How to Put SoftPaws Claw Covers on Your Cat

Anyone with a cat knows just how troublesome those sharp little claws can be--on furniture, flooring and vulnerable ankles. When the painful and often inhumane process of declawing isn't an option, though, how do you salvage your damask slip covers or antique mahogany tables? By giving your cat a manicure with SoftPaws: slip-on plastic claw covers.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A set of SoftPaws claw covers, available in anything from basic black to the most fabulous of drag-queen colors, from SoftPaws.com
• Nail clippers
• Gloves (optional, if you enjoy bleeding)
• A second person to help (optional, if you're mildly suicidal)
• One or more cats (not optional; would not advise trying this with a dog)

1. Put on gloves to protect your hands and arms. Standard yellow rubber gloves are advisable; they tend to be textured, offering good traction when trying to grip on to a wiggling, unhappy cat. They're also thick enough that your furry companion can't bite or scratch through them on first try, and generally long enough to almost completely protect your forearms. Knit or leather gloves will be too slippery, and the knit gloves will be too easily pierced while the leather ones are likely too expensive to sacrifice to a fit of feline rage.
2. Spend a little time soothing your cat while wearing the gloves, petting it so that it gets used to not only the smell of them, but the feel of your hands inside them.
3. While holding your cat, gently flip it over and cradle it in the crook of one arm, much like an infant. If you don't have anyone to help you, curl your arm so your hand can press across the cat's belly to help hold it down and secure your grip. Otherwise ask your helper to keep the wriggling munchkin still.
4. Spend a little more time petting and cajoling your cat. Cats tend not to like being flipped belly-up that way, and your pet will need a little soothing to encourage it to relax.
5. Using the hand of the arm holding the cat, grip the cat's forearm just beyond the paw, holding gently but firmly. Your cat will likely start to struggle at this point; if you have a helper, get them to hold the cat still. If you don't, use your encircling arm to cradle the cat against your body, and hope like heck you can keep your grip.
6. Gently press your thumb against the bottom pad of the cat's paw to extrude its claws. Your cat will definitely be struggling by now, so be careful and make sure that you or your helper maintain a good grip unless you want to spend twenty minutes coaxing the little bugger out from under the bed.
7. Use the clippers to trim/blunt the claws so your cat won't be able to pierce through the claw covers when attempting to claw at anything. If you're working alone, this will be a tricky task, so try to work quickly.
8. Slip the claw covers onto the blunted claws, one at a time. They should slide on easily and fit snugly over each claw. If they're too long, be careful about fitting them over the claw sheaths, as this can cause irritation if they rub against the sheaths too often.
9. Put the clippers and claw covers down and spend a few more minutes cuddling your cat, scratching all its special spots, and otherwise soothing its offended dignity--or there's no way in heck you'll get the claws on the next three paws without a bit of violent retaliation.
10. Once your cat has calmed down from the first set of claw covers, rinse and repeat with the other three paws.