Tips to Help Trim Your Cat's Nails

We recently posted a blog about why not to declaw your cat. A good alternative for declawing your cat is regularly trimming his or her nails. This helps you prevent unwanted scratches on your skin or furniture as well as keeps your cat more comfortable—when their claws get too long they can get stuck in things like carpet and rugs.

Some people dislike the idea of trimming their cat’s nails because they think it means that they have to take the cat to the vet in order to get that done, however, that’s not the case. If your cat is amiable to you handling him or her frequently and for long periods of time then you may consider trimming your cat’s nails yourself at home.

A good approach to positioning your cat for the nail trim is to sit on a chair and have your cat in your lap so that all four paws are pointing away from your body. This allows for easy access to all paws and is the least constrictive to your cat. Squeeze the pad of the paw to reveal the nail. Cats have retractable claws, which mean you have to push them out to see the nail. You want to clip the nail just before the quick—which is the pink part of the nail. You don’t want to cut the quick because that will hurt and cause the claw to bleed. If you do cut the quick there are products out that will assist in stopping the bleeding, or you can use flour or starch.

Practice handling your cats feet regularly and go slow and have patience. You may only trim one or two nails at a time at first. It will get easier as you both get used to the process.

If you would like a demonstration on how to cut your cat’s nails, you can call 480-837-0800 and schedule a toenail trim appointment for your feline friend! When making the appointment, be sure to mention that you would like for us to show you how to cut the nails.

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