Advice needed on trimming a cats claws

Pumpkinseeds

We've ordered a nail trimmer for Poppys' claws. She has a condition that means her pads are puffier than they should be, so her claws don't wear down as they should, I think the common name for it is pillow paws?

Anyway, the vet trimmed them a few months ago but they need doing again so we thought doing it ourselves would be less stressful for her than carting her to the vet. Just looking for any tips on making it as stress free as possible. We Know that we only need to take the tips and to avoid her cuticles.

rannerap

I do it when they are sleepy or sleeping. It's less stressful for everyone involved

ferretone

Poor you! I've never had a cat whose claws we had to trim, though many ferrets! I don't suppose the ferret claw-trimming trick would work with cats unfortunately, as it is a beautifully simple one. With a ferret you simply have to lay them on their back in your lap, and put a drop of treat on their belly.

Hey presto! Wee ferret is licking away at the treat on his tummy, and doesn't even notice the claw-clipping action going on mere inches away! Unfortunately cats are infinitely more self-aware than ferrets, so would be pulling away on the paw before you got a single claw poked out for clipping in most cases.

Sarannewrap's idea is better than anything I can think of, though I am certain if I was trying that with my cats, I'd do one claw per evening like that, and just hope they didn't cop on! I defo would not be able to get a whole paw done, never mind a whole set, before they were fully on to what was going on!

SillyMangoX

I wait till my guys are fully fast asleep and I usually get it done with no problems. They might notice occasionally and stretch a bit but I've become a bit of an expert now and can get a paw done in about 15 seconds :P I can even get dude done while he's awake now because he's so used to it, which is very handy because they have to have claws clipped before going into a show. I just take the very bare tip off so there's no risk of bleeding!

Pumpkinseeds

I'm dreading it, my husband will probably do it, my hands are quite shaky and I don't want to hurt her. It has to be done though, her claws are getting stuck a lot and then she panics. I think the trimmers are being delivered today.