Get a welding outfit, Long Leather Gloves (they will dry) and a face mask to save the eyes, sorta, if you can fashion some leather shoulder pads that might help, maybe. Really they get used to it, or you will learn to enjoy the pain, one or the other, you pick. Cats are fun, ever driven in a car with them Not in a carrier, I had never experienced having a cat crawl up my neck and attempt to sit on my head while traveling 70mph before, now that is real fun.
Good Luck,
Antiseptic lotion is a Must (not for the cat).