Arthur Shapiro wrote:

By 8:30, the howling was getting quite severe, so off we drove to the
vet. I clipped her, combed her, and applied Advantage in the waiting
room, and they actually saw me early, around 9:15... [snip]

For 3 weeks, she'll be able to knead me without drawing blood. Then
the vicious cycle will start again.

Hey Art, here's a suggestion. Actually, the solution is right there in
your post: why not bring your cat to the vet's once a month, just to sit
in the waiting room and clip her claws, apply Advantage, and perform
whatever other maintenance you need to do? You don't need an appointment
to do that. I'll bet your vet wouldn't mind your spending half an hour in
the waiting room once a month, clipping Calico's docile little claws off.
And it wouldn't cost you anything, either. (Though perhaps you could bring
them some candies or something as a thank you.)

Joyce