If you or someone you know is a foster cat owner who’s had to endure the ordeal of trimming a kitten’s claws, scientists in California want to hear from you: They’re surveying aspiring manicurists to better understand how to trim kitten claws.
of investigation It’s being conducted by scientists at the University of California, Davis’ Animal Welfare and Epidemiology Laboratory. So far, they’ve been asking cat owners about their cats’ health. Old Cathow many cats Interact with othersand whether their cats would be okay on a high-calorie diet. Creepy BugsThey’re currently working on foster cats, a species that hasn’t received much attention from cat scientists.
The Need for Adoptive Cat Research
“In this study, we seek to explore the different ways foster parents can clip their kittens’ claws and how kittens respond to having their claws clipped at this young age.” “There is little research on foster kittens in general, and no published studies address declawing techniques or any concerns foster parents may have about this routine procedure,” study leader Jennifer Link, a doctoral student in the lab, told Gizmodo in an email.
Pet cats Cut your nails regularlyIt’s important to clip your cat’s nails, for your own sake and yours too. Untrimmed nails can cause serious damage to your furniture and belongings, not to mention skin. If the nails are too long, they can dig into your cat’s paws and cause pain. As with many pet habits, it’s best to get your cat used to nail clipping from an early age, if possible.
So while foster parents may only be caring for a cat for a short time, getting a kitten into the habit of grooming could help it for the rest of its life — and the researchers say this study may help foster parents pick up some skills.
“Eligible participants may want to attend to gain a better understanding of this and may walk away with the tools to better understand how to administer this procedure to kittens,” Link said. And if that’s not enough motivation, there will also be a chance to be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift card.
The team hopes to recruit foster parents for about 60 pairs of adult cats and their kittens. The kittens must be under six weeks old (this also applies to people who plan to adopt a kitten of that age in the next four weeks). The kittens must be healthy and not yet spayed or neutered. Potential volunteers must also provide contact information for a foster coordinator or foster organization, as researchers need permission from that organization to conduct their study.
If you are interested in this research: The link to the survey is here.
