Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

[DanieMarie]

So, Albert's scratching is a problem and I can't seem to train it out of him. He scratches pretty aggressively sometimes and will go for any vertical or horizontal surface. We tried putting scratching posts and boards all over the house, but he still scratches other things sometimes....things like our real Persian rug, our leather armchair, our TV, and our wooden table legs.

He's slowly getting better, but it's a time consuming process. Until he stops, I don't want our nice stuff to get wrecked (it was all hand-me-downs from family and we don't have ANY money to buy stuff that isn't crap from Ikea!) I thought I'd try trimming his claws and possibly putting soft paws on him (I have a set leftover from our old cat and he's roughly the same size). The problem is, I can't get him to sit still for it. I start and he flips out. He just doesn't want to be held against his will for more than a second.

Any tips?

[Thorbjorn]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

Have you tried an attractant on the scratching posts, and shown him how to do it? It sounds crazy but that's what I did. I sprayed the scratching post, scratched it myself and took his paws and showed him how to do it. The scratching post I have for him is about 36" high, and heavy with a weighted base. If it feels unsteady, or they can't fully stretch, they won't use it. That's why table legs, the corners of armchairs are ideal (in their little minds). But he runs to his, and has never scratched anywhere else. Good luck, I'm sure it can be frustrating.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

Yes, I've tried that, and I've tried repellant on the stuff I don't want him to scratch. He doesn't care. He loves catnip, so I've tried that on his stuff, but it doesn't stop him from scratching other things. He also has a wide variety of scratching posts to choose from all over the house. It doesn't matter. He just likes scratching.

It's weird, because most cats either prefer horizontal or vertical scratching. Not him, though. He likes scratching anything that's scratchable.

Anyway....it's slowly happening. But very, very slowly. Until then, I'd really appreciate some advice on how to trim his claws so that he doesn't ruin our things

[Ophidia]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

1) Get someone to help you.

2) Wear a heavy coat and gloves, and some safety goggles. Possibly a helmet.

3) Make sure your first aid kit is near-by and well-stocked.

4) Wrap him up in a few soft towels or try nape-holding him while the other brave soul attempts to get the booties on him.

5) When you're finished, release him & get the heck out of the way.

I wouldn't suggest nail-trimming because if he's struggling, you could hurt the quick of his claws... also, sometimes nail trimming makes cats want to scratch more.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

1) Get someone to help you.

2) Wear a heavy coat and gloves, and some safety goggles. Possibly a helmet.

3) Make sure your first aid kit is near-by and well-stocked.

4) Wrap him up in a few soft towels or try nape-holding him while the other brave soul attempts to get the booties on him.

5) When you're finished, release him & get the heck out of the way.

I wouldn't suggest nail-trimming because if he's struggling, you could hurt the quick of his claws... also, sometimes nail trimming makes cats want to scratch more.

You have to trim the nails to get the soft paws on, though....

[Ophidia]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

Nvm me, I was thinking of the full booties, not the claw covers. :P

[Rae'ya]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

Nail trimming doesn't help with scratching, so only bother if you want to persevere with the SoftPaws. I've never used SoftPaws, but I've heard good things about them. If he hates his nails being touched, forcing him will make him worse... you'll need to counter-condition him to it, which takes time. Counter-conditioning can be difficult in cats, especially if they aren't food motivated. I'm trying to get you the link to Sophia Yin's counter-conditioning page, but the website must be down. Google 'Sophia Yin counter-conditioning' and you should get her blog. If there's not a video for a cat nail trim, watch the dog one, because it's exactly the same principles. Tragically, she recently died, but her website and blog worked fine for me yesterday. SoftPaws need to be reapplied regularly, so for them to be useful, you MUST get him to a point where he will allow you to apply them. Counter-conditioning is your best bet here... if you can't access the website then let me know and I'll type you up some instructions... it's just much easier to watch the video. If you find any other videos, link them to me so I can watch them to make sure that they are actually accurate... there's a lot of inaccurate ideas out there about how these techniques work, and it is possible to do them in a) useless or b) harmful ways.

Otherwise, get some cardboard and some cheap book contact or double sided tape. Cover the cardboard with it so that it's sticky side out, then tack it onto whatever you don't want him to scratch (sticky side out). Most cats hate the sticky sensation and so wont scratch it. Leave it there for a few weeks (refresh if it loses it's sticky). It should break his habit of scratching at that furniture. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it's the most effective method I've used.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

Nail trimming doesn't help with scratching, so only bother if you want to persevere with the SoftPaws. I've never used SoftPaws, but I've heard good things about them. If he hates his nails being touched, forcing him will make him worse... you'll need to counter-condition him to it, which takes time. Counter-conditioning can be difficult in cats, especially if they aren't food motivated. I'm trying to get you the link to Sophia Yin's counter-conditioning page, but the website must be down. Google 'Sophia Yin counter-conditioning' and you should get her blog. If there's not a video for a cat nail trim, watch the dog one, because it's exactly the same principles. Tragically, she recently died, but her website and blog worked fine for me yesterday. SoftPaws need to be reapplied regularly, so for them to be useful, you MUST get him to a point where he will allow you to apply them. Counter-conditioning is your best bet here... if you can't access the website then let me know and I'll type you up some instructions... it's just much easier to watch the video. If you find any other videos, link them to me so I can watch them to make sure that they are actually accurate... there's a lot of inaccurate ideas out there about how these techniques work, and it is possible to do them in a) useless or b) harmful ways.

Otherwise, get some cardboard and some cheap book contact or double sided tape. Cover the cardboard with it so that it's sticky side out, then tack it onto whatever you don't want him to scratch (sticky side out). Most cats hate the sticky sensation and so wont scratch it. Leave it there for a few weeks (refresh if it loses it's sticky). It should break his habit of scratching at that furniture. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it's the most effective method I've used.

Found it! Thanks!

I think that might just work. He's strongly food motivated, so that will hopefully help. I live alone at the moment because my boyfriend and I are doing the long-distance thing until I move over to where he is, so I don't really have anyone to help me. BF will be here in a few weeks....on one hand, that would be better, because there is a lot more trust between the BF and Albert anyway (he's really H's baby) and it looks like a two person job. But on the other hand, I'd really like to deal with the problem sooner than 3 weeks from now. Maybe I'll try the tape thing (he's not really motivated by stickiness...tried it before...but it might get him to stop temporarily), because I'd rather do it right.

[thalassa]

Re: Trimming claws, soft paws, etc

So...

I have the squirmy kitten, and I can say that its a two person job to put the soft paws on--one person to hold the kitty and the paw in question, and the second to do the cover and put it on the nail.

The other thing that helped was picking a time when he'd be napping anyhow and wearing him out first.