Clipping your cat’s claws has many benefits beyond general upkeep. Shorter cat claws make playtime less painful for cat owners and also give furniture a rest from being kitty’s scratching post. It is advised that cat owners start claw trimming when your cat is a kitten. Start with a relaxed, sleepy cat, sharp clippers and a good light source, for best results. Regular human toenail or fingernail clippers work well, as well as guillotine-type cat clippers.

Claw Clipping Tips:

• Support your cat securely in your arm left arm with his front paw in your left hand. It may be easier at first to wrap him in a towel with only the paw extended. This is much easier when your cat is relaxed and sitting in your lap.
• Press gently but firmly on the pad area to extend a claw. Hold the front paw between your thumb and index finger and this should extend the claws. It isn’t necessary to squeeze hard. (You may want to practice steps one and two a few days in advance of the actual trimming; to be sure he’s comfortable with your handling his paws.)
• Examine the claw closely under light to find the pink area in the center called the ‘quick.’ This is a blood vessel, and will bleed if nicked. Cats will remember the pain and will make your next clipping more of an adventure than you might like.
• Holding the clippers parallel to the flat part of the claw, quickly snip off the tip, being careful not to cut into the quick, or the pink portion of the nail. Clip very little of the nail until your cat becomes accustomed to the process. Once your kitty relaxes, you can clip more. Don’t worry if you aren’t able to cut all the claws at once. Do as many as you can and give your cat a break.
• Give kitty a treat and a few kind words for being such a good cat. This should be a treat you only give around the time of claw trimming or grooming activities. The more relaxed you and he both are, the easier the process will be.
• Repeat the previous five steps until you have finished the first paw. Remember there are 5 claws on each forepaw and 5 on each rear paw.
• If your cat is comfortable and compliant, continue until the nails on both front feet have been clipped. Usually, trimming the back toenails is unnecessary, and undesirable, if the cat is allowed outdoors. Clip the portion above the quick for each nail and don’t forget the dewclaws. On cats, dewclaws are found only on the front paws, about where humans would have their thumbs — they do not touch the ground. Some cats are polydactyl, and have up to seven claws on any paw. Normally there are four claws per paw, with one dewclaw on each of the front paws. Rear claws don’t need to be trimmed as often or at all; they do not grow as quickly and are not as sharp. You should be able to hold any of the four paws with your off hand; it will become easier with practice.
• If your cat refuses to allow you to trim her claws, get help from a veterinarian or groomer.

Tips:

Keep a barber’s styptic pen or styptic powder handy in case you accidentally cut into the quick. If this should happen, apply the powder to the nail to stop the bleeding, and call it a day.

It may be easier if you have a second person holding the cat. Above all, it’s important that you and your cat both be relaxed.

If at any time your cat becomes anxious, stop immediately. You can do one claw every day, if necessary.

If all else fails, ask your veterinarian to demonstrate the procedure for you, or schedule your cat for regular nail clips by a veterinarian or groomer. Most vets will perform this service for a minimal charge (@ $10).

Materials:

Nail clippers

Styptic powder/pencil

Towel

Reward treat or toy

Trim your cat’s claws every 2-6 weeks or make an appointment with your veterinarian to have them clipped.

You love your little kitty and there is no gadget you have not bought for her comfort. She has a snuggly bed to sleep in, a self-cleaning litter box, a treat dispenser, cat grass, every cat toy known to the pet shop owner, and a variety of scratching posts. Alas, the only scratching post she seems to enjoy is your sofa. You have tried spraying the numerous sprays that would allegedly cause her to turn up her little nose at your furniture, but to no avail. Unerringly, she still visits your sofa every day to sharpen her claws. You have tried the sticky tape trick, you know the one – you are supposed to put double sided tape over the spot she scratches so that next time she tries it she will be scared away by the stickiness of the tape, but this only made her go to the other side of the sofa to get her pedicure there. What is the cat owner to do? Trimming her nails is quite possibly the best option but how can you go about doing so and still live to tell the tale? After all, any time that you come near her with the grooming instrument, she turns into a spitting ball of fur, claws, and teeth!

When contemplating taking on the grooming of your kitty, it is important to work up to the big moment. Plunging right in will only cause for a traumatic experience for kitty and some cuts and bites for you. First and foremost, go ahead and get your cat accustomed to having her paws touched and massaged. This should be done well in advance of any grooming attempts, so that she does not associate having her paws touched with being groomed. Secondly, read up on the proper techniques. As you may know, there is a blood vessel running inside the claw that can belled profusely when being nicked. Similarly, a wound on her claw can easily become infected since your cat is digging with her paws inside her litter box, and no matter how clean you keep your litter, there are always some bacteria lurking in there. Thus, it is imperative that you avoid clipping too close to that blood vessel. Prior to actually doing the clipping, be sure to get out all the things you think you will need.

The most important tool you will need is the set of nail clippers. This is not the time to skimp and buy something cheap. Similarly, don’t use your nail clippers. Your clippers will most likely only rip the nail and may cause some serious damage. Instead, go ahead and visit your pet shop and invest in some heavy duty Guillotine-type nail clippers made from surgical steel. If they come with an extra blade, this would he even better since it will allow you to remove the other blade for sharpening. Practice using them before clipping day so you know how to hold them comfortably. Another implement you may need is a towel to wrap your kitty in. If she just doesn’t seem to calm down at all, it is best to simply wrap her snugly into a big, soft towel and work on her claws one paw at a time. You may wish to enlist the help of a friend to hold on to your little feline until you and kitty can work out a routine together. Last but not least you will need a good strong light to see the blood vessel that runs though the claws. Make every effort not to cut through this vessel!

Of course, there is no guarantee that you will succeed, and if your cat gets too upset, it is probably best to take a break for a few minutes, hours, or perhaps even days. Getting only one paw done is not the end of the world, and it is better to stop and let kitty regroup than having her traumatized to a point that she will run from you next time you unpack the clippers. Another thing to remember is that scolding your cat will accomplish nothing. Unlike dogs, cats do not take kindly to sternly spoken words, and unlike dogs, they may fear you if you persist in scolding them. The last thing you want to do is scare your little feline companion, so be sure to trim nails with compassion and common sense!