Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Grooming Cats

Tonight was cat manicure night, at least for their front paws. Miss Rannie (Random Numbers) Wu loathes the idea; she never had it done before she met me. She usually barely tolerates the procedure and tonight, she grumbled, complained and when we got the the very last one -- her right thumbnail, sharp, long and almost grown back to the pad -- she'd had enough. She struggled and wailed!

Huck sat on the floor and watched in fascination. She was way more riled than he ever manages! He scampered away when I let Rannie go and told him his turn was next, but I caught up with him in my bedroom, when his attention was captured by contemplation of the ascent of the North face of my clothes hamper.

Poor little guy, he squeaked in outrage and had a go at biting me. He only had a few sharp ones, though, so it was over soon.

...Which brought us to treat time! He loves being hand-fed, and will stand up and grab your hand very gently, with nary a hint of claw. I located Rannie under the dining room table, and fed her treats at arm's length; she growled the first couple until she figured out it was a pretty good deal. She's on my desk as I type, handy to my right hand for petting but she's got the mouse well trapped and complains when I have to move it.

Despite all the commotion, they seem to have weathered their terrible claw-trimming ordeal yet again. Especially the treats part at the end.

12 comments:

Divemedic said...

I totally agree!

Tango Juliet said...

Sounds very familiar.

Cond0011 said...

Seems almost as hard as herding cats.

Anonymous said...

Mine seem to have some finesse for putting in enough claw to get your attention but not enough to leave marks. I mean, if that suits their ends. They do know how to use them to effect, too.

Jim

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

We're currently giving the fat cat antibiotics twice a day for a fairly nasty case of gingivitis. Liquid, thank God; he spits pills out as fast as you feed them to him. And he does NOT like the liquid, even if it does taste like chicken.

He also does not like being catheterized by vet techs in prep for pre-teeth-cleaning anesthesia...but that's another story, also involving claws and teeth.

rickn8or said...

The cats seem to have you trained pretty well...

DJ said...

There are two tricks to trimming the toenails of cats. The first is, do it once a week, starting when they're about a week old. The second is, do it at nap time, when they're a bit sleepy. Been there, done that, and ours thought it was a normal and customary thing, with never a protest.

Joanna said...

If I catch my kitty asleep on my lap, I can usually get two paws trimmed before she wakes up enough to protest. Treats, petting and patience usually take care of the rest. If not, it's blanket burrito time.

Ken said...

Yep, dewclaw trimming is definitely DO NOT WANT territory.

Sabra said...

The first is, do it once a week, starting when they're about a week old.

Handy trick with former strays.

I clipped the baby's fingernails this morning. She didn't take it much better than your cats, but she lacks teeth. Cats are easier than kids in that respect.

Roberta X said...

Cats rarely learn to argue, either, and they'll never want the car keyes (other than as a toy).

But they're old and tired at the same age a human child is ready to face the world.

Justthisguy said...

Thanks for reminding me. I just had the roommate in here and trimmed his lunch hooks. I have noticed than when you get old, your claws don't seem to retract all the way, and if you're a bit arthritic, it's kinda hard to scrape them on the trees.