[StellaLuna]

So Nixie has started scratching up everything pretty bad lately. I don't believe in declawing so I'm going to get some nail caps for her. My question is what are your guys experience with them? Do you put them on yourself or does a groomer/vet do them? How did your kitty react to them?

 

[gizmothecat]

i personally wouldnt use them.

do you have any scratching posts...hanging, standing, laying......of all different textures...i have 3 and keep my cats nails short....they dont even try to rip at furniture

 

[MowMow]

Agreed, do you trim her claws? She may not WANT to tear things up, her claws might just be overly long causing her to dig in more than she's trying too.

 

[marie73]

I've had my groomer put them on one of my cats before. It was pretty easy, I held the cat while she put them on. But keeping their nails short is best. My girls don't mean to snag or scratch things (like me!), their nails are just too long. It's usually after they get stuck in me that I realize it's time to clip them.

 

[Marcia]

I posted about a cat at the shelter that is obsessively cuddly but got to the point of aggression if she got her nails caught in clothing if we tried to dislodge them. One night I was pondering what to do about this because as it was she was totally unadoptable due to her aggression and oversensitivity with her paws. Scratching or biting one more customer would be a death sentence for her.

I bought nail caps. Me and 3 other people trimmed her nails then applied the nail caps. They are SO cute on her!!

Because she was so wiggly and overly sensitive about getting her pads touched it took 4 people - one to hold her down, one to clip her nails, one to read the directions and hand off the caps and me to apply the glue and put them on. She was a screaming banshee during the process - you'd think we were torturing her, but they work! She cannot snag her claws on anything now and she is sweet and loveable when cuddled. She will need nail caps the rest of her life! I truly feel I saved a life with these! If you can clip her nails, you can probably apply these by yourself but if it were me I'd get a groomer to do it.

The first few minutes after being applied she tried to bite them off but now she is fine with them.

http://www.catforum.com/forum/37-behavior/256266-shelter-cat-obsessively-cuddly-point-aggression.html

 

[marie73]

Plus, they come off one or two at a time, so the hardest part is the original application.

 

[StellaLuna]

She is very good with her paws and lets me clip them with no problem. It weird, but for a kitty that doesn't really like to be touched, she has no sensitivity with me messing with her paws. Stella is really good about it too and it literally takes me 2 minutes for them. However, Stella only scratches the cat furniture and posts but Nixie goes all out on everything lately. I don't think it will be stressful for her, but was curious about others experiences. She is only 10 months old, and has only been with us 3 months so I'm sure she will learn... I am just hoping they will help.

 

[Heather72754]

Be aware though that the cats cannot really use their claws completely normally with the caps on. For instance, some people have said that their cats have fallen off cat trees, etc., when their nails fail to grab and hold them.