Kitten behavior

I am new to this and need some help. I have a 7 month old male kitten.
He is beautiful and affectionate. When he gets in my lap and does that
"kneading" thing that cats do, his claws are partially out and it
HURTS. Is this normal? Is there a way I can make him stop?

TIA for any help

I am new to this and need some help. I have a 7 month old male kitten.
He is beautiful and affectionate. When he gets in my lap and does that
"kneading" thing that cats do, his claws are partially out and it
HURTS. Is this normal? Is there a way I can make him stop?

Yes, your kitten's kneading behavior is quite normal. You might want to try
clipping his claws so that they aren't so sharp, and his kneading doesn't
hurt as much. If you don't know how to clip claws, your vet can show you.

Debby Hanoka
dhanokaatearthlinkdotnet

Thanks, I knew the kneading was normal. It's the claw thing that had
me baffled. I will get the vet to show me how to clip them.

On Mar 17, 10:56 am, "Teralyn" wrote:
I am new to this and need some help. I have a 7 month old male kitten.
He is beautiful and affectionate. When he gets in my lap and does that
"kneading" thing that cats do, his claws are partially out and it
HURTS. Is this normal? Is there a way I can make him stop?

TIA for any help

You don't want him to stop; he's expressing his love and trust. You
want to encourage that.

What you need to do is clip his claws. You can buy a clipper at a pet
supply store, or you can just use a straight edge toenail clipper.
Just take off the tips the first time; be gentle, and give him a treat
afterwards. You'll be happier, and your vet will thank you, too.

Lis

on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:39:36 GMT, "Lis" wrote:

You don't want him to stop; he's expressing his love and trust. You
want to encourage that.

Agree!

What you need to do is clip his claws. You can buy a clipper at a pet
supply store, or you can just use a straight edge toenail clipper.
Just take off the tips the first time; be gentle, and give him a treat
afterwards. You'll be happier, and your vet will thank you, too.

I find the small clippers designed specifically for cat claws are the
easiest to use on cats. When you are first starting out trimming claws,
just do one (maybe two) at a time the first day, then do the next one or
two the next day, etc. Gradually build up so the cat knows you aren't
going to hurt him. Eventually you will be able to do all of them at once,
but it could take many months before your cat is comfortable with that.
Just be very sure not to trim too short, and when kitty gets antsy, it's
time to give him a treat and wait for another time to do more.

--
Lynne

When Tiger (23 pounds) wants to get on my lap I have a folded towel
handy to put on my lap before he gets on. He can knead the towel all he
wants. Also, if something startles him (like the telephone) he can jump
off without digging me with his hind claws. He knows that the towel is
an invitation.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lynne wrote in
m:

on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:39:36 GMT, "Lis" wrote:

You don't want him to stop; he's expressing his love and trust. You
want to encourage that.

Agree!

What you need to do is clip his claws. You can buy a clipper at a pet
supply store, or you can just use a straight edge toenail clipper.
Just take off the tips the first time; be gentle, and give him a
treat afterwards. You'll be happier, and your vet will thank you,
too.

I find the small clippers designed specifically for cat claws are the
easiest to use on cats. When you are first starting out trimming
claws, just do one (maybe two) at a time the first day, then do the
next one or two the next day, etc. Gradually build up so the cat
knows you aren't going to hurt him. Eventually you will be able to do
all of them at once, but it could take many months before your cat is
comfortable with that. Just be very sure not to trim too short, and
when kitty gets antsy, it's time to give him a treat and wait for
another time to do more.


before you trim his claws the first time, it will help if you handle his
paws/toes so that he gets used to having them handled, and he sees that
good things come out of having them touched (praise, treat, fussing...).

Bobble

--
Have you hugged your cat today?

Sonny's web page -- http://web.ncf.ca/ai151/index2.html

"cybercat" wrote in message
.. .

"Teralyn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks, I knew the kneading was normal. It's the claw thing that had
me baffled. I will get the vet to show me how to clip them.


It's easy with two people, even with a cat that resists. We do our cats'
claws every month, just cut the tips off. ONCE my husband nicked the
quick--Gracie jumped and I just about died. However--far from being the
huge emergency I thought it was going to be, she neve showed another sign
of discomfort, it only bled a little, and it healed right up. My point
being, though you want to be very careful NOT to cut too low, if you do it
is not the end of the world.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


With my cats, I think they dislike being restrained more than having their
nails clipped.

on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:35:51 GMT, "22brix"
wrote:

With my cats, I think they dislike being restrained more than having
their nails clipped.

That would be true of Rudy, too. He sits patiently when I do his claws,
but at first (keep in mind he was a feral who I adopted at 4 months of
age), he wasn't having any part of it! Levi squirms, but he still
tolerates it. I've been doing it every week since he was teeny, though, so
I don't think he's going to stop squirming.

--
Lynne

"Teralyn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks, I knew the kneading was normal. It's the claw thing that had
me baffled. I will get the vet to show me how to clip them.


It's easy with two people, even with a cat that resists. We do our cats'
claws every month, just cut the tips off. ONCE my husband nicked the
quick--Gracie jumped and I just about died. However--far from being the huge
emergency I thought it was going to be, she neve showed another sign of
discomfort, it only bled a little, and it healed right up. My point being,
though you want to be very careful NOT to cut too low, if you do it is not
the end of the world.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com