kitty conundrum

[lauraelmore1033]

I have a semi feral cat who absolutely refuses to let us to trim her claws. She is polydactyl and HAS to have her claws trimmed because one of the extra claws curls into her "palm". We take her to the vet for a pedicure once a month or so. For some reason she'll tolerate having a stranger do it. It's twelve bucks, but that's a lot cheaper than antibiotics for us after she bites us. In your case, it might be cheaper than a new leather sofa.

[malkin]

+1 on treats.
Start small: give a treat after touching the cat's paws. Then the next step might be to touch the claw with a clipper before the treat.

I would gradually increase the duration of paw/claw touching and then nip one claw before the treat.

Find out the treat that this cat likes best and provide that ONLY at manicure time.

[badger]

thanks, everyone!

all suggestions are good. I suppose a water gun *may* work, though I doubt it'll do anything while I'm away. He has this horrible thing where he would scratch at the bedroom door and meow ever so annoyingly after my alarm goes off. I've been throwing bottle caps at the door, and he's stopped scratching, though he still meows.

I can do the towel, but I'm just afraid it'll work only once. As soon as he sees the towel the next time I'm sure he'll run and hide. I guess my only choice really is to try and desensitize him over time by touching his paws. *sigh*

[ridingfiend]

Rub fish oil on his paw pads every couple of days? Doubt there will be any left-over for him to spread around the house. Then do it and try to clip one or two nail. Gradually work up.

I think cats are supposed to dislike moth-balls. You could set bowls of them around the couch. And there is this thing called a 'tattle tale' that you can put on your furniture. It's motion-sensitive, and emits a loud shriek when disturbed. Maybe get two or three.

[CyborgQueen]

Too bad I don't live close to you...I would do it for you for free!! I used to do vet tech, and worked at a Cat-only hospital, so I've gotten my fair share of feral cats.

As for your couch situation - I would get rid of the couch (sell it of course), and use the money for a vet tech to come over and clip nails.

If you have an established relationship at the vet hospital, you can ask one of the vet techs that you feel comfortable with and see if she will be willing to come to your house and have a little extra money on the side. Make her cookies, bake a pie, a small candle, etc as well. Explain the situation to your vet that it's more hassle than it's worth just to clip the nails.

Lastly, if you are able to get the nails clipped after all of this happens, of course it'll grow back quickly, so what should you do in the meantime - put foil on the couch. Cats HATE the foil, and will not jump on there. It scares them (the noise). No mess.

Second to last - if this cat is very skittish, you can give it some calming stuff. Feliway diffuser is good, effective, so is catnip. :-)

best of luck!

[badger]

someone suggested those survival blankets -the ones that look like foil. I might give that a whirl by getting a few of them.

What I'm actually afraid of is that the sound of the foil would make him bolt, thereby putting in another scratch/gouge on the leather. *sigh* I think I may just have to admit that my couch is going to have a very short lifespan.

The funny thing about feliway is that I used that quite a bit when he first came here and now assosicates the sound of a spray as something to be afraid of?!

[goldfinch]

It seems like letting the couch be destroyed is the worst option of all the options mentioned.

[jessmarimba]

You might also try putting dryer sheets on the couch where he likes to go. Supposedly cats are afraid of them as well (and not in an EEEK RUN FOR YOUR LIFE kind of way that would promote claw-holes). I haven't personally tried it, but a friend with an open-roofed cabin and seven cats keeps them on the rafters to keep the cats from climbing around up there.

[badger]

ha ha, dryer sheets?! I can give that a go for sure, I'll let you know if it has any effect.