Have 3 cats I have never trimmed their nails. We have multiple scratching posts they they all use. Furniture and drapes are let alone. My problem is plants or now lack of them. They all like to either eat them or sit in them.

I've always taught my cats to like being held in my lap with their back to me. I just play with their paws & tummy until they want to be held on a regular basis. Then use human baby clippers or even regular size ones depending on the size of your cat. And then my favorite part - recite "This little piggy went to market" as you do it :-D

My DD has 13 cats (I think, :roll: ), 6 out and 7 in. She clips inside every 2 weeks and out once a month or so.

If I am doing the clipping, I put the cats back end under my left armpit, grab paw with left hand, press pad down, clip nails on that paw, move to next paw. For the back paws, I reverse the procedure and put the head under my armpit and clip. Of course you can't do this with a cat that will fight as they may bite , so, here's pics of how I hold while DD clips for those persnickety cats.

You can't be scared of grabbing the scruff of the neck and holding tight. Gently pull the cats head back towards you sllightly so they cannot get at person trimming. See how I use my forearm to hold down the rear end and legs to keep the cat from using rear legs to push off or scratch? This is painless, you are in control, and as soon as person is done trimming, gently release as you are petting cat and scratching scruff and usually they just walk away. DD and I have never been bitten or scratched this way and we have trimmed thousands of cats when we worked the shelter. Piece of cake.

This is what trim time looks like at my house. Jeff (my husband) does the holding and I do the cutting. For our dogs I use a dremel!

I think a cat that isn't friendly enough to be held and handled isn't going to let you get the dremmel close, it's the noise, and you can't use that very long because it makes the nail get hot. My cat goes outside enough to keep his nails in shape but my husband's little bitch dog.......... she's like fighting a bear to do her nails!

It is easier to teach them as kittens, that this is something you are going to do. An older cat requires more patience. Sometimes I would have to settle for just one nail if the "rescue" complained. Also, remember 10 AM to 2 PM is Official nap time on this planet. So, if you casually snip one or two nail while baby is asleep, you can get all the nails even with the fiestiest in a few days. After a while, they co-operate. Gabrielle

Others have all given you advice, I haven't read them but I'll add my 2 cents worth anyway. I didn't like that battery run thing --- the sandpaper thing on it was too rough. Cats hated it. I started with my cats when they were first brought home. I use the clippers like in the picture above, but I sit on the bed, one foot on the floor, and the other leg curled toward the leg that's on the floor. The cat fits in my lap on their back. Every Sunday morning, it's nail clipping time. Here's the point I want to make...no matter HOW you do it, make sure you do it every week. I had one that hated it and fought me, but after about a year, he lays there and talks to me....doesn't fight it any more. He learned it's going to happen anyway.