i've noticed recently cat claws on my bedroom floor - obvs where she's trying to jump on the bed and getting stuck. I mentioned to my friend who said i should get her claws clipped

my cat's 20 this year and we've never had her claws done - she goes the vet every year for an mot and her injections and he's never suggested they needed doing and i've never noticed they were overly long. Im just wondering if at her age its worth getting done as i can imagine she's going to get really distressed over it.

Aww, bless her, what a grand old age to be and still leaping about

My Psycho is nearly 17 and as he's not been going outside as much recently his claws were getting long. When he was in hospital recently he was given a quick manicure and now he's charging around outside and he doesn't skid on the laminate flooring any more!

It was a really quick and easy process (or so the vet tells me) but I would never attempt to do it myself If you do decide to go ahead it's worth asking the vet to check her feet first and for them to do it for you

I doubt it is the whole claw you're seeing, it will be the claw sheath. I find a whole raft of them under the scratching post from our three cats, they strop their claws in order to shed the outer, worn out covering and keep the claws sharp, it's completely normal. I can't really see the point of clipping a 20 year old cat's claws - and it would have no effect on her losing the outer covering which is a natural process.

More info here
http://www.pawsonline.info/claws.htm

thanks very much for the link - its really helpful.

she's been a very low maintenance cat until lately she keeps occasionally getting constipated. i only ever give her wet food and always the same flavour - it drives me mad but she turns her nose up at anything other than chicken whiskas. of a sunday she has a treat of whatever the sunday joint happens to be but apart from that nothing else but she does drink water for england.

every morning when i come downstairs and she's still with me i thank god. we didn't particuarly want a cat all those years ago but the lady had about 8 to get rid of so we said no at first but a couple of weeks later she still had two left so we gave in and we've had lucy ever since. brilliant little cat - it was just meant to be i spose.

Firstly, congratulations on being owned by a 20 year old cat.
Secondly...if she is not as active or outdoors as she was then she probably will need her claws clipped. I have found that it really helped my 16 year old girlie. Her claws were too long and she was sticking to soft furnishing like velcro, whilst finding it hard to walk on wood floors. I did buy some clippers, but chickened out and now the vet nurse trims them for her.
Thirdly, you could try slippery elm powder or soaked linseeds added to her food to aid the constipation. Whole fish oils ( not cod liver) will also help. A small pat of butter is normally well received and is also slightly laxative ( I add the slippery elm to it ) Constipation should be taken seriously at her age...if the bowel gets impacted then the vet would want to use an enema and that needs anaesthetic.
Good luck!

When cats get elderly, their claws can get so long that they curl over and dig into their pads, which is very painful for them.

If you can, have a look at your cat's claws, and if they're very long, get the vet to clip them, it's not difficult.

I got a kitten recently and the breeder clipped the all of the litters nails so my boy was already used to it.

I bought a pair of these and kept up the regime. :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trixie-61783...3955372&sr=8-2

Believe me it is not as stressful or gruesome process as you may suppose. Firstly you only clip off a few mil (i.e. the really pointy bits at the end). However make sure that you do NOT go anywhere near the wick (pink bit of the nail) otherwise things will get rather stressful and you'll never get to do this again.

I generally get the cat settled on my lap and very gently using my finger spread the claws on each paw so they pop out and just clip the tips of the nail off. The whole process if done very gently and quietly only takes a minute or two. the cat suffers no ill effect and will be comfier if the nails were over long to start with.