Ed says, “It’s always a battle to the death” when he wants to cut his cat’s nails so he’s toying around with the idea of hog-tying his cat for that purpose. Poor cat. Ed, you need to be aware that while cats are independent and like to do things their own way, the problem you present is not your cat’s. It’s yours! Think about it a minute. If you knew that someone who wanted you to do something you did not want to do was planning to make it a physical power struggle each time, would you be eager to participate? I don’t think so!
Like you, your cat does not want to feel pinned down, held captive, out of control, and panicky. It certainly does not want to physically, or psychologically, struggle with you, their allegedly-caring human companion, whenever they can avoid it. Like you, they would rather remain relaxed and ready to have some touching, a fun interaction, or a tasty treat.
It would help if you considered the nail clipping problem from your cat’s point of view. The clippers come out—or you get that look in your eye or that particular body position when you pick up you cat. Your cat knows what that means and says,”Uh oh. Been there, done that. Not again thanks. Where’s the door?” You have already conditioned your cat to expect and prepare for an unpleasant time. What you need to do now is work to change those negative expectations to positive ones.
Starting with relaxing your cat, or exhausting it from playing, can works lots better. If you’re working with mature cats, as opposed to kittens who are still learning the basics, you may have to take a little longer to get the cat used to the step-by-step procedure. At first you should talk soothingly to the cat, pet it, and work your way down to its paws. Then gently separate its toes, rubbing between them. Cats tend not to like to have their paws played with or confined.
After you can accomplish this, clip one nail. Of course, when your cat says, “Whoa, dogies! What’s all this?,” you should immediately go back to petting and calming your cat as if it were no big deal. You don’t want to make this a competition. Even if you can clip only one or two nails in this session, you need to praise your cat for what she/he has allowed you to do. Providing a little crunchy kitty treat or catnip is a nice reward as well. You want this to a valued experience for your cat.
If you can replace the early bad experiences with nail cutting with these more laid back and rewarded experiences, your cat will be more accommodating over time to having you clip its nails. This takes patience and persistence—more with some cats than others.
The important thing to remember is that cats do not like it when you try to physically strong arm them, or even kid about “hog-tying” them. But they will acquiesce to your desires when you choose to positively persuade them—make it clear what benefits are in it for them if they cooperate.