Hi folks,
Any tips on trimming your indoor Bengal's nails? My first one is no problem - I do it about every two weeks when she's sleepy and laying down. My second little one is not so cooperative. Even if I catch him when he's exhausted, he won't let me at his nails (I managed to get three front ones trimmed over the last week and a half). He just gets up and zooms off. He's somewhat skittish (only been with us for a few weeks, and he had a lot of stress at first), so I'm hoping to use something other than sheer force. Any tips on how to get this done? His claws are pretty sharp right now, and it's shorts season :).

If he doesn't *need* to have his nails cut yet then give him some time to settle in.

If he likes treats then pick up the clippers and give him a treat. Cut a nail, give him a treat. Leave it at that for the rest of the day. It is counter to a cat's instincts to let you hold onto their paws as they are vital weapons for defence, so slowly build up trust and make him associate clippers with treats. Also, when not using clippers and when he is relaxed gently stroke his feet/paws if he is OK with it, in order to get him used to having his feet touched and held when you do need to clip the claws.

I have never trimmed Raiden's nails and they are sharp as all get out! He makes sure he uses his scratching posts daily. He never uses his claws on me or the furniture. I feel fortunate, but some owners want to trim the nails. The majority of cats do not like that at all!!! You can have the vet trim them, you can purchase Soft Paws to put on them (they will wear off and you have to redo them every so often). Cats WANT sharp claws. They need sharp claws. It's a protective thing to them. Trim them and they sharpen them right back up. I just let things be.

I trim Quasar's claws when he is catching them on things like his food mat, the furniture, the carpet. His nails get so long they can't fully retract.

He has several cat trees, which he uses but they don't seem to be enough.

Trimming them does not make them any less sharp, however. The first thing he does when I'm done trimming is sit and sharpen them with his teeth.

As far as the actual trimming goes, I used to have to sneak the clippers into my pocket and wait for him to come do a pass by on the couch when I would snag him and cut the nails. Fortunately he never bit me but he sure snarled and expressed his dissatisfaction with the ordeal.

The older he gets, the more tolerant he is of the trimming. I rarely trim more than once every couple of months. Last time, I caught him on my bed and he just sat there and took it.

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~ Kyenta

My two cats refuse to allow me to trim their nails, period. I took them to the groomer each month for a couple of years and they did it for me, $10 per cat and takes about 15 minutes. They trim and smooth the nail so I do not get scratched for about 30 days. Now that they are adults, I rarely get their nails trimmed. Grace never scratches me and is very careful. Blondie scratches me all the time when she kneads me. They both scratch the leather chairs which are now not looking great. They are due for their annual shots and I will be sure to have their nails trimmed at that time. I got this great cat carrier, it has wheels and a handle and they both fit inside. Now going to the vet is kinda fun. Getting them both in the carrier takes some planning though.

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Every cat is different. I've had cats where I could put them on my lap, and just do it with a minimum of complaint. With the bengals though, I've decided to give up The one thing that really did it for was seeing them try to climb after getting their claws clipped, and they had some painful looking falls where they tried to clutch their tree or poles or whatever, find they couldn't grip it (no claws) and fall hard.

It's also sort of a "cost analysis", taking into account how stressed out they get, how much they resent me for attempting it, and the consequences of not doing it.

For the most part there aren't much in the way of consequences for not doing it imo. A little more wear and tear on their trees, scratching posts, and very occasionally me, so even though I've always done it in the past, for these cats I've decided it just wasn't worth it.

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The little monsters 3

I only trim the nails on my two when getting kneaded gets too painful or when I can hear Ada walking down the hall from the "tic tic tic" of her nails on the wooden floor.

Babbage, big softy that he is, is not bothered about getting his nails clipped, Ada I have to wait until she's snoozing and gently but firmly take hold of her paw before she sits on it to make sure I can't get to it. Sometimes I can only get one claw done, other times I might be allowed to do a paw-full.

I've not seen any problems with climbing their trees post clipping. but then I tend to be cautious on how much nail to clip off.

I trim both of mine about every 3 weeks, I have done it right from when I had them so they are very good having it done.

The way I do it is I sit in the chair with a cat to the left of me me pushed as far back in the chair as possible so they cannot reverse away or run away either side as I am one side the arm of the chair the other.

Then press on paws until claws come out and trim away, can managed each cat in about 10 minutes, then they have a treat each for being good.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

I'm surprised to hear how many people don't regularly trim their cats nails. I assumed it was something that needed to be done frequently with indoor cats. A friend of mine's cat actually dislocated one of her toes after getting a long nail caught in stair carpet, and she needed to get her toe amputated due to recurring dislocation problems. My friend always felt guilty for not keeping the cat's nails in better condition, so when I got my two kittens, I planned on starting a nail regime right away.

I also hadn't considered how it could make it difficult for them to climb... For now I'll back off and not worry about Simon's nails. He's taking a bit longer than our other Bengal to settle in, and I want him to be comfortable more than I'd like for his nails to be blunted :). In the meantime I'll get him used to me handling his paws more.

Thanks, everyone for the advise. I find this forum very helpful in my Bengal kitten adventure.

I'm guessing about 50% of cat owners deal with their nails. Yes, nails can get caught. Raiden's will snag in the bedroom carpet and I'll rescue him. But, he loves to climb up his cat tree posts to get to his platforms and would not be able to do that if his nails were blunt. Never trim an outdoor cat's nails. They need them sharp to escape any dangerous situation. It is definitely most important that your baby settle in and become completely trusting of you. Any traumatic thing for them will be a step backwards.