. They are truly...
October 7th, 2009
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The pads of a kitty’s paws are extremely sensitive to both touch and vibration. This sensitivity may explain why many cats do not like having their pads being touched and will often pull their foot away. The more sensitive the cat, the more tricky it can be to clip her claws. And even though a cat’s paw pads are very touchy, they are not remarkably sensitive to hot and cold, which explains why they can even walk across a hot stove or a frozen pond.
Radio show host and pet expert Tracie Hotchner is the author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible. Click here to follow her on Twitter. |
When our cats were kittens, we trained them to accept having their paws handled by giving them ‘paw massages.’ This makes the claw-clipping much easier to deal with.
Most of the cats allowed the paw massage without pulling away; one of them really ate it up…would roll on her back making all 4 accessible.
The most current addition, though, is a rescue who was a bit older when we got him…he’s not so crazy about it.
But, if you start when they are babies, it is amazing.
Ironic that this information was accompanied by ads for Swiffer, containing chemicals that no paw pads should ever touch.
Hey Liz- Don’t give up on your newest addition. Try giving him some super dooper treats while touching his paws. Halo’s Liv-a-little freeze dried chicken bits are heavenly – offer one while stroking the top of his feet. Then progress over days to letting you hold his whole paw in your palm until over weeks all he’ll have to do is SEE that Liv-a-Littles plastic box come out and he’ll be giving you his paw in a High Five!
Don’t worry about the Swiffer, Little Doll. They got some bad PR at one point about being toxic to pets, but I have been following the product, which claims to be entirely pet and toddler friendly. It does seem that their wet cloths have nothing in them that is harmful to pets, even cats who lick their paws. I believe at one point I even checked them out on Snopes and it said that worries about safety were not warranted. Give the company a call or email and see for yourself what they say back, since they have to tell the truth.
My 8 year old cat loves when I play with his paws. He will lay craddled in my arms belly up so I can touch his paws and rub them. But let him see the clippers and he freaks out and fights to get away. I am always careful not to hurt him but he hates getting a nail clipping.
Liz is so right – anything you can start young with your cats makes it so much easier as the years fly by!
THE CAT BIBLE has some useful hints about ways to cut your kitty’s nails without all that rebellion. The first rule is not to hold or squeeze your kitty’s paw, but to hold your fingers lightly under his paw pads and press up gently, which causes the claws to come out of their sheaths naturally. Then you want to clip only the very pointy curved tip, nothing more than that, which is what can cause damage