Is there an anti-catnip: something that would make a cat languid

[moe darklight]

... so that I can cut its nails without losing an eye or needing major reconstructive surgery.

my cat is usually well behaved, but cutting its nails is next to impossible. and I really don't want to have its nails removed; it seems rather cruel.

is there a plant or drink or something that I could give my cat that would relax it?

 

[turbo]

Just rock it to sleep. Don't use real big rocks, though.

 

[Evo]

You should contact your veterinarian.

 

[Danger]

Lucy scraps like a maniac when I clip her. My solution is that I roll her up in a big towel like an enchilada, then pull one paw out at a time to work on. It doesn't completely eliminate the growling and biting, but it certainly makes the job easier.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Here are some ideas.

"[URL - How to shorten a cat.[/URL]
It seems there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that suits me fine.

 

[matthyaouw]

Rohypnol*






*Matt accepts no responsibility for damage to any felines resulting from reading this post

 

[moe darklight]

Rohypnol

Just rock it to sleep. Don't use real big rocks, though.

ok, so now I have a plans B... and Z I don't want to have to take it to the vet every time I want to cut its nails though. I could try the enchilada one while he's already sleepy maybe... he might not notice we're cutting his nails if he's all wrapped up like that haha

 

[hypatia]

Hope your useing animal nail trimmers, even then you half to replace the blade every once in a while, or it hurts them.
I have used Dangers solution, and it works very well...with the addition of a soft cloth wrap muzzle, so they can't bite.

 

[Astronuc]

Vet's will do it, but I usually hold the cat while my wife cuts the nails/claws. By oneself, the best way is to wrap the cat in a towel and cut the claws (as Danger mentioned) with the cat in one's lap, or straddle the cat if it struggles too much.

I'm not so concerned about being scratch or bitten (which has happened several times), but I just don't want to injure the animal.

One could use a tranquilizer such as acepromazine, which some vets may use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acepromazine

We've used it, but sparingly. As with many compounds, one must use it carefully according to body mass.

 

[Kurdt]

We've never had to cut a cats nails in all the time we've had them. I thought it was something you only did to dogs.

 

[Moonbear]

If at all possible, I would avoid using sedatives or tranquilizers for something like clipping nails. Frequent use of those just isn't healthy for the cat.

My cat gets all worked up about clipping nails too. I've never cut too far, yet she howls as if I'm amputating a toe with every snip.

I haven't had to resort to the towel trick yet, but that is effective if you can get the towel around them snugly enough.

The cat has conveniently hidden at the very thought of this thread, so I can't grab her at the moment to verify my technique for holding her. While much of it is a "whatever works" approach, I *think* I usually have her sitting on my lap, back against my chest, and paws pointing away from me. I can then get my left arm around her chest, tucked under her left leg leg (right up under her "armpit") so she can't really do much with that one, and hold the right front paw by reaching around her...I don't worry so much about her kicking her hind legs...if I stretch her out enough, she can't do any damage with them. So, that gets paw #1. To get the other front paw, since I can't operate the clippers left-handed, I reach the hand with clippers under her right armpit, and hold her left paw with my left hand. Sometimes I have to reposition after every couple claws as she wriggles around. The hind legs are usually more of a challenge, because she's also determined to escape being held still by then. I think I just become some sort of contortionist tucking her head under my arm, getting my elbow around her front paws, and hanging on for dear life to the hind paws. You can hold on pretty tight without hurting the cat. Then again, my cat doesn't really go for blood when I'm trimming claws, she's just focused on wiggling free because she doesn't like staying still.

Something that can make it a bit easier with time is to play with their paws and hold them the way you would to trim their claws, but without actually trimming. I do that with Ember so she doesn't associate having her paws messed with only with having claws trimmed. I also will play with her ears and open her mouth from time to time so none of this is overly strange when she visits the vet either.

 

[turbo]

Animals of all types appreciate positive feedback, and if you take the time, you can often avoid making them nervous or panicky. Like Moonie, when I picked up my ferrets, I would sometimes give them a quick examination, looking at their eyes, ears, teeth, palpating their muscles, etc. None of them ever gave me any trouble at the vets, nor did they give me a hard time about clipping their nails, because they knew there would be a tasty treat afterward. I once had a conure (beautiful little parrot) that was scared to death to have her wings handled to get her flight feathers clipped and she had a pretty potent bite! I made a game out it. I'd say "Allie, wings!" and touch her back between the bases of her wings, and when she reflexively raised her wings a bit, I'd praise her and give her a nice treat (dried hot chili peppers were her favorite). The higher she would raise her wings the more praise and attention she got. Within a few days, I didn't have to even be near her - I'd just say "Allie, wings!" in a cheerful voice and she would pose like a hood ornament. She would hold the pose until I called her a good bird and then she expected a treat. I didn't have to handle her wings to trim her feathers, and she got a nice treat after the trim.

 

[EnumaElish]

Rohypnol*






*Matt accepts no responsibility for damage to any felines resulting from reading this post

Felines can read!??

 

[EnumaElish]

On a related topic, does anyone know anything about how felines react to ethyl alcohol?

 

[JasonRox]

You can get them surgically removed and never that to worry about them.

 

[DaveC426913]

You can get them surgically removed and never that to worry about them.

You don't have to get them surgically removed. If you just miss a couple of their meals they'll leave on their own.

 

[Danger]

You don't have to get them surgically removed. If you just miss a couple of their meals they'll leave on their own.

Jason, declawing is essentially amputation of the last toe joint. It's extremely cruel and leaves the cat defenseless if it happens to get into a perilous situation. No true cat lover would ever think of it.

By the bye, I don't actually trim Lucy's back claws. The only time that they cause any damage is when she launches herself off of my lap at warp speed. Clipping the front ones is for the sake of the carpets, the furniture, the bedding, W's epidermis, and any stray shreddible objects that might be lying about the place.
I'm sure that the neighbour's dog also appreciates it. She comes over to visit frequently, and her first action upon entering the house is to empty the cat-food dish. Lucy has taken to swatting her without prior notice.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't consider declawing extremely cruel, but it IS surgery, and is painful while they recover (though you can give them painkillers too), so I wouldn't take it lightly either. I look at it as a last resort if keeping their claws trimmed and directing their scratching toward approved surfaces (i.e., the scratching post) doesn't work, and it's either declawing or having them destroy the entire house with scratching (some cats are much worse than others about that). Not being able to hang onto the cat to trim their claws isn't a very good reason for declawing though. It's a good reason to schedule a visit to the vet's office to have them show you how to do it...you don't even need to see a vet, just one of the vet techs...they're the ones that do the claw trimmings and teeth cleanings anyway.

 

[vanesch]

You people are special! The thing that comes with cats are claws.

Our cats do scratch the wallpaper from the wall, do destroy the seats of the chairs, and so on, but we consider that that is part of having cats! It gives some feline charm to the house... On top of that, such behaviour makes my mother-in-law go crazy, so I usually give them some dried fish they're crazy about when they do this

 

[Kurdt]

If you can't teach a cat to not scratch certain things to the point where you're considering surgery then you shouldn't have a cat. I'm with Vanesch. They have claws and that's part of the package. Any type of unnecessary surgery on an animal is cruel.

 

[Math Jeans]

You can get them surgically removed and never that to worry about them.

That is only fine if they are indoor only. Otherwise, they will get themselves killed in a catfight.

 

[EnumaElish]

If you can't teach a cat to not scratch certain things

Can you teach a cat ANYthing? How?

 

[moe darklight]

yea, mine's an indoors cat. I wanted to make it an outdoors cat, but my parents never let it out. now he's a spoiled indoors cat that wouldn't last a day in the real world... especially not with the neighbor's cat. ... also, one of my neighbors is an evil old man who hates living things and kills animals for fun.. he's always killing squirrels and bunnies by shooting them or by poisoning them! it's horrible. we always find dead baby bunnies after the spring.

we called the SPCA on him but they can't do anything about it. I wouldn't want my cat to get poisoned.


I think surgery would be somewhat unnecessary, and it is a bit cruel... I usually just cut the tip of the nail so he doesn't completely shred the house and also because he's a big fan of jumping on people who visit. by just cutting the tip the nails are no longer sharp and don't bother anyone.

 

[Kurdt]

Can you teach a cat ANYthing? How?

Yes you can. With patience and a knowledge of cat body language.

 

[Moonbear]

That is only fine if they are indoor only. Otherwise, they will get themselves killed in a catfight.

Well, most folks here already know my opinion is that all cats should be indoor cats...leaving them outdoors is cruel.

 

[~christina~]

Well I do clip my cat's nails but then again he does complain the whole time. (sounds like trying to start a car )

The way you "teach" a cat not to scratch, kick, or bite you starts when you first get them as a kitten. You can't expect to start teaching a older cat not to do something that it's gotten used to for most of it's life just because you've decided it's now unacceptable.

For example my cat didn't like his tummy rubbed when he was a kitten but I grabbed him and sat him on my lap and just ignored his complaining and after a few days of this "torture" he started purring and now rolls over to get his belly rubbed even as a adult cat.

And you CAN teach cats things. My cat in particular can do a number of tricks for treats. He can sit, bend down, stand up, gives paw, and sits and waits for his food and doesn't touch the dish until I say it's alright. And you can guess what I'll say next. I taught him all this when he was a kitten.

 

[JasonRox]

yea, mine's an indoors cat. I wanted to make it an outdoors cat, but my parents never let it out. now he's a spoiled indoors cat that wouldn't last a day in the real world... especially not with the neighbor's cat. ... also, one of my neighbors is an evil old man who hates living things and kills animals for fun.. he's always killing squirrels and bunnies by shooting them or by poisoning them! it's horrible. we always find dead baby bunnies after the spring.

we called the SPCA on him but they can't do anything about it. I wouldn't want my cat to get poisoned.


I think surgery would be somewhat unnecessary, and it is a bit cruel... I usually just cut the tip of the nail so he doesn't completely shred the house and also because he's a big fan of jumping on people who visit. by just cutting the tip the nails are no longer sharp and don't bother anyone.

Pick up one of the dead bunnies and throw it through this living room window into his house.

 

[Danger]

Pick up one of the dead bunnies and throw it through this living room window into his house.

Good plan, but stuff it with dynamite first.
Moonbear, I might have overstated it when I said extremely cruel, but there are a lot of factors that most people don't think of regarding post-operative situations. You're in a fairly stratified position due to your education and career, so what might seem normal to you could come as a surprise to others, with complications that they aren't prepared to deal with. To start with, walking is seriously difficult with the paws all bandaged up. Then there's the problem of not being able to perform one's accustomed rituals in the litter box, and the strong possibility of infection from trying if the bandages aren't completely sealed. Even the ingrained habit of jumping from a couch or window sill to the floor could cause agony. Considering how I feel when the arthritis settles into one of my toes, I can't imagine putting an animal through 10 or 20 times that pain just to save some furniture.
I agree with Vanesch and Kurdt that you should be prepared for the whole cat experience if you want to own one. As with Moe, I just trim down to short of the quick. My difference of opinion with Hypatia is that, although I have a set of cat clippers, it's far easier and apparently less traumatic for Lucy for me to use W's nail clipper. You just have to make sure that you stay well back from the pink part.

 

[Ouabache]

On a related topic, does anyone know anything about how felines react to ethyl alcohol?

When ingested (food grade), they'll become inebriated. That would certainly slow a cat down. I once removed a tumor from a mouse using booze as a anesthetic. You probably want to ask a vet for dosage on this as well.

So does anyone know how felines react to Canabis ?

 

[EnumaElish]

So does anyone know how felines react to Canabis ?

I don't know about felines and canabis, but I know praying mantises like to smoke grass or "weed" (common green grass or green weed). A p.m. will puff a dry weed stem when lit and handed to it. Seen it with my own (sober) eyes.*
____________
*Not verified in blind experiments or in a controlled environment. Do not try it at home.