Animal Chatter
by Iris Winston
Success comes in many guises. It’s not always about fame or fortune. More often, it’s about small wins. So it was for me last week when a friend’s timid cat did not run and hide when I appeared.
It is almost a year since my friend adopted her from the local humane society. For the first week, she rarely saw her new companion. The evidence that the cat was somewhere in the house was that her food plate was emptied and the litter box was used regularly.
By the second week, the little cat felt safe enough to be seen and occasionally to curl up and sleep on my friend’s lap. Gradually, one or two regular visitors even saw her passing through.
I came three times during the cat’s first year in residence. My mission was to clip her toenails, which clearly could be accomplished only if she felt comfortable enough to stay near me. I had almost given up on ever gaining her trust. Then, my friend assured me that she was much more at ease with visitors since family friends had stayed for a few days.
So, armed with cat nail clippers, I crept into the house. The cat was sitting in the living room. I moved as quietly as I could to sit in a chair by her side.
She did not run away. I chalked that up as the first small victory. The second came when, after talking to her for a while, I reached down and stroked her. She looked up at me, remaining quietly in place beside me, even when I slid down to the floor. Still stroking her and speaking softly, I was able to scoop her into my arms.
Four paws later, I had completed her pedicure without incident and she stayed in my arms for a little longer although I was not holding her tightly. She eventually stood and stretched and relocated near a window, but she stayed close by and seemed quite happy.
Breaking through and gaining the trust of a rescue animal always feels like a big win, especially as something really frightening may have happened in her past.
Even when there is no former trauma or misstep in nail clipping to overcome, toenails pose a major hurdle in pet care. I have been lucky with the reactions of some of my animals to the pedicure problem. One of my dogs, a black standard poodle, simply dealt with the issue herself by biting off the tips of nails that she judged to be too long. Another, a whippet cross, would lie on her back when I said ‘toenails’ and stretch out one paw after another. My Norwegian forest cat and my English setter would sit quietly in a resigned fashion, tolerating but neither of them enjoying the experience.
At the other end of the scale of tolerance was Storm, a grey stray who moved in one stormy December day long ago. The name was appropriate, not just because of the timing of his arrival but also because of his mercurial temperament. Keeping him still long enough to cut more than one toenail at a time was nearly impossible. Therefore, rather than even attempting the task, I sought help from a veterinary technician (or two or even three) when he visited the vet for another purpose. And, yes, on one occasion, it did take three technicians and me to deal with Storm’s pedicure.
Charlie, my border collie/Australian shepherd cross dislikes being brushed and is clearly very uncomfortable at having his nails clipped. That, in turn, makes me anxious because I don’t want to risk hurting him. He is also very aware of what brushes and clippers mean and starts the ‘Catch me if you can’ game as soon as I pick them up. He has no problem with me holding his paws or checking his nails as long as my hands are empty. But he always seems to sense if grooming tools are at hand. Did I mention that he is very bright and very perceptive?
I am still at the stage of leaving brush and clippers around for him to sniff and then offering him a treat before attempting any grooming. It seems as though it may be safer to rely on professional grooming to keep him looking good without chancing upsetting him or causing him any harm.
Almonte, Ontario, writer Iris Winston is a former executive director of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. She has been an animal lover all her life. Her pets have always been important members of her family.
