How to trim a true cat's nails step past pace and the products you need to do it

Trimming cats' claws: a step-by-step guide

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  • With the right technique, tools, and a gentle arroyo, trimming your cat'southward claws at habitation is non every bit difficult as information technology seems.
  • We spoke to Dr. Irit Grader, DVM, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinarian Medicine, to suspension down the steps and products needed to trim a true cat's nails.
  • This article was medically reviewed past Dr. Karie Johnson, veterinary and co-founder of VIP Vet Visit, a mobile vet service in the south suburbs of Chicago.

All cats demand their nails trimmed regularly. A cat's claws grow continuously, just like people'south and dogs' nails. If allowed to abound too long, they could snag on rug or article of furniture and tear, causing painful injuries.

"If the nails aren't trimmed regularly, what we come across, especially in cats, is that the nail grows all the way effectually and actually penetrates the hand pad," said Dr. Irit Grader, DVM, assistant professor of clinical primary care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. "This causes injury, infection, and inflammation to the paw pad."

Additionally, as all true cat owners know, longer nails atomic number 82 to more accidental scratches on your skin and allow cats to inflict more damage if they make up one's mind to scratch your furniture.

If y'all've never trimmed your cat's nails, the prospect of doing then might experience intimidating. Don't hesitate to inquire your veterinarian or groomer to show you how to do information technology. Well-nigh veterinary staff and groomers are happy to provide a quick lesson. Grader said this is something that can fifty-fifty be done virtually, with a telemedicine appointment. If you take all the equipment you demand at domicile, your veterinarian can watch via video briefing, offering tips and guidance.

Trim your cat's nails about every ii weeks. The nails on the front paws are often longer than the nails on the rear paws. This is likely because some cats wear downwards their rear nails naturally every bit they run and climb. You might need to just clip the very tips of the rear nails. Sometimes, a cat's rear nails don't need to be trimmed at all.

Hither's how to trim a cat'south claws footstep by step and what you lot need to do it:

How to introduce nail trimming to your cat

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The key to trimming cat nails is to use gentle but minimal restraint. Cats dislike being pinned down. If you effort to agree your true cat too tightly, they will probable struggle to escape.

Grader recommends that you lot showtime desensitize your cat to having their paws touched before diving right into blast trimming. "Some cats have very sensitive feet and some of them don't similar having their feet touched," she said. "One of the reasons accidents happen is because the cat is not at-home. They pull the paw away when you prune and and so you cannot be accurate."

Calmly sit down with your cat and gently touch their paws, toes, and claws. Pet your cat and offering some of their favorite treats. This might be the time to suspension out the canned tuna or pieces of cooked craven breast.

"If you practise it a couple of times a day over a week, eventually the true cat sees that cypher bad happens," Grader said. "This fashion, they get used to having their paws handled and their nails exposed. Once the cat is comfortable and you're comfy handling the nails, get ahead and start clipping the nails."

Where to trim your cat's nails

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If your cat likes sitting in your lap, try this position first. Get comfy on the couch or a chair. Pet your cat and offering a treat or two to ensure they're at-home and comfortable before gently picking up their manus to begin clipping the nails. "If you can take 2 people with you that is great. One person can be holding the true cat and the other person can managing the anxiety," said Grader.

If your cat doesn't like sitting in your lap, you can try putting them upwards on a table or counter. Place some treats on the countertop to distract them, and so gently grasp their paw to trim the nails. If you try this approach, it can help to accept another person there to pet the true cat and feed them treats while you work.

Understand the anatomy of your cat's nails

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Near cats have iv claws on each forepart mitt, plus a dewclaw, which is higher upwards on the inside of the paw — sort of the equivalent of a pollex. The dorsum paws each have 4 claws and no dewclaws. Some cats accept extra toes. Called polydactyl, cats with actress toes also accept extra nails, so make sure you find and trim them all.

Like human being nails, a cat's smash is made of keratin, a difficult protein. A vein, chosen the quick, runs down the eye of each nail. Because your cat's quick is filled with nerve endings, you lot do non want to cut into it. Cutting the quick hurts and causes the blast to bleed, sometimes a lot.

Most cats have articulate nails, then it's easy to see the quick inside (the pink role in the heart of the nail) and avert cut it. Only trim the hard, white office of the nail in forepart of the pink area. Don't try to prune right up to the quick — leave a little buffer space in case your cat moves or you misjudge.

"You want to clip merely the tip of the nail," Grader said. "If yous have any doubts, only prune less. The quick can be seen quite hands, in that location'due south no reason to become besides shut to it. If yous feel that y'all can clip a trivial bit more than and the cat is cooperating, and then you lot can go ahead and clip a petty bit more."

If you're nervous virtually using nail clippers to trim your cat'south nails, you tin can use a pet nail grinder to grind them downward. Because nail grinders brand racket and vibrate, some cats might be more bothered by a grinder than regular nail clippers. As with anything, it tin take them some time to become used to having their nails ground.

How to trim your cat's nails with clippers

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Follow these steps to clip your cat's nails:

  1. Hold the clippers in ane hand.
  2. Hold your cat's paw in the other hand and gently squeeze it to extend the nails from their resting retracted position.
  3. One at a time, isolate each boom, holding that toe between your thumb and index finger. If your cat has long pilus, motion it out of the mode and concord it downwardly against the toe with your thumb and index finger.
  4. Position the clippers so they encircle the nail beneath the quick (the pink part).
  5. Smoothly and swiftly close the clipper handles, snipping off the sharp end of the nail.
  6. Repeat for each nail. Don't forget the dewclaws on the front end paws.
  7. When yous're washed, pet and praise your cat, and offer some treats.

How to trim your cat's nails with a grinder

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Follow these steps to grind your cat's nails:

  1. Concord the nail grinder in one manus.
  2. Hold your true cat's paw in the other hand, gently squeezing it to extend the nails from their resting retracted position.
  3. One at a time, isolate each nail, holding that toe between your thumb and alphabetize finger. If your true cat has long hair, motility information technology out of the way and agree information technology down against the toe with your thumb and index finger.
  4. Turn on the grinder and touch it gently to the end of your true cat's nail.
  5. Gyre the grinder back and forth on the blast, moving slowly and smoothly.
  6. Repeat for each smash. Don't forget to grind the dewclaws on the forepart paws.
  7. Pet and praise your cat, and offer some treats.

What to do if yous nick the nail

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If you lot accidentally cut into the quick, your true cat might yowl in pain and the nail will starting time bleeding. "Quicked" nails injure the cat and they tin can drain a lot, but it is a minor injury.

"If past accident you clip the quick, put a small corporeality of [styptic] pulverization on a Q-tip and just dab the end of the smash, applying a little bit of pressure to the blast," Grader said. "That unremarkably helps stop the haemorrhage quite easily. Information technology's not unsafe, it's only painful."