My cat won't let me trim his nails, even with medication. Help!

If she won't let you trim them, you will need to take her to a vet and have them do it. They can give her some sedation, if needed, to make it easier for them to trim the nails.

You cannot give the cat that medication. Most vets office can trim nails with out doing anything and may have a carrier for you. Depending on your area, there may be a mobile vet or groomer than can come to you to do this for you. I would start with contacting a vet's office or local groomer and they can assist you or provide you with someone in town that can if needed.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Although frequent sedation is not ideal, sometimes this is needed for some animals. There are a few things that can be done to help decrease the frequency of the nails needing to be trimmed, and also ways to ensure the sedation is 'safer'. Firstly, make sure you have lots of scratching post options for Sweet-Tart. If she is overweight, getting that weight down as well will increase her activity which will cause the nails to file down naturally more, requiring less frequent sedation. If she is going to be sedated frequently, doing bloodwork and a urine check every year or two is a good idea to make sure her kidneys are doing ok, as sedation can be hard on the kidneys. Also, depending on what type of sedation is being used, they can be 'harder' or 'softer' on the body. So just make sure your vet is using the 'softest' possible sedation to get the job done. Best of luck with Sweet-Tart.

Zeus is gorgeous! Thanks for including a picture. The problem with strong dogs is that they quickly realize that they can overpower you. I have problems with this with my own pit bull. The best way that I have found to trim his nails is to use a Kong filled with peanut butter to keep him busy, then nonchalantly trim his nails. Certainly that won't work for Zeus right now if he is very anxious with nail trimming. There are a number of medications that we will try to use for nail trimming at home (or to decrease anxiety in the clinic). Trazadone works great for some dogs, but sometimes we have to adjust the dose. So, you could give the recommended dose 2-4 hours before trying a calm nail trimming with positive reinforcement. You may only be able to trim a few nails, but I would consider that a success for a nervous dog. Be patient with the process. If the Trazadone does not decrease his anxiety enough, then I would recommend talking to your vet about other options or the possibility of adjusting his Trazadone dosing. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there. Most cats aren't thrilled about taking medication or having their nails trimmed, so this is a common problem! I highly recommend the how-to videos on these topics by Fundamentally Feline, which you can find here: https://www.fundamentallyfeline.com/how-to-videos/ They have videos that show different options for medicating cats without a struggle, as well as advice for nail trimming.

Tex sounds like a handful!!!! I don't generally suspect pain but certainly he could be irritated! Clipping his nails will help prevent this from happening. Since he will not allow it. You can seek the help of a professional who may have more luck (but no promises). You could also talk to your veterinarian about a sedative like Gabapentin that you could give at home and once it kicks in, you might be able to clip the nails. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

One option may be to use an oral sedative from your veterinarian. Ask the vet about Acepromazine or Trazodone. Working on some positive association may also help. You may need both the association and a sedative. Begin by having a high value treat. Start toughing his feet and reward him as soon as you touch his toe nails. Do this for a few days. Once Sparks seems comfortable with this behavior, show him the clippers. Rewards him every time he looks at the clippers. Gradually move the clippers closer to him until they touch his nail. Give him treats frequently. Then cut one nail, reward him immediately and stop the trimming for that session. Work up to multiple nails. Be patient and don't stress him or get injured. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.