I have 4 cats and I handle them all without getting scratched while trimming their nails. There is one cat that will bite the nail scissors, she is tricky to handle because of that. When she catches a finger between the nail scissors and her teeth, she bites full force and that does not make a pleasant experience. I tried burritoing her, but it’s just easier to have her on her back and using sleight of hand to distract her.
I used to have my pockets always filled, but since a couple of years I have a leather bag (i.e. a manpurse or as my wife calls it: the gay bag) in which I have my work phone, keys, wallet, chewing gum, sunglasses, reading glasses, paper tissues and sometimes a drinking bottle. Also occasionally a book.