Calming Crazy Cat-Can't Clip Claws

December 10, 2024 9:18 AM

I have a 2 year old shelter cat I've had since he was little. I'm not sure what happened to him, but he is very skittish and refuses to be handled. He is not feral or mean, just frightened of everything. He will let me pet him but holding him long enough to clip his nails would put me in the ICU. I've tried CBD and other calming supplements but they aren't enough, I'm afraid. Does anyone have any experience and could recommend something to make kitty go nighty night long enough for me to clip him?
posted by hairless ape to Pets & Animals (16 answers total)

Talk to your vet! Trazodone is what we use for our dog who’s just very very energetic and stimulated all the time, and it definitely schlogs him up good.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:24 AM on December 10, 2024 [1 favorite]

Have you tried gabapentin? Your vet can give you a prescription. It won't conk him out entirely but should help! My vet recommended a dose the night before and a dose the morning of whatever the dreaded event is.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 9:25 AM on December 10, 2024 [3 favorites]

I've seen fabric "strait jackets" made for cats for claw clipping, would that help?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:46 AM on December 10, 2024 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I've seen fabric "strait jackets" made for cats for claw clipping, would that help?

That would help if he would crawl into it on his own, which I don't think is gonna happen. I could use it after I knock him out.
posted by hairless ape at 9:49 AM on December 10, 2024 [1 favorite]

Do you have a cat tree with sisal? You don't need to clip your cat's nails - as long as they have something to scratch that's rough, they will wear their nails down themselves. It is important that they have something to scratch to do this - you can encourage use with cat nip.
posted by coffeecat at 10:04 AM on December 10, 2024 [8 favorites]

I used to literally get on top of my cat and thus compress his body with my chest and restrain his body with my legs and then clip his nails.
After years he figured out this was not going to kill him and he tolerates it now.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:06 AM on December 10, 2024

Indoor cats absolutely DO NOT need their nails clipped. Scratching posts are good, but even those are unnecessary. There’s no need to stress that kitty out
posted by octaviabutlerfan at 10:36 AM on December 10, 2024 [2 favorites]

Going to contradict what octavia above said. I forgot to clip my cat's nails once for months and they grew into her paw pads and got infected and had to get them removed from her paw pads at the vet and needed recovery. So yes, indoor cats absolutely need their claws clipped (she had scratchers and never used them).
posted by greta simone at 10:51 AM on December 10, 2024 [12 favorites]

Response by poster: I'm not clipping his claws for my benefit, he has trouble walking on anything fabric without getting caught and subsequently ripping things to get loose. I'm sure he's uncomfortable and like greta simone said above I worry they are going to get ingrown and infected. I might consider getting a cat tree in the future but he is in distress now.
posted by hairless ape at 11:58 AM on December 10, 2024 [3 favorites]

Will he hold still long enough (maybe when he is napping) to wrap him? This is the only way I can clip our cat's claws. You wrap him then pull out each paw to clip.
posted by olopua at 12:12 PM on December 10, 2024

I'm gonna guess pilling him would just double down on the handling problem.

I swaddled our last kitty in a fleece blanket -- she actually liked it -- just pulling out one appendage at a time, and I will be trying that approach with our new kitty if he doesn't like the handling.
posted by Dashy at 12:19 PM on December 10, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Some folks I know take their cats to the vet for claw trims. One such cat required two vet techs and falconer’s gloves, some cats are just hard. Pet groomers also offer this service. Let someone else handle it if possible so he doesn’t associate the trimming with you.
posted by momus_window at 1:00 PM on December 10, 2024 [12 favorites]

The only way my cats can have their claws clipped is by having 2 people, one to hold the cat and one to do the clipping. It's quick but does require picking up each cat when they are calm and unsuspecting. Otherwise the cats would have needle-sharp talons from these devotees of their scratching posts. (It also takes both of us to wrestle cats into carriers when it's time to make a vet trip, and sometimes the cats win that one and we have to reschedule!)

Can you enroll a friend to help?
posted by citygirl at 6:17 PM on December 10, 2024

I've had some luck with very gently clipping a couple claws at a time when the cat is sleepy. Start slow with getting him used to handling paws while petting.

Otherwise, welding gloves are your friend in getting the cat into an injection bag / kitty straitjacket where you can pull out one paw at a time. But it might be less traumatic to do it at the vet until you make inroads with the paw handling because he won't associate you with the indignity and trauma of it as much.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 9:30 PM on December 10, 2024 [4 favorites]

I saw a video last week where the owner/parent/clawclipper clamped onto the scruff of the cat's neck the way a mama cat would handle a kitten. The previously crazy cat allowed its claws to be clipped.
posted by cyndigo at 5:27 PM on December 11, 2024 [1 favorite]

Let me see if I can describe this accurately--
Wrap cat in a towel, but from head to tail (like they're lying on a beach towel and you're folding the top and bottom over them).
Sharp pointy teeth are out of the way but the paws can still be accessed.

It was the only way I could trim the claws of one of my dearly departed, diabetic cats who had a claw circle around and start to dig into a toebean.
posted by luckynerd at 3:29 PM on December 13, 2024