New cat (rescue) needs claws trimming!help!!

[MissPricklePants]

Hello, I have adopted a beautiful black cat from cats protection league. She is 14 months old but very small! she has very long claws and they need a trim as she kneads me loads and I can feel them through my jeans. She is also getting caught on the carpet so what is the best way to trim them myself? thanks!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Proper clippers the small mikki ones are very good. Keep away from the pink quick this will bleed just snip off sharp tips in single motion to avoid splintering.

[Sheldonswhiteboard]

If they are very long try to remove the excess claw gradually by cutting them back every couple of days or so. This assumes you have a cat that will cooperate with clippers. I have one that will and one that won't - luckily he is a mostly outdoor cat so gets his claws clipped at the vets when he goes for his jabs!

[ThatBloodyWoman]

I would go to the vet - at least first time, so they can show you.

[MissPricklePants]

Right I will ask the vets to do it when we go! they are like little razors!!

[cozietoesie]

I do Seniorboy's claws and he refused to have them done before he arrived to me - so it's possible to accustom them. Maybe get them done by the vet practice once or twice to ease the situation but it would do no harm to start - when she's relaxed - to play a little with her paws for half a minute, gently holding toes and putting a finger in between one or two of them. Then you can see how she reacts without clippers in your hand and also get her used to the feeling.

[sashh]

You can get clippers from the vet, they don't cost much and the vet showed me how to use them.

[BakerStreetSaxRift]

We team up to do it here, DP wraps heroin a nice fluffy dressing gown and holds her against his chest, then holds her foot and presses on the pad to show the claw, then I snip.

Then she gets a treat.

She's getting used to it now.

[BakerStreetSaxRift]

heroin??? *her in

[sashh]

Polter

No

I fostered for 10 years and only 1 needed her nails trimming

[Fluffycloudland77]

When we had four cats only one needed their claws trimmed. It was unfortunate that it was the feisty one who bit the vet.

[cozietoesie]

My outdoor boys have used tree trunks (Ive seen them) but the indoor boys have generally needed a bit of help with their front claws when they age. Seniorboy needs help with both front claws ( or they would start to curl over, let alone catch on things) and with his back claws - because with so few teeth left, he can't gnaw his back claws to keep them trim. (I think he might also have some difficulty getting his back feet near his mouth due to his old joints.)

[cozietoesie]

Fluffy

I've often wondered - do you get a sharp intake of breath over the phone from the vet practice when you phone up to make an appointment?

[Fluffycloudland77]

No. Fluffycat is adorable at the vets. They do shut all the windows in the clinic after he tried to climb out of one though.

It's on his notes apparently.

[MissPricklePants]

I know cats are meant to have sharp claws but as she is a housecat and shows no interest in scratching anything but the carpet I reckon they need a trim, for her benefit too not just mine as she keeps getting caught on the carpet, clothing, my bedsheet etc.
I have had a cat previously (9 years ago) but he pretty much lived outdoors and only came in to eat before he scampered off again and had no problem with his claws. I am truly smitten with new cat, she is magnificent! and she loves to snuggle with my dd!
So is the verdict trim or leave them?!

[cozietoesie]

Myself, I'd give her a hand and trim them. Is she amenable to being handled? (I've found that the best way to do Seniorboy, who came to me with a claw-trimming phobia, is to wait until he's fairly relaxed and then wheech him onto his back resting against me - and then quickly nip off the tips of front claws using the pre-positioned clippers at my side. If he's in a compliant mood I'll then do the same to his back claws but your girl shouldn't need that latter as she's young and can, I assume, still attend to them herself.)

[MissPricklePants]

Yes she is very amenable to being handled, she is happy for me to touch her paws for a very short while and spends lots of time sat with me. I will trim them. I have trimmed several rabbits claws before but I think the cat will wriggle away quicker if she doesn't like it!