chill, cat. chill.

[mabjustmab]

without looking it up on the internet (because I'm on my way out the door), does anyone know a safe way to mildly sedate a cat? Ash really needs his nails trimmed and he keeps putting up such a fuss that I think I damaged one of his nails. so I want to be able to check it out, clean it, and trim the rest of the nails without him struggling and making the situation worse.

I think I heard that a tiny bit of benadryll? yes? no? maybe some bourbon?

* and before you say take him to a professional vet/nail groomer, we all know that financially that is not an option.

Comments

[crossbonesdj.livejournal.com]

I still have sedatives left from when we took the cats across country - you are welcome to them if you need them. The only other thing I can think of is to bundle him up in a very tight towel/blanket and take out one paw at a time.

[tiggermistyv.livejournal.com]

Before using sedatives, make sure you know the right dosage. The dosage goes by the weight of the cat so you may need to call a vet to find out how much to give.

[crossbonesdj.livejournal.com]

I agree 100%. The ones I have are clearly marked, since we had two cats (one is 12 pounds, the other 18 pounds). I don't have the name of them right now, but I'll look them up online to confirm dosage if you want to use them.

[tiggermistyv.livejournal.com]

I did a quick search and here's what I found:
- Most places recommend wrapping the cat in a blanket. One place even showed a zip-up bag that you can put the cat in to restrain him. It's a kitty straight jacket!
- I found a reference to Bach's Rescue Remedy for Pets. It's an herbal product. I got the people version at our health food store to help with baby related hormonal mood swings. Looks to be about $15 for a bottle.
- Someone else recommended Richard's Organics Pet Calm which is available at PetCo for $8.
- Another site suggested catnip.
- I saw warnings against benadryll because the dosage is in question and too much could kill the cat.

I know, several of these options involve spending money which is against the rules. :-(
If you had more time, several sites talked about how to play with your cat's feet every day and then let the cat see the clippers while you play with their feet and then after several days cut just one nail and so on until you get them used to it.

Good luck,
Misty

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

Both rescue remedy and organic pet calm are just mildly calming for cats, like chamomile tea for felines. They don't really do much about responses to stressful situations, just help to shift the cat's baseline a little for every day stuff.

Catnip makes some cats all blissed out, others become mean drunks. Depends on the cat.

Playing with the cat's feet does help. I have cats who get little kitty pedicures (usually with me reciting "Monsters must lead such interesting lives. Why I was saying to my girlfriend Gladys, just the other day...") because they've been fussed with all of their lives.

If you want cheap and free and dependable, have someone wrap (towel) and scruff the cat while you do the nails.

If you have a cat that really does not like having their nails messed with, it will be hard to do it on your own.

(I've trimmed ingrown nails on semi-ferals, and it was a wrestling match. You pretty much have to sit on the cat and contort around them, because it takes two hands to trim nails.)

Towel and a friend would be my suggestion. If the cat just needs a little distraction, it can go smoothly and gently without distress to the cat. If you need muscle, you'll want both of your hands free to do the trimming as fast as possible.

[qrissy.livejournal.com]

I will usually just get my babies high on some nice catnip, let them go crazy & wait for them to crash. Then they're just like "huh? ...uh... whatever, man" if I scoop 'em up & cut their nails.

[zebedeegoddess.livejournal.com]

A vet advised me on this when I took my cats cross country.
1/4 TEASPOON childrens liquid benadryl (generic at walmart for like 2 bucks) in a can of moist cat food.
It worked for me perfectly.
It doesnt conk them out or make them vomit like the heavy duty stuff the vets use.

[zebedeegoddess.livejournal.com]

Oh and cats eat moist food like crack so dont worry about bundling or all that other transport action just dope him and carry him.
*LOVE*
I recommend doing this to children as well. *smirk*

[dhairya.livejournal.com]

There is a safe way to restrain a cat. It renders them pretty much immobile.
If you want, give me a ring and I can come over and assist sometime.

[squarefodder.livejournal.com]

This may be a little odd and possibly hazardous for you, but you know your cat the best: When Ripley struggles a lot, I will just take a wad of her neck skin into my teeth like mommy cat which calms her down and leaves both hands free to operate.

[baronalejandro.livejournal.com]

Hey, is there a vet school nearby? They might at least be able to make a recommendation. I"ll think good thoughts for ash-kitty.

[(Anonymous)]

feliway is often recommended to help stressed cats:

http://www.vpl.com/product.php?catmain=&mainkey=&pid=58&key=24&cat=Behavior