kitty conundrum

[alimey]

I second the towel idea. We used to breed cats & a swaddled cat is a good cat! Seriously - make sure the towel is a full-size one. You just put it over the cat at shoulder level & pick the cat up, wrapping the towel tightly around it's chest. It won't be terribly amused. One person holds cat & towell & the other person clips claws. The big towel is essential as the weight & size of it drapes over the legs you aren't working on & prevents them opening up your arteries.

Also the waterpistol of god can be useful in training. Hide behind a newspaper & wait until the cat starts - then squirt it quickly & go back to reading behind the paper. Hopefully the cat will think that an all-seeing god has done it & not you. You need to be fast & accurate . . .

[carolp]

Can you find a friend to help you? When we first got Hank (who recently died) the person holding the cat wore welding gloves and got a good grip on him, letting only one paw be exposed. The clipper grabbed that paw and clipped, and the process repeated until all four were done. It was not easy, but we too have leather furniture and didn't want it ruined. Over time, it did get easier, though for the six years we had him (we got him full grown; he was a stray who had been living on the streets) it was never easy and he never liked it. You have to watch out for their teeth too, but with two people it CAN be done. See if you can bribe a friend.