It's the new year, and I am overwhelmed with an urgency to keep at the work I do every day: keeping people informed about the tiniest things that can make a huge difference in their pets' behavior.
So here I am after doing a nail trim on my three resident cats. One of them came from a history of being treated like a toy as a kitten, so he can be understandably crabby about any kind of handling. We've worked really hard together to make sure that what needs to be done will be clear (I need to feel your fur for mats) while allowing him to opt out at any time without escalating into swatting, hissing, or attempted bites. We rarely reach that stage in his care, but mostly it's because of a few things:
Mini sessions, frequently. I understand the human instinct to pencil in brushing or nail trimming and wanting to do it in one large go. It is especially stressful when they are really due for this (hello talon nails), and then the pet gets overwhelmed and wants to stop. That stress can push us to just keep going to get it all done right this moment — and subsequently, we create a new fear or aversion to care in general. A way to avoid that is to practice in small spurts, every couple of days. Less pressure, less stress…for all involved.
Pairing handling & care with FOOD. We really need to stop withholding food from our pets as a society. I say to clients all the time, "Would you go to work this week if your boss said that this week was unpaid?"…you wouldn't. When we get "paid" to participate, we are more likely to participate. We start to think of the event as something good because of the outcome. Trim a nail, give a treat. It's not hard, and you can even just give them some extra of their normal food.
Watch for behavior change, and do an extra session if you think something is up. The one cat I referred to above, who is sensitive to handling, happens to have 3–4 inches of fur all over his body. He usually starts to become less tolerant of my other two cats trying to play with him when he is starting to get mats. We did a quick nail check on everyone today, and my intention was to then check his fur. Instead, I found a split nail with some kind of fabric/string stuck in it! I trimmed back the nail, trimmed the hair around it, and gently removed the string, which was likely causing discomfort. With a couple more days or weeks, this nail may have become infected, leading to an even bigger problem (and bigger problem behaviors).
Our animals are talking to us all the time through their mannerisms, body posture, daily routines, and interactions. If we took just a tiny bit of time to pay attention to their "baseline," we could catch when things are off so much sooner. Doing short, daily checks of their physical health can help us catch things quicker, too.
Cheers, pet guardians.