My Pet World: When people let their dogs run off-leash
Dear Cathy,
Our cat, like many, dislikes having his nails trimmed. When he was young, I used to wear garden gloves when cutting his nails so as not to lose a finger. He's now 18 pounds and tolerates nail trims. I just put his serving of wet cat food in front of him to distract him. While he doesn't try to eat it, he does let me trim his nails knowing that his meal comes afterward. This has made it a lot less stressful for both of us. When finished, I let him go, and he makes a U-turn to the food bowl. -- James, Hebron, CT
Dear James,
Nice! I love hearing how sneaky pet owners work out strategies to get their cats to acquiesce to a nail trim. Read on to hear another reader's tricky tactics to trim their cat's nails.
Dear Cathy,
For years, I offered to try to clip my parents' cat's claws but was essentially shot down each time. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I purposely arrived while Dad was asleep and convinced Mom to watch silently from upstairs. Rusty was sleeping on a chair, and Callie was sleeping on the couch next to the chair. I petted and spoke to Rusty and clipped all four paws in less than one minute without him even budging, while he purred. I moved over to do the same with Callie with the same results.
I looked upstairs to see Mom with her eyes open wide and her jaw on the floor. Next time around, I had Dad do the same it with same results. -- Doug, Wethersfield, CT
Dear Doug,
Sneaking up on cats and clipping their nails while distracting them and without holding them or touching them is definitely a ninja move. Thanks for sharing your technique for cutting your cat's nails.
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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)
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