Besides, FANCY FEAST if she clip all front claws. Me stop pussying out, start being grown up brave cattie! I hopeIhopeIhope.
Urrrrrow!
Very good cat user notice ! I don’t have this problem as my cats are all going out and demolish the trees in the neighborhood. But I have special clippers which I had to use for old Lisa before she died, because she didn’t go out anymore and had very long claws, but she didn’t mind at all.
Sparkle, Normally I defer to your greater wisdom. But not today. Here’s my advice: Make that woman BLEED, Sadie. Tell her to just get the you-know-what away from you and keep her grabby-hands OFF YOUR PAWS.
Yours in solidarity, Spitty
Good advice, Sparkle! Scarlett and Melly do NOT enjoy having their nails trimmed, so I usually ambush them when they’re sleeping.
Bravo! As you can imagine, no one touches my claws without sedating me first. And since no one can sedate me … The peeps used to have a woman come to the apartment to trim Autumn and Nicky’s claws. She ran a mobile pet grooming service but now her prices are ridiculous, say the peeps and I wouldn’t let her touch me anyway.
Very good advice Sparkle! We don’t mind having our nails trimmed at all but our sisfur Sadie hates it! Everyone within our county knows when Sadie is getting her nails cut because she cries like a puppy!
We hate having our claws cut! Our mom usually waits until we’re sleeping and then grabs us before we can protest!! Then she gives us treats afterwards which isn’t so bad.
I don’t mind having my toes done. But everybody else, eek! Screamy and squirmy all!
Hmmmmmm… I wonder if it’s an Aby thing… All of us love having our claws trimmed and purr up a storm as #1 clips away whilst covering us in kisses. Of course, she does use a special clipper, purchased in Japan no less!
Purrs,
Tama-Chan
Great tips, Sparkle! Our guys do pretty well with having their nails trimmed, but some of the cats at the shelter are shall we say, not big fans of it. MOL
Me scratches everything! Mommy has discovered if she clips my claws, me goes in a scratching frenzy and that’s when the sofa bears the brunt of my trying to get my beautiful claws in top form! But me never puts up a struggle. Me just sits there and smirks….
Kisses
Nellie
I’m with you Sparkle, I loce to have mine tended to any old time! Have a great weekend!!!
Oh dear sorry she puts you through that but I cant offer advice because I have never had my nails clipped as I keep them short on a wood shelf in my cellar.. Good luck.. Hugs GJ xx
I am not fond of getting my hooves trimmed so I can understand this cat’s concerns. The publicist is very gentle but I just don’t like having my foot all up in the air.
The Woman grabs us when we are napping on her lap now and again and then does a quick trim. This means we are less alert.
I don’t like getting my claws clipped also. When I see my human mom even reach for the kittie clippers I run away fast even tho she does it right and fast.
Father Tom’s secret with the emery board sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll let my human mom give it a try and see what happens.
Excellent advice, Sparkle! Our human uses the right kind of clippers and is pretty quick, but still we fuss and carry on like it’s the worst torture. Often she does only a few claws at a time or tries to sneak up on us while we’re sleeping. Any time we have to go to the vet for something, she takes advantage of the techs and has our front and back claws clipped then!
Do you have advice for Lishy? Even though he was handraised from birth and has been handled and messed with since before he could see or hear, he will not let mum near his nails. He growls, he hisses, he rrrrrowls, he flails about. He even spat in her face once! It’s really quite funny.
I don’t like it much, but I don’t fight Dad when he does it. I do fight mom tho – don’t know why cuz she is just as gentle.
I could write a book on this subject!!!
Ben and Casper are total angels when getting claws clipped, JIMMY on the other hand is a squirming, crying, arm flailing, pain in the you know what when it comes to trimming. I have no idea how such an easy going young cat can have grown to hate it so quickly! I even clip Ben and Casper’s nails in front of him so he can see it isn’t as tragic as he thinks but nooooooo this doesn’t help. Archie is a bit of a problem too but I give him the benefit of the doubt because he has strange claws and these “horns” that grow out of his pads too. I think his feet might be truly uncomfortable when I’m trimming his paws even though I’m extremely gentle! I’ve found the best way is when he is sleepy atop the cat tree with a paw hanging over the edge and then I can usually get a few done at a time 🙂
With us going outside we scratch on the fence and wear our claws down on paving too so we have never had a pawdicure. Mum says she is relieved because she would hate to lose her fingers!!
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Thanks for that great info about trimming the claws. Sounds like Father Tom’s suggestion is good too. The only problem is that now our Mom is going to have to try these suggestions. Probably might not work on us. But great info. Have a great Friday.
Hey, Sparkle, you know what my human does? (It’s a secret-don’t tell a soul!) The only way she “trims” my claws is with an emery board. I sit on her lap and she takes each claw and files down the point so it’s not so sharp. And I don’t mind it one bit. For serious claw trims, though, I get them done at the vet when we go in for other stuff (rarely thank cod).
Guess what? We’re now publishing pals!
Hugs,
Tom & Julie
xoxo