How do I trim a cat's claws?

Factual Questions
1

My girlfriend, who lives with me, has two cats. They are indoor only cats, but she does not want them to be declawed. One of them in particular has 6 digits per paw. His huge paws and the associated claws are definitely a part of his character. I can accept that she doesn’t want them declawed, since I’ve always considered that to be a somewhat cruel practice. However, after living with these cats for about 3 months, I now think that declawing would be very practical.

Their claws seem to be extremely long and sharp. It’s generally painful to have one of the little beasts on your lap. Now the little monsters are starting to sharpen their claws on some of the door trim. They do have a catnip laden cardboard pad for sharpening, but they seem to like a little variety. We do have the cat repellent spray, but one cat is completely immune to it and it only works on the other for a few days. So, what should I do to remedy the problem?

The only option that I can see is trimming their claws. I’m sure they will feel an immediate need to sharpen them again, but I’m hoping that they will be neither long enough or sharp enough to turn wood trim into ribbons like they are now. With that in mind, how do I go about trimming a cat’s claws? Are there tricks to holding them in place? How far back can I safely clip the claws? I seem to remember that if you go too far the claws will bleed. I don’t want this.

Thanks for any advice!

2

I’ve always trimmed my cats’ claws with POFC (plain old fingernail clippers.) You have to be careful not to trim down to the white part to avoid hurting the cat. It’s easier if you sort of flex the cat’s toe so the claw extends while you’re trimming.

Whether your cats will let you do this without clawing your freaking face off, I cannot guarantee. I have two cats that it doesn’t seem to bother, but the other two have to be held down pretty firmly. Assistance may be necessary. Once you get good at it, you can do both paws in a matter of a couple of minutes. (I never do the back paws)

3

They actually make little cat claw clippers that you can get at Walmart or Kmart or any of the assorted Mart stores. Like the other poster said, you just gently squeeze their pads and the nails stay out. Be careful not to cut into the PINK area inside the nail, otherwise it will bleed. Two people may be needed if the cat has any aversion to being held in place and having its nails manipulated.

4

I believe you can cut cat’s nails as long as you’re only cutting clear material. Towards the back of the nail, you can see stuff inside, where the blood supply runs. As far as cutting techniques, if the cat is chill, just try and clip a few here and there when the cat is relaxed and stretched out. There shouldn’t be any pain (if you’re cutting little enough) and the cat shouldn’t mind. On the other hand, some cats don’t seem to like their paws touched at all. If that’s that case, you can try sitting on the cat (between your legs, pinned down). Obviously, don’t put your full weight down, only as much as needed. You might need someone else to hold out the paw for you. You can also try the towel approach. Wrap the cat completely with a towel a few times around. Make sure their arms are extended enough to make it out of the towel to be accessible.

I have one friend who owns two hairless kitties. Since they don’t have any fur to stop attacks, they’ll bleed very easy. So my friend cuts their nails as short as possible. And trims them every day or two. They stay short enough to never do any damage.

You might also want to consider some other options. I’ve seen (but never used) the rubber tips that you glue on cat’s claws. I’d imagine the cat would try pretty hard to remove them, but if the glue is strong enough, they shouldn’t be able to. You might want to give 'em a try. Look at your local pet store. Good luck.

5

There is a product called Soft Claws that are vinyl guards that are glued to the cat’s claws and prevent scratching, but don’t prevent the cat from otherwise acting normally.

http://www.softclaws.com/

FWIW, cats sharpen their claws as an instinctive behavior, they don’t do it because you trim the claws and now the cat knows they need sharpending again. Cats will “sharpen their claws” regularly no matter what…even when they have been declawed!

6

It sounds mean, but try ambushing the cat while s/he is nice and sleepy. You’ll have a few precious seconds in which to maneuver him/her into position (I seat mine on my lap, with the crook of my left arm under his front legs) before he/she wakes up entirely.
For extremely recalictrant cats, swaddle him/her in a clean towel and maneuver one paw out at a time.

7

We’re lucky that our new cat is okay with her nails being trimmed but you might try a little desensitization. Hold and stoke the cat until he’s comfortable and play with his paws and extend a nail at a time. Do this a while and he may not even notice when you clip one or two.

The nippers your are looking for cut like a scissor rather than a fingernail nipper. They also have a curved cutting edge that forms a closed circle so the claw doesn’t slide out the open end.

8

Also keep in mind that cat’s claws don’t grow in exactly the same way ours do. They sort of grow from the inside out, and have layers. When cats sharpen them, what they are doing is removing the outside “blunt” layers. Sometimes you’ll run into one claw that seems fairly thick, and not sharp. Be careful when you cut it. You can accidentally “turn” the nail, and cause the cat some discomfort, at which point he’ll do his best to apply one of his pointy parts to your exposed flesh.

Here’s a pretty good article on what to expect.

Good luck!

9

yep, toenail clippers work about as well as the specialty one they sell in pet stores. One thing, be calm, make sure you don’t hurt him, reward him after, and do it often. maybe do a claw or tow, then reward, then do a couple more later.

Do NOT cut them too short- if you do, you run a risk (as akrako1 said) of cutting into the quick, and that hurts & bleeds,a nd they won’t want you to trim the nails again.

However, that cardboard thing isn’t enough for two cats. You’ll need at least one more ‘cat scratching post"- which should be taller than the longest cat can reach by standing on his back feet and extending his forpaws out. This allows them to stretch, also. I’d say 3’>4’ high. If you get a taller one, the cats can play on it, and climb it- they call them “cat trees”. Do get one, if you can. The cats will appreciate it.

Where they sharpen on the door trim? Cover it with carpet, (which they’ll use), or stciky stuff, which will keep them off. Double-sided tape, ferinstance.

10

Catch them sleepy. It’s easier on everyone.

Do not get set on the idea of getting every claw trimmed in one sitting. At least on till you and the cats are used to it.

Unless dealing with an arthritic cat or one that has real problems being on it’s back I prefer to just sit crosslegged on the floor, cat in my lap, belly up, it’s back against my sternum… seems to give me the most control.

Holding the paw, press on the paw pad. Be gentle and discover how much pressure you need to apply where to get the claw extended at an angle that works best. I usually start with the inner most claw and work my way out.

I really like the claw trimmers that look like kindergarden scissors that have a notch for the claw.

MOST cats claws are clear with plainly visible pink (the quick, as in no not cut the quick) Some cats claws are black, you can’t see the pink, you trim these in really small increments and you realize that at some point you’re going to cut them too short.

Do this every couple weeks or when you notice they are sharp if sooner. It will be a huge effort the first couple months, it will get easier over time.

11

Super replies everyone! Thank you very much. It sounds like I’m going to start handling their paws tonight to get them used to it. The female seems to be smart for a cat, so I’m sure if I have a reward for her, she will pick up on it. The male (with 6 digits per paw) is either stupid or he’s a combination of very smart and very stubborn. It’s really hard to tell with him. He seems to do stupid things, but they almost always work out to his advantage. I can see him being a problem.

Anyway, thanks again! :slight_smile:

12

Until the cats get used to it, trimming their claws is a two person job. Have the stronger of the two capture the kitty, take it to the bedroom, and hold it down firmly on the bed. I always leaned slightly on the cat, with my armpit pressing down gently on its back right behind its shoulders, my arm wrapping all the way around. I used the other hand to lock one paw in position where it couldn’t scratch anyone.

The other person takes the unfettered claw and gently presses on each toe pad to extend the claw before trimming it. If kitty doesn’t struggle too much, you may get to finish both front paws in the same sitting.

Reward kitty afterward with cat treats and lots of attention.

Back paws, IMHO, don’t need to be trimmed as frequently, only when kitty’s casual leap from your lap penetrates through your jeans.

13

Our cats require being left alone after a trimming session. We try and cut the front claws every week or so and the backs every two or three weeks.

It’s not super traumatic for cats usually. Mine cry and wriggle, but they don’t hate me afterward.

Good luck!

14

Regarding the scratching, I had one cat who would not stop scratching the furniture, and someone told me to wrap my cat tree (which had carpet on it) in sisal rope, and the MOMENT I did the cat scratched that and only that, never put a claw on the furniture again. I guess most cats love the feel of sisal on their clawsies.

15

Cat restraint can be a bit tricky; as a general thing, less is more, but some cats go full-scale Defcon 1 as soon as they think you’re up to something. A lot of the trouble is figuring out what sort of cat you have. It took us the better part of a year to figure out that Eponine can be jollied along into most things, and is pretty well-behaved about the rest provided you wrap her up at the outset. If you try normal restraint and then go to the towel, she gets violent and stays that way. Put her straight into the towel, and she just lays there and howls. Cats are weird.

If your cats are pretty amenable to rubbing and petting and scratching, just let them sit in your lap and quietly reach over for the clippers (I prefer human fingernail clippers for cats, the smaller size gives you better control) and clip a few nails. You’ll probably have to break it up into at least two sessions, and you’ll have to have the clippers handy–if you carry them around hunting for the clippers, they tend to get upset and pissy. If this just doesn’t work for them, try desensitizing them. If it’s still not working, you’ll have to actively restrain them and have someone else trim the nails.

There are a lot of ways to restrain a cat, but the ones I prefer are the bearhug, the burrito, and the scruff’n’stretch. You’ll have to experiment to see what works best for you and for your cats. The bearhug is very effective for many animals, but it can take a lot of practice to get comfortable with it. For this technique, you put your hand around the cat’s neck, loosely, with your thumb and forefinger lightly gripping the jawbone and your pinky against the shoulderblade. Pull the cat’s head gently against your shoulder, so the cat can’t turn its head and bite. Put your other arm over the cat’s back so that your elbow is either against the hips or behind the butt. Grasp the foreleg in your free hand at the elbow, then pull your arm back so the cat is gently but firmly pinioned between your arm and body. If you need to, you can lean forward and use your upper body weight to press the cat down onto the table. When working on the back feet, hold both forelegs at the elbow, with a finger between the legs, so the cat can’t reach up and claw the hand you have around its neck.

The burrito method is an adjunct to the bearhug, and there are variants for differing levels of fractiousness. You can drape one paw while working on the other, you can make a cape to hold both front paws, you can wrap only the back half, or you can make a full-on burrito with just one paw hanging out. You need a large, thick towel for any of these. The single paw drape is pretty self-explanatory, so we won’t go into that. The cape is also pretty basic–you lay the cat on the towel so that it extends past the ribcage, then pull it up snugly around the neck like the capes they put on you during haircuts. For the half-burritio, you spread out the towel and put the cat on it so that the front legs are hanging off. For best wrapping, put the cat about halfway down the long side of the towel, and make sure there’s some towel extending past the butt. Pull one side firmly up and around, then the other and flip the excess towel up and over the butt, just like putting a towel on your hair. The full-on burrito works very similarly, except you put the towel in front of one foreleg and behind the other (make sure it’s good and snug behind that elbow and well up over the collarbone on the inside leg). Make sure you wrap nice and tight, with kitty’s legs folded up in a lying position and no room to stretch them out. You can also do this with just one hind leg hanging out.

The scruff and stretch is often the easiest hold to learn, but it’s often pretty upsetting to the cat, and it can make the owner feel pretty cruel. For this one, you grasp the cat very firmly by the scruff, and catch hold of the back legs with the other hand. Put your thumb and forefinger around one leg above the hock, and the other fingers around the other leg. Stretch the cat as far as it will go and lay it on its side. You may have to just do the paws on the up-side, then switch your hold and lay the cat on its other side.

16

Where did you get it?

Regarding the OP, it takes technique. My vet takes no prisoners and just goes snip ten times. The cat knows better than to resist. Mrs. Plant and I do not have such skill.

17

[in the spirit of The Onion’s Tips]

You cat may try to scratch you when you trim their claws. Be sure and only perform this procedure on cats with trimmed claws.

18

I really very strongly suggest that you do NOT “restrain” the cat. Sneak up on him, make it a game, snip a claw or two while they are asleep, then reward them. We can now do all our cats with a minimum of wiggling, and they don’t seem to mind- unless we take too long and the old 'attention span" problem comes in. If so, we snip one more claw, and let them go- with rewards. One of our cats will come by and cry until we “let” her have “her turn” when we do the boys first! :cool:

Yes, you can “burrito-wrap” a cat (and sometimes for a needed medical procedure, it is the best way). But cats hate that, and they’ll grow to hate having their claws trimmed, and some will carry a grudge.

19
      • Well I gave up with being nice about claw trimming regarding my mom’s cat a long time ago, it is perfectly friendly but simply refused to let you get more than one every couple days, and that was simply too much trouble for me to chase it around. And there was no way to hold the damn thing in your arms, or have someone else hold it–it just scrambled the moment you grabbed the first claw–and this cat has never been “injured” during nail clipping, it just don’t like it.
  • What I did was screw a mug hook into the top-frame of some under-counter cabinets in the kitchen (so the mug hook was about three feet off the floor). Then I put a collar on the cat (that normally doesn’t have one) and attach a leash that has a loop tied into the other end about 28 inches away, and then hook the end-loop over the mug hook.
    …The cat backs up about eight inches, and then the leash tightens and pulls upon it, and the cat just stands there looking REALLY pissed off–but it stands perfectly still and I can trim all of its claws easily in about two minutes. The cat is indoor-only, so it never has to wear a collar or leash the rest of the time, and I think it’s so pissed off at that, it doesn’t even notice the claw-trimming-bit. This is basically what a vet would do, the fact that the cat don’t “like” it really doesn’t matter, they get over it. I highly recommend the method.
    ~
20

Carnivorousplant: Sisal rope is available usually in several diameters at most home improvement type places. I use 1/2 inch. You can also buy cat trees with sisal rope already wrapped around some of the posts. Kitties seem to like it to be wrapped horizontally.