A Real Nail Biter

Leo has been getting caught in the screens a lot during bug time, as well as getting stuck on the furniture when he’s climbing up. The vet told me that as a polydactyl cat, his claws would grow faster than normal. I don’t know if he meant only the extra weird shaped claws or all of them but they do seem to get super long super fast.

I had been watching that wonky claw get longer and go into two points again and I was dreading having to cut them myself this time. I couldn’t see a trip to the vet just to clip claws. But Leo will not sit still for clipping and I cannot hold him myself and do it.

I did manage to get most of a back foot while he was sleeping one day. I was shocked that I got more than one claw to be honest with you. He HATES having his back feet touched. HATES it. I can mess with his front paws somewhat, but bring out the clippers and bye bye.

Greg has been working on getting Leo to like him, and it’s working a little. In the mornings the poor baby is so starved for attention since he’s gone literally HOURS without being pet or laying on me, that he’s actually started begging Greg to pet him before he goes to work! Shocking! Any other time of day, however, and he’s not so much enamored of Greg.

The other day, when Greg got home Leo was in a mellow mood and stayed put on the Royal Footstool where he was getting pet by me. Greg sat nearby and Leo didn’t take off. I mentioned that those claws needed to be trimmed, and soon and this looked like it might be a good time.

Greg was sort of reluctant, only because he didn’t want to set back the progress he was making with Leo. But in the end, the claws were just becoming too much of a problem and had to get snipped. I scooped Leo up and snuggled him, keeping him from running off while Greg got into position on the Royal Footstool.

Then I handed the big boy over. He tried to flip out, but Greg’s pretty good about restraining kitties for baths and clippings without hurting, but without letting go either. He soon realized he wasn’t going anywhere and stopped struggling.

I got hold of the paw with the wonky claw first and he yanked it away. He’s pretty strong, my boy is. It took me three tries to get hold and keep hold of that paw. I went for the wonky claw first, and oh my goodness! That thing is tough!

I had paid attention to how the vet trimmed it, much shorter than I had before. I had previously just taken off the tip, both tips that is. But he cut it blunt and square down to about a quarter inch. There is no real vein in this claw, which surprised me because it looks like there is.

I didn’t cut it as short as the vet had, but it’s short enough that there are not two points any more. I finished the rest of that paw with little problem. The other paw, on the same extra toe that has the wonky claw on the other foot, has the longest, curving-est claw I’ve ever seen. This one does not retract (neither does the wonky claw). It lays sideways over his big center paw pad and clicks when he walks on tile.

Deep breath.. time to move onto the back feet. I’d gotten most of one, as I said, while he was sleeping, but I had been quick and didn’t know how well I’d done. I pretty much just took the very tips off and I knew I didn’t get all the toes.

Now, Leo had been behaving fairly well up to this point. But recall I said he doesn’t like having his back feet touched? Well, my silent, never growls or hisses at Star sweet boy started grumbling at me the moment I touched the first back foot! He yanked that foot away from me and started trying to get away.

Goodness, you’d think he was my sister who says, and I quote: "There are only 2 rules to loving me...... Do NOT Touch My Feet and Do NOT Touch My Bacon! Either one is likely to bring you death!" Personally, I can understand the bacon part. It’s practically my family emblem! Can you just see it? A sizzling piece of bacon rampant on a field of blue.. little heat squigglies rising from it... But I digress.. (The previous bit is for my amazing cousins who read my blog! Love you all!)

So Leo grumbled and growled and basically carried on while I trimmed his back feet. He was being so silly! Honestly! The foot I’d previously done wasn’t good enough, as I’d suspected. I’d missed a toe and the others were barely de-pointed. So I had to put up with grumbles while I finished that.

And when I was all done, I recalled that odd extra pad with the tiny thorn looking black nail coming out of it. The one that prompted Leo’s trip to the vet for trimming that I thought was something embedded in the pad. Seriously, it does not resemble a claw at all.

So Poor Leo had to be patient while I went back to that front paw to look for the weird thing. It’s on the same paw as the wonky claw. So he’s got a weird and wonky foot! It took some doing because this tiny extra toe pad is hidden under his other extra toe pads, but I found it, and the weird claw had only grown maybe an eighth of an inch. Cool, this one was slow growing! I was not looking forward to trying to trim that one, so I’ll just continue to keep an eye on it.

All done, I took Leo back and gave him a bit of a snuggle. What he really wanted, though, was down, so I let him go. He didn’t go far, just sat a little away from us, acting indignant.

About this time Star wandered down stairs. I said to Greg that she was in serious need of a trimming too.

Greg is able to pick her up, and while she doesn’t like it, she puts up with him doing it. When I try to pick her up, she goes pointy on five of her six ends... I always wind up bleeding, even if I was doing her a favor by giving her a lift onto the bathroom sink for her drink.

He picked her up and came back over to the Royal Footstool and she turned into a sad, pathetic, humble little bumble. Getting hold of her paws, even when she’s being all sad and sticking her head under her daddy’s arm, is not an easy feat. She yanks her tootsies back from me as if they were attached to her belly and no one is allowed to move them!

I prevailed, however, and trimmed her vicious weapons of mass shredding. She may not like it, but she never fights the daddy when he’s holding her. And unlike Leo, she was silent! Isn’t that funny? She’s vocal until you try to work on her, and he’s silent until you try to work on his back feet!

But ya gotta love’em! They’s my babies.


So now it’s late and I’m tired and I’ve rambled on and on about nothing more than nail trimming.. so I’m not up to preparing very many pictures. But I can’t put none up! That’s just not me, lol.

Please enjoy this one where they actually got close, and no one was making a peep at the other!

Star: I dont like you.

Leo: I dont like you much either.

Star: I'm not leaving though.

Leo: Me either.

Star: Hrumph

Leo: heeheehee