Conference misery::feline_v1

    It may be the position she is in when you clip.  I can lay Witch
    on her back and do all 4 paws.  Peek-a-Boo has to be upright or
    she fights to get upright.  Experiment.  I find that doing Peek-a-Boo
    upright means I have to have very good light since her body and
    fur (black Persian) block some light.  Our 8 week old kitten, Too
    Precious And Few (aren't registered names a gas) scream like I'm
    performing major surgery without anesthetic when I do her but she'll
    get used to it.
    
    Frank
    
    P.S. Treats such as Bonkers just before clipping and after a "good
    perofrmance" help get things on the right track.

    Do you have a "claw clipper" or just a regular scissors?  Is it
    *sharp* enough?  If it is dull and doesn't cut quickly, it might
    tend to bend the claw as it clips, which will add an unpleasant/
    unfamiliar sensation for the cat.
    
    I second the suggestion in .1:  after EVERY clipping session,
    hand out a treat.  The cat will come to associate the session
    with the forthcoming treat, a la Pavlov.
    
    The treat that works best for us is the all-meat BABY FOOD.
    My carnivorous sweeties will follow me anywhere for a spoonful!
    
    Good luck!
    		Penelope

    I've found that the best time is when they are half asleep.
    
    Deb

    My cats use their scratching posts a lot, and I often find little
    "claw shells" around the posts.  Guess what, guys, I don't clip
    their nails.....  The nails and paw pads look perfectly healthy
    to me.  The one time I asked the vet to trim Sweetie's nails, Sweetie
    took a bad fall when we came home -- he tried to leap onto a counter
    and couldn't hold on.
    

    I have never had trouble clipping my (many) cat's claws over the
    years. I have also clipped the claws of an outdoor cat that a
    friend of mine had -- he was a giant, ruler of the neighborhood
    tom cat and he would not let her do it.  Here -- for the first time 
    in print -- are my secrets: 

	o  Cat in mellow mood 
	o  Quiet room with door closed
	o  No other cat or person in room
	o  Wear long-sleeved protective shirt
	o  Sit on the floor, chair, or bean bag
	o  Compose your mind (I have a claw-clipping spell)
	o  Hold cat on lap with its back to you
	o  Sweet talk and pet kitty
	o  Clip away with a rest between paws.

    The quiet, closed room is essential for me.  The protective shirt 
    is for my piece of mind.  Tasha is the only one who has minded 
    this procedure and he wants to dig his current claws into my 
    shirt or skin and "get away quick from mom".  But he does 
    settle down and resign himself.  I never let them go
    until all claws are clipped.  If I am not properly mindful
    they may need a quiet rest in my arms before continuing with the
    next paw.  Use a quiet, friendly voice, no rough stuff like
    "you stupid cat hold still ..."  (I am sure none of us do this.)
    I hold them partially upright with one arm in a comfortable 
    position for them.

    Do pay attention to the cat's mood.  If they are in a frisky play 
    mood or hungry, they might not put up with you even if you have a 
    LEVEL 10 claw-clipping spell.

				Julie (Tasha and Lilys' mom)			

    Would it be helpful to have a keyword for claw clipping like
    CLAW_CLIPPING or NAIL_CLIPPING?

    Before I made my reply in .5, I did a DIR/Title="Clip" *.* and
    found the following notes with helpful information on this
    subject: 

	 38.35
	125.1, .2, .3, .4, .8
	781.1, .2, .3

    The idea of a treat afterwards sounds super, I will use it from
    now on along with my other methods.

				Julie (Tasha and Lilys' mom)

The keyword CLAW_TRIMMING has been added to notes 125.0 and 781.0.

Pam