Trimming your cats claws

[geffric]

My Dad is not able to care for his cat anymore, so we now have a beautiful new cat..in our house. She is 3 years old, and has all of her claws. She came to stay with us when he was in the hospital, she has been here for 3 weeks now and now she is permanently ours.
WOO! HOO! finally got another girl in the house..

Do you trim your cat's claws?? Is this terribly difficult? Or do I pay PetsMart to trim them ? Have you ever used soft claws? What other tricks are there to keep her from scratching all of the furniture and the woodwork.

Thanks

 

[Otto's Doll]

I clip my furbabies nails. Sometimes I have to roll one of the guys up in a towel, but it is possible to do it. Just be careful not to clip too much, or they will bleed (and bleed, and bleed!). Just clip a bit off at a time, if she will let you. You can use cornstarch or flour to dip her nail into if you do clip too much accidentally. That should stop the bleeding. If you have never done this, you might want to ask someone who knows how to do it to show you, or ask the vet to show you the first time.
Don't forget the Frontline for flea and tick protection! Enjoy!

 

[Mimi Q]

Yes, I trim my cat's claws. I have been doing it since he was a kitten, so he doesn't mind too much. I recommend a good scratching post to keep your kitty from scratching the furniture.

 

[Amberle3]

I have a good scratching post, and several scratching pads, and there's still nothing the cats like more than scratching the furniture. In fact they like to stand up against the furniture with their claws in and look at me, waiting for me to notice them, and THEN they start scratching.

I trim their claws. I have 2 different nail clippers and the one I prefer is more like a pair of scissors with a little notch out of them (rather than the ones that look more like a hole punch/guillotine combo). Whenever we have a new cat to the house I start by gently stroking their paws now and then for about 2 weeks before actually trimming the nails. That at least gets them used to having their paws poked at.

 

[minniecarousel]

Yes, I trim my cat's claws. I usually take him outside to do it - and comb him at the same time. Since we've had him since he was a kitten, we successfully used the squirt bottle routine to keep him from scratching and getting on the kitchen counters (I KNOW he's on the counters at night - but he doesn't dare when we're around!)
We put some clear packing tape on the corners of some couches to deter the scratching and he always has a scratching post available.

Good luck!

 

[HollyJoy]

LOL! I'm laughing because I do trim my cats claws, and he HATES it. It sometimes can be a two person job. DH will hold him tight while I trim.. otherwise, he tries to nip at me. You might want to give it a try, and if you feel it's too hard, or the cat's too uncooperative, try having your vet do it. As for the clawing the furniture, get a spray bottle and fill it with water. He'lll learn quickly.

 

[Beth76]

What a BEAUTIFUL cat!!! I know you've gotten lots of advice already, but here's mine. Get a scratching post or two--the kind with the sisal on it--that's the stuff that looks like rope. When you do trim the claws hold her by the scruff of her neck. That sort of "paralyzes" them, but it doesn't hurt them. My vet suggested using a regular fingernail clippers, but turn it sideways. That seemed to work better for us rather than any of the other cat clippers we've tried.

 

[VampHeartless]

I trim my cats claws every once in a while...'specially if they start fighting. It's illegal to have them de-clawed here, (Should be in the states too!) 'cause it's considered cruelty to animals, which they are very much against in the UK!!

As far as bleeding, don't go into the pink part...(alot easier to see on lighter cats), and you should be good!

 

[Otto's Doll]

Just wanted to second the idea of using regular fingernail clippers, that is what I do.

 

[DebbieB]

Pretty kitty!

I used to sneak up on our cat from behind when she was sleeping. I sometimes could only get away with one foot at a time.

 

[Jeanny]

pay PetsMart to do it!! it's worth the money

 

[EeyoreJMH]

What a gorgeous kitty!

Around here the local animal shelter holds claw trimming clinics. For $5 they'll trim your kitty's nails and the entire fee goes to support the shelter. Pippin has only back claws, but we still have the shelter trim them (she has strong legs!). We adopted her sans front claws, although we did not discover this until we borught her home.