Cutting a cat’s claws. Any tips?

mostlyharmless and NFKdumpling, I've just seen your posts re de-matting. I'll try the cornflour tip and have another go with the scissors tomorrow, cutting inwards/upwards instead of across the matt. I work a comb into the top of the matt, against her skin then trim it away - (finding this no problem whatsoever, of course ?)!

Our vet used to pour our cat down her overall trouser leg from the top of the trousers (overalls removed!). You end up with a sausage cat. Put front feet in first to get to front feet, front feet in last so head come out first for pills and injections, and hold on to back legs as he goes in to access back feet!

I’ve no experience of long haired cats, but have had several shaggy dogs. My aunt taught me to remove matts by cutting into the matt in the same direction as the fur grows. Not across as seems logical. For some reason two or three cuts will collapse the matt as you pull it gently away. The remains will comb through. I don’t know if this will work with a cat’s fur as it’s much finer, but worth a try.

mostly maybe you could adopt an elderly recue cat with (hopefully) more road sense, or even who would prefer to stay mostly indoors?

i used to wait till tommy was fast asleep ,then creep over and get his claws then. it took several tries before i got them all done.other than that it was on his trip to the vets,....

That sounds a good idea grandtante. It must have been quite a challenge keeping cats on a boat!
We did manage, a few years ago, to keep two lively kittens inside the house for their first six months. They would literally swing from the chandeliers (well lampshades!).
After six months when they had calmed down a bit, they had a bit more caution near the road, but still both sadly succumbed to cars eventually.
Actually (in the last hour) I’ve just managed to cut all Freddy’s remaining untrimmed claws as he lay in the shade on a garden bench between me and DH!

If the lane is lethal for kittens, try taking them out on a lead to start with, if when dear Freddy departs this life, you, like me, hold out for six months then are desperate for a new cat.

We took our two present cats with us sailing for three years, where they were only allowed on land if on a lead, (MY rule) they accustomed themselves to it, and lay down beside me on the grass verge of lanes if traffic approached.

BUT unless you have extendable arms, you can only take one cat for a walk at a time. Ours start off nicely, one on either side of me and us all three walking in the same direction. This lasts for all of thirty seconds, then they go off in two different directions and I am left in the middle straining both arms!

To get her used to have her feet touched, I play gently with her feet when she is feeling asleep or relaxed. Then I will start clipping her nails.

Thanks for all the ideas and advice. Much appreciated.

Yes we do use a proper claw trimmer (with a guard).

Freddy seems to have a full set of teeth though he doesn’t like them being counted! True he does chew at his back claws, so perhaps is dealing with them himself in a rather laid back sort of way.

He is a large cat, neutered Tom, and not the type of cat you can tuck under your arm! He’s a very gentle cat unless scared. He sits next to me and softly taps my hand repeatedly to remind me to stroke him.

Not sure what we’ll do when he’s gone. I’ve had a cat (usually several at a time) all my life, but our quiet lane is lethal for kittens.

Good point(!), Silverlining. I never thought to mention proper claw clippers. I bought ours from the vet, they were about £5, certainly no more than that.

Grandtante the acrobatics we go to, for our cats!

When we had our cat i bought a pair of claw cutting scissors from the vet. They were good as when you used the scissors they went round the claw so no danger of either cutting you or the cat.

How are his teeth? Cats usually bite their back claws rather than sharpen them on wood. If his teeth are all present and correct he may prefer to deal with his hind claws himself.

Otherwise the towel and a helper is the way to do it, but you could try holding the cat, tightly wrapped between your left arm and your body if you are right-handed, or obviously between your right arm and body if left-handed and insist that you need to cut his claws! It can sometimes be very difficult to get anyone to help!

Our cats become MY cats when there is anything that needs attention!

There's no way I could clip my cats claws and she's extremely handy with them! As she's had a lot of treatment at the vets lately I've asked them to do them while she's sedated but they've always done all the other cats we've had anyway. Since she's had her broken jaw she's stopped grooming herself so now her fur, which is quite thick, has become matted too. I'm able to brush her a little by giving her treats but eventually she gets too irritated and I have to give in. The vet brushed her when she was 'under' last month and as she still has another op to go I'll get them to do her claws and fur again. After that we'll be back to them growing and us keeping out of their way!!

I cut my cats claws when he’s been fed and is contentedly sleeping. The nurses at our local vets will do it for a small fee.

When DH rang the catgroomer to see if they would trim our cat’s claws, (two months waiting list!) the groomer advised us to use cornflour before grooming matted fur!
That’s not a problem with Freddy’s fur, but I looked it up online and apparently cornflour is a recommended treatment.
Seems unlikely to me but might be worth investigating Marelli.

It's a common problem, Marelli, so don't feel bad! I found it sometimes seemed to happen almost overnight. They'd be fine one day, then suddenly, they'd be a complete mess, with matts and tangles everywhere.

Sometimes your vet will help by clipping off the worst of it.

SueDonim, I’ll search online for a cat groomer - hopefully there may be one locally. You’ve made me feel better, saying you had the same problems with your cats. At this time of the year Daisy resembles a rather grubby small sheep that’s due for shearing. ?

Yes, Charleygirl, sometimes clipping a cat's claws is a work in progress!

Marelli, you could try to find an animal groomer who will de-matt your cat for you. We've had Persians in the past and they were a nightmare to groom, particular the second one we had.

Luckily I rarely have to cut Tara's claws but when I do it is one claw a week because once she realises what is happening- she is up and away. She is an intelligent, feisty minx.

Not wanting to hijack your thread, mostlyharmless, but although my long-haired, and very thick-coated cat hasn’t needed her claws cut, her coat is desperately in need of a really good grooming. We can brush and brush it - a bit like paddyann’s cat - but there are still matted areas. She’s very feisty and goes into attack-mode. Have tried a comb between the matt and the skin, to try and cut away the matt, but it’s not working well at all. Has anyone got any recommendations?

Thank you Tanith old meg paddy suedonim and Nananancy for your advice.
I’ve now tried lying Freddy on his back and have managed to clip two more claws! I’m getting there slowly.
Still using the treats immediately before and after. Keeps him interested. I’m bearing the towel method in mind and haven’t needed the vodka yet!

nananancy ?

How to Clip a Cat's Toenails
1. Take out the bottle of vodka. Take long drink.
2. Look at cat.
3. Look at your intact arms and face. Think of how you will look after clipping said cat.
4. Repeat 1 to 3.

I have to clip our cats' claws. Thankfully, they are pretty docile creatures but even they can get fed up of being manhandled for too long!

My recent discovery for the back feet is that if my dh holds the cat upside down on its back, I can clip his claws without him seeming to notice. My cats aren't very bright, though!

Otherwise a towel helps with another person to hold them. I also put the cat on a worktop so I don't have to crawl around on the floor.

I take ours to a groomer,he doesn't like it but at least he behaves with her ..he would take a chunk out of me if I tried to clip his claws .I had enough problems tonight brushing his coat ...I had more hair than he had when I'd finished .He is not a lap cat ,a very independent boy .

I used a nail grinder on my dogs nails. They don’t mind it at all. You’d still need a towel and someone to hold the cat though.

What about your vet?