Friday, July 31, 2009

How do you put on claw caps (soft claws)?

My cat is using his claws appropriately for him not appropriately for us. Rather than have him declawed we'd like to try the claw caps. My daughter says they're like putting on acrylic nails but, seeing I've never done that before, that's not helpful. Anyone know how to put claw caps on a cat?
Answers:
I use the soft paws on my cats and I find it very easy to do. My cats will lie in my lap on their back and I will trim their nails. When the nails are trimmed you get a soft paw and put some of the glue in the fake nail and slide it onto your cats claw. Hold it there a few seconds and go onto the next nail. I do it by myself but if you had help, someone could get the soft nail ready with the glue in it and then you could slide it on. They stay on for a good month and I find them very helpful and my furniture and rugs are thankful too.
I've seen these at Petsmart. I looked at the packaging and it looked like there was a pretty detailed instruction slip. The one thing I think you would HAVE to have is 2 people. One to hold the cat still and the other to apply the caps.
I haven't tried them, I have clipped my cats nails on occassion. That wasn't much fun.
Consider your cats personality before trying to do this at home. Some people can get away with doing it, my cat, well he is sweet and loving and has a great personality, untill you try to restrain him for anything. If your cat is like mine, call your vet and ask for their assistance. We purchased ours at a PetSmart, and then had the vet help us, it was cheaper that way then having the vet use the caps he has.

Good luck.
Soft paws are a much better alternative to declawing a cat. Declawing the cat is actually the equivilant of having your finger cut off at the first knuckle! Many MANY cats who have been declawed start misbehaving too - not to mention that leaving open wounds of that magnitude on your cats feet - and then expecting him to use the litter and walk (since they walk on their toes) - is likely to cause many expensive medical problems.

I've used Soft Claws quite a few times. I have always clipped my cats nails by myself, so they are used to me touching their feet. One of my cats will have nothing of it. and I have come up with an easy solution for 1 person to both clip the nails and apply the soft claws for the cat who does not cooperate.

Before you begin make sure that everything is laid out and within easy reach. I like to do this proceedure while sitting cross-legged on the couch with all of my supplies within reach on the coffee table. The supplies you will need are:

Contents of the soft claws package (caps and glue)

Blanket

Nail clippers

If your cat does not like his/her nails clipped and doesn't cooperate for that, I would suggest clipping all of his/her nails and then waiting awhile before trying to put the caps on. It would be less traumatic for your cat this way - instead of forcing the kitty to behave for essentially 2 rounds of foot handling at the same time.

When you are ready to put the caps on, get the kitty and wrap him/her up like a baby in the blanket - leaving just ONE foot sticking out. This will prevent you from being scratched by the other claws while you work on the one foot. I suggest using a light-weight blanket for this, so in the event that your cat starts biting, you can cover his/her head *LOOSELY* with the banket too. You just want to create a barrier between your cats teeth and your arm/hand.

Before you begin the first nail, grab the soft claw cap and squeeze a drop or two of glue into it. Then take hold of your cat's fist paw and press the middle of it with your thumb and middlefinger or forefinger to extend the nails. Slip the nail cap onto the nail and keep the nails extended for about 3 seconds while holding firmly onto the cap. Repeat process until all nails are done.

There really shouldn't be a need to put them on the back feet unless your cat uses his back feet to scratch.

Make sure that all of your cats nails have been trimmed just prior to putting the caps on. It will be more comfortable for the cat that way and it will make the caps last longer.

Good luck!
They are easy to put on and sometimes it depends of the size of the cats nails. If he/she has short nails you may want to trim the plastic cap to fit better on the nail. But my white cat didnt like them and as soon as I let him go he started chewing on them and pulling them out with his teeth , my other cat was fine with them, so them staying on is a matter of the cat's personality.

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