Cat claws?

Question

My Cat's claws are getting stuck into everything. I don't want to declaw her because I heard it is cruel. (Please correct me if I am wrong with that) I want to trim them, but I am afraid of cutting one of her vessels. How do I trim them or is it easier to take her to her vet and have them do it? Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi Sarah...here's an instructional video by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicince of Feline Health which shows how to trim nails safely: http://www.felinevideos.vet.cornell.edu/trimming_claws/

Instructional sheet with photos: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/clientEd/cat_nails.asp

Answer 2

You are correct whe you say your cats claws are getting stuck to everything, and assuming her claws are too long. The best thing to do, as you you wrote, is to learn how to trim them. I trim my cat's claws (all 8 cats!) every 2-3 weeks. I find some cats claws grow more than others too!

Apart from having a vet or groomer show you how to clip the claws the first time, you may want to prepare your cat to have his/her claws trimmed. The best thing to do is to ensure he/she is used to having the paws touched. Next time your cat is in your lap, or in another relaxed accessible position, try gently touching the paws. If the cat doesn't give a negative response, stroke the paw gently, top and bottom if you can. Do that a few times, then try to get the cat used to having it's paws held, then picked up, then having the claws pushed out. If your cat can become relaxed during this, the claw trimming exercise will go smoother.

Once you've learned how to trim the nails, hopefully with a nail cutting tool rather than a human nail clipper (which can shred a cats claw if not sharp enough), you'll see that what you are cutting off is the white portion of the claw,and never into the pink.
As somepone already mentioned: If you do cut into the quick (pink), the cat will scream, but if you get to it qiuckly with corn starch or styptic powder, it will heal quickly.

Please don't declaw. It is cruel. It is unlawful in many countries, and doesn't just remove the claw, but removes the last digit of the 'finger'.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

it's not really that difficult to trim your cat's claws. you just have to do it regularly and they'll get used to you doing it. the first time might be a little difficult because some cats hate it when you mess with their paws. you might need someone to help you the first few times. you are right in that clipping a cat's claws, you can cut too far into the quick and cause him/her to bleed. when you look at a claw, it's usually clear up to a point where there's a white part. when clipping for the first time, you can take your clippers and just cut the very ends but when you get more comfortable with it, cut between the end of the nail and the quick. you should do this every two weeks. you could also get your vet to show you or a groomer to do this for you.

good luck.

Answer 4

Yes, let your vet show you how the first time, and then get some styptic powder, styptic stick or even corn starch to have on hand just in case you do clip the quick. It'll bleed a little and the styptic powder will stop the bleeding. It's more upsetting to you than it would be painful to the cat. I always clip all my animals and never had a problem. I rather cut them a little so I don't clip them. I have to cut more often that way, but it's worth not upsetting myself and the cat.
As far as declawing goes, I think it is cruel too. It's not just about removing the claw of your cat, but amputating the complete last joint of every toe on your cats front paws. Just try to imagine that.
Get her lots of things to scratch on, that'll help.
Some people here swear by those Soft Paws caps to put on nails, but I've never tried them and I don't see my cats leaving anything on their claws for very long. Good luck.

Answer 5

You can bring him to the vet and your vet can trim his nails or you can take him to a grooming service. But if your not into spending money and you would like to learn for yourself here are some basic tips.

1. First make sure your cat is comfortable with you touching his paws.
2. When he is comfrotable try just pushing his claw out.
3. To push the claw out, you take your index finger on the bottom of his paw and your thumb on top of his paw. Squeeze your index finger and thumb gently on one of his "fingers". A claw will come out.
4. When your cat is comfortable with you doing that you can either buy a claw clipper or you can use a human nail clipper and trim his claws.
5. To make sure you dont cut the quick cut at the part where the claw starts to curve.
6. Make sure you tidy up after.

P.S: To ease the process of clipping your cats nails, everytime you clip a nail give him a treat and praise him. Depending on how your cat behaves, you might have to start at first with trimming one nail a day until he is completly comfortable with you cutting his nails all at once.

God bless you and I hope this helps. :)

Answer 6

Declawing is a cruel operation - read below why. It is wonderful that you are looking for alternatives that are animal-friendly. I never trim my cats' nails - they are naturally short because they have lots of opportunities to use them, scratch posts and an old carpet. Buy your cat a scratch post - they love it and it usually keeps them away from furniture. If you have to trim her right now, I would take her to the vet. He/she can explain you how to trim without hurting the cat. Introduce your cat to gentle toe massage - they love it and it will make future trimming easy. All the best.

Answer 7

you can take her to a groomer or vet and have them show you how to do it... their is a part of the nail inside that you must be careful not to hit...

really the best thing is a product called SOFT PAWS.. these are nail covers you glue to their front claws...

yes declawing is cruel - infact its banned in some parts of the world... not only are their physical risks there are mental side effects - so I am glad you are looking into alternatives

the person who said cats are in pain after their nails are trimmed is WRONG - if dont correctly there is no pain - much like cutting our own fingernails.. and about 15% of declawed cats feel pain in their paws for the rest of their life

Answer 8

Trimming can be easy or difficult depending on the cat.

My cats are pretty laid back so I don't have a problem trimming them. I've always trimmed them myself.

I hold them in my lap, on their back and I talk calmly to them as I slowly take their paw and gently squeeze out the nails. Then with a regular human nail trimmer, I quickly cut just the tips of the nails, approximately 1/8th of an inch or a tiny bit more. That's it. Just enough to take the pointy tip off. This way, it keeps them from snagging on things and (hopefully) from scratching on furniture.

You don't want to cut too far down because like you said, you could cut the vessel. I believe it's easier to do it yourself because it's less stressful than bringing them into the vet every two weeks and it's cheaper to do it yourself.

If your cat isn't too keen on sitting in your lap, you can always wrap them in a towel and hold them while cutting.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Answer 9

My cat gets his claws trimmed once a month by my friend who owns a pet store and also does grooming . I hold my beatuful tiger tabby and kiss him while she clips his nails , it takes 2 minutes then I give him a treat after . Do not declaw him , it is cruel . I would do it myself , but I am afraid I might clip too short . I prefer to have a trained person do it .

Answer 10

When you trim your cat's claws,only cut the tips,use a nail clipper,you can see the vein in the claw,dont cut up high, Never declaw youe cat, it's like cutting off your fingers at the first knuckle.

Answer 11

You are very right about declawing. It's basicly mutilating your cat. Go to the vet or a groomer the first few times to clip the claws. Have them show you how and when you feel comfy with it, try it yourself. You might get them to watch you a couple of times to make sure you're getting it right. Good luck!