Claw clipping question

On Fri 17 Feb 2006 08:16:12p, Cheryl Sellner wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes ):

It's good to keep styptic powder in the first-aid kit
for accidents like these.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...cfm?pcatid=176
3&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Portal-_-ShoppingDotCom-_-Dogs-_-Kwik%20Stop%
20Styptic%20Powder&ref=3554&subref=AA&GCID=C12188x 006&ctt=64

or

http://tinyurl.com/dcbk7


Chak, don't get this kind of styptic powder. I hurridly did a
google search for "styptic", but when looking at the image I
noticed it has benzocaine for pain relief. A couple of articles say
that benzocaine can cause methemoglobinemia (don't know what that
is, but it doesn't look good; I'd avoid that type of styptic
powder.

This article is good, (below) and it says if you don't have styptic
powder, cooking flour will do? Interesting!

http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm
It shows pictures with the quick clearly visible.

--
Cheryl

Cheryl Sellner wrote:
On Fri 17 Feb 2006 08:16:12p, Cheryl Sellner wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes ):

It's good to keep styptic powder in the first-aid kit
for accidents like these.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...cfm?pcatid=176
3&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Portal-_-ShoppingDotCom-_-Dogs-_-Kwik%20Stop%
20Styptic%20Powder&ref=3554&subref=AA&GCID=C12188x 006&ctt=64

or

http://tinyurl.com/dcbk7


Chak, don't get this kind of styptic powder. I hurridly did a
google search for "styptic", but when looking at the image I
noticed it has benzocaine for pain relief. A couple of articles say
that benzocaine can cause methemoglobinemia (don't know what that
is, but it doesn't look good; I'd avoid that type of styptic
powder.

This article is good, (below) and it says if you don't have styptic
powder, cooking flour will do? Interesting!

http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm
It shows pictures with the quick clearly visible.

I don't agree with this article where it says you can use regular nail
clippers. I used to use those and even very sharp, brand new ones
crushed the claw and it became very ragged and splintery. I bought some
cat claw trimmers which look like scissors except that there's a little
hole like indentation in it where the claw goes. Those work much better
because they cut the claw from all directions.
--
Britta
"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

On Fri 17 Feb 2006 10:05:31p, badwilson wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes ):

http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm
It shows pictures with the quick clearly visible.

I don't agree with this article where it says you can use
regular nail clippers. I used to use those and even very sharp,
brand new ones crushed the claw and it became very ragged and
splintery. I bought some cat claw trimmers which look like
scissors except that there's a little hole like indentation in
it where the claw goes. Those work much better because they cut
the claw from all directions.

I don't agree with that either. I started out using those
guluitine (SP) type trimmers, and they seemed to crush the claw
rather than cut. I also now use the small ones that look like
scissors. I've read many posts where people use people toenail
clippers, but I've just never tried them. They don't even look like
they'd work.

Funny story from Rhett's last vet visit for his eye problem - he'd
just had his claws clipped when he got his shots. 2 weeks later was
when he got the eye injury. TED clipped his claws again
(complimentory, I was very pleased. She's our NEW ted since our old
one retired) and she started clipping his claws with dog claw
clippers. He's a BIG cat, so I didn't think anything of it, but the
tech who's been there for years commented on it. I'm sure part of
it was 1) he's a big cat and 2) she's new, and was nervous


--
Cheryl

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Oscar's my first cat, and I never clip her claws. A vet did it to her
once, and she would jump up on the couch and slide right off! It
seemed downright humiliating, so I never let them do it again.

Aww, poor Oscar. Very humiliating indeed! I've never clipped my cats'
claws either. The vet clipped Frank's a couple of times last autumn,
since hyperthyroidism can cause the claws to grow too quickly, and I
could hear him clicking when he walked. But I never clipped them earlier
in his life.


--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Chakolate wrote:
It's just me and the two cats, and they have shown a marked reluctance to
hold each other down while I trim claws. So how does one person manage a
claw clip on a reluctant cat?

I have in the past tried to wrap one in a towel (prewarmed for his
comfort) but I can only manage maybe two claws that way, before the
intrepid feline manages his escape.

My vet, when I told her he was a biter, produced a cloth hood-like thingy
which she said made the cat quiet,

It's a muzzle. They work. They are only about $5.00.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

(Ok, $6.00 - I was only off a buck!) You can buy a used (or new) one
on ebay for a buck or so - be sure to wash it and sterilize it bfore
use.


but I think that would be even more
stressful.

They actually calm the animal.

And I'd have to make my own, as I am cash-poor for the
foreseeable future.

If you're one of the lucky ones who has a cat that doesn't object to claw
clipping, well, pbthbththbbtth to you.

Do you have a method I can try? Have you ever used a hood? Help!

TIA,

Chak

From an old post:

My experience is that the more you do it, the more they get used to
it.

Good technique and tools are esssential. I like to use the
small, blunt-nosed, notched, scissor-like clippers (Groomax Cat Nail
Clippers:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1090435597134

as they are less obtrusive and easier to handle. I've trimmed claws on
hundreds of cats (used to be a groomer), and those work for me. You
will
eventually find a set of tools and a routine that works for you, if
you stick with it long enough. Also, the vet can give you lessons in
technique if you need them.

The method I use is this:

While standing, place the cat on a folded towel, on an *unfamiliar*++
table, with his head to your left. Put his body close to yours so
that you can lean to the outside (furthest from your body) and clip
first the fronts, and then the backs (or vice-verse - I do both).
When clipping the fronts, I pull the paw up and out, and kinda behind
their head, so that if they do try to bite, they have to go past their
own arm to do so, which gives me enough time to get away. When
clipping the backs, I just pull the foot out, or in some cases, I
gently flip it back. As I do the backs, I block the head with my arm
and elbow, so that the cat can't reach around and bite.

Flip kitty 180 degrees (this is why you have him on a towel), and
repeat the procedure on the other side. Let go, and watch him fly!
;o)

Obviously, if you have any cats that are real biters (rather than
nippers), you have to have someone scruff them while you trim their
nails. If the cat remains difficult to trim, I suggest having your
vet do it for you (should be free or less than $10). Also, the vet
may be able to help you improve your technique so that it becomes
much easier for you.

++The reason you put the cat in an unfamiliar place to do the
trimming is that it distracts the cat, and allows it to focus on
something other than biting you. If you trim in the cat's own
"territory" it knows exactly where to move, where to jump to, and
where to hide. I do the trimming on my kitchen island, since that is
a place the cats are not familiar with. A folding table in an
attached garage would serve the same purpose.

HTH,
-L.

[key words: cat claw trim method nail fly Groomax muzzle]

"Cheryl Sellner" wrote in message


I've read many posts where people use people toenail
clippers, but I've just never tried them. They don't even look like
they'd work.////

I use toenail clippers with a pretty good success rate........if you
count 2 out of 5 cats allowing me to clip their claws a good success
rate!

Seriously though, they were advised as an option by my vet, I have never
had a problem using them, they seem to do a pretty effective job and
they don't splinter the claw.

Helen M


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

Jeanne Hedge wrote in
:

So here's the alternative method I've
worked out to do this over the years. It works for us, but it requires
a kitty that doesn't mind being on her back...


Wow, this sounds great! Malheureusement, my cats both think that being
on their backs is a fighting position, and woe betide anything that comes
at them when they're that way.

It always reminds me of a Calvin & Hobbes comic. Hobbes is lying on his
back, sleeping, paws up, mouth slightly open. Calvin tickles his tummy,
and a large dust-up ensues. Last frame shows Calvin walking away,
saying, 'I keep forgetting that when he's like that, five of his six ends
are pointy.' :-)

Chak

--
In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it
would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples
might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal
time in physics classrooms.
--Stephen Jay Gould

"dnr" wrote in news:1-
:

This is long but I'm very good at this and you
obviously need advice. Don't abandon ship; be
patient. Think of the $ you're saving not having
to pay vet fees for this service.


Good advice, I shall try that.

Chak

--
In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it
would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples
might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal
time in physics classrooms.
--Stephen Jay Gould

Jeanne Hedge wrote in
:

Well, she's old, and she's usually good-natured, but she's also got
arthritis in her back legs and is *serious* about not messing with her
there! I used to do the towel-wrap thing, but she'd get away. Since I
started putting her on her back, she's been a lot less stressed about
the whole thing, and lets me do her back claws without too much
protest (as long as I don't move her back legs around too much).



I think it must hurt if you actually pull on a paw. For a while last
year, whenever one of them was in my lap (which was whenever I made one)
I would just hold a paw gently and maybe stroke it. I found out by trial
and error that if you gently press then end of the pad, the claws just
pop out.

Then I started using that time to clip, and they just didn't like that at
all.

Chak

--
In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it
would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples
might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal
time in physics classrooms.
--Stephen Jay Gould

wrote in news:43f652fb$0$58125
:

I don't consider it urgent, as I don't get scratched very often. Roxy
does the most "damage" to me with her claws, as she loves to knead me
around my neck and collarbone while cuddling, but then she's also the
easiest to clip, so it pretty much works out. Still, it would be nice
to know how to do it successfully, on cats who've grown up unaccustomed
to having that done.


I have lots of very good scratching posts, some soft, some hard, so the
cats are mostly able to control their own claws, but lately Doc
occasionally makes noise when he walks, and he keeps getting snagged on
my clothes when he's not trying to. So something needs to be done.

Chak

--
In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it
would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples
might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal
time in physics classrooms.
--Stephen Jay Gould