If she's an indoor only cat, her claws will keep growing and curve around until the dig into and pierce her pads...very painful and a good opportunity for infection. In addition, they will catch on everything and they will prick your skin when she walks or kneads on you...feels like little needles and is quite uncomfortable. So yes, you need to clip them if she stays in.

If she goes out, they will likely wear down naturally and you probably should just monitor them to ensure there is no issue.

Human nail clippers will crush the claw, better to use ones designed for pets. I don't file after clipping. You can just nip the sharp ends every couple weeks.

 

We have clippers like these for our dog: http://www.thepetdoctorinc.com/images/nail_trimmer2.jpg

Would those work?

I've never heard of the claws growing and piercing the pad. I thought they only grew to a certain length and then fell off? Casie never had any issues.

 

We have clippers like these for our dog: http://www.thepetdoctorinc.com/images/nail_trimmer2.jpg

Would those work?

I've never heard of the claws growing and piercing the pad. I thought they only grew to a certain length and then fell off? Casie never had any issues.

yes, those are fine. although it may be difficult since they are slightly larger and the kitties nails are so small. I find it easier to maneuver small clippers.

Yes, unfortunately it is not uncommon for cats claws to grow into their pads. I worked at an animal hospital for a few years, and the vet would always check cats claws during an exam. She would often find an imbedded nail, and the owners usually had no idea it had happened

 

That clipper should be fine. Just bear in mind that clippers get dull with use, so whatever you buy will need to be sharpened or replaced once it stops cutting easily and cleanly through the claw.

I think Maisie could go without trimming if he had to (although I still do trim his nails, because it makes it more comfortable to have him on my lap) but Zephyr couldn't. Before long, his claws start getting caught on rugs and blankets, and it's very unpleasant for him.

My cats still play-fight just fine with their claws trimmed, so I don't think it's going to make a difference in the relationship between your animals.

Regarding climbing, I've found it doesn't affect the good kind of climbing - they can still get to the windowsill and get up the cat tree, etc. However, with my boys it reduces undesirable forms of climbing like trying to scale the curtains or the wooden door.

I don't file my cats' claws after trimming them; that happens naturally at the scratching post.

 

I trim both of my cats' nails, mostly because my girl's nails get stuck on things if I don't. However, my parents have had several indoor cats over the past 25 years, have never clipped any of their nails, and have never had any problems. The vet maybe did a trim at the annual checkup, but that was it.

I don't think it affects ability to defend or climb at all. It's not declawing, it's just trimming. If you trim your own nails, you are just removing a little from the tip, not the whole thing. My cats have still scratched me with trimmed claws, but the scratch ususally heals a little faster since the nail was dulled from clipping.

 

Your cats shouldn't have to defend themselves against the dog being a brat. That's your responsibility. Make the dog stop if he's harassing the cats, they shouldn't have to defend themselves, that's not fair to them. I don't allow either of my dogs to harass my cats. They know better now, since I've trained them that it is not acceptable.

 

He doesn't hurt her. She is in no danger from him. She has tons of places to get away from him. She has plenty of chairs to jump up on, counters to jump up on, and even the whole upstairs to herself.

A lot of the times she is the instigator. There are days she enjoys being chased by him. She'll go up to him, jab at him, and take off. Then she'll keep going back and doing the same thing.

But there are times when the dog will get in her face and I like her to have the ability to give him a good swipe if she needed to to get her message across.

If she was in any danger, the dog would not be allowed anywhere near her. He would never hurt her. I just like my pets to be able to show their anger if they needed to. The dog doesn't respond much to hissing or growling from the cat.

I would also like to add that I am working on training my dog, too. If she is in no danger of him, that specific training is not a top priority for me right now.

 

I only trim if there is a specific problem - usually a claw that doesn't retract properly. Luckily none of mine have ever had a claw curl around - I would definitely trim in those circumstances. All mine (even the semi feral) don't mind having their feet touched by us so I'd prefer to do it myself than have a stranger do it.

 

Well I've decided to trim them, or at least try to. Cherry's usually good about letting me handle her paws and flexing her claws out.

I was going to try it a little while ago. I grabbed Cherry, grabbed the clippers, and promptly stepped on a hornet. >.< So that will have to wait for later.

I just trim the tip, right?

 

I just trim the tip, right?

Yep. You should be able to see an inner part of the claw that has tissue inside it - that's the quick, and you should be careful not to cut it because it will hurt your cat. The rest of the claw looks "empty" in comparison, and that part can be safely trimmed off. (There are diagrams of a cat's claw online if it's hard to figure out which is which.)

If you can't tell where the quick is, it's better to err on the side of caution and to just clip the very tip than to risk taking too much. As you get used to doing it, you'll get a better sense of where you need to make the cut.

Try to make the cut in one swift stroke if you can, rather than hacking away at it, as repeated pressure from the clippers can cause the claw to split.

If you can, also cut at a vertical angle rather than a horizontal angle to avoid crushing the claw with the clipper. For most people this is the more intuitive angle to cut at anyway, so you shouldn't have any trouble.

Good luck!

 

I trim cat and dog nails weekly. I clip right back to the quicks. My three have no problem climbing with little nub claws and I don't want them to be able to scratch the dogs and do actual damage.


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1. For indoor cats, it is very near a necessity to trim their claws. If you have scratching posts and the like, their claws should not sharpen at an outrageous rate. But there nonetheless comes a time when a cat's claws either become inconvenient for them (i.e., discomfort increases as their claws grow and curl inward) or for you (i.e., they begin to puncture your clothes and/or skin quite readily).

2. Self-defense should not be affected. The cats obviously retain their claws, so they can still tug and scratch with the best of them!

3. The same answer as above. Recall, too, that their hind claws will help give them the traction to climb. Clipping their rear claws is typically not as pressing, for cats use those claws more frequently than their front claws.

4. Oceanmist already provided a picture of typical clippers. The real trick is making sure your cats remain calm and comfortable. Cutting their claws from an early age helps a great deal; for other cats, however, they may need to be wrapped up burrito style in a blanket. It really depends on how much your cat trusts you and how sensitive they may be to trimming.

 

Just the tip. When you grow more confident you can get a little more.

The key is to just keep an eye on your kids' toes. Mine are great so far at keeping theirs down on their own but I keep a very close eye on them. Probably too close. They're often my guinea pigs. Ha.


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We don't... Blaze screams like we're killing him and Blacky is indoor/outdoor. Once Blaze had a claw curl around a bit, we noticed it before any damage was done. It's fine now, and we don't notice them getting caught on anything. Jasper we haven't tried because... well, it was only a few months ago he was trying to bite us to death for no reason at all... I would rather not see if he's still occasionally thinking along those lines.

 

I usually trim just the tip, but accidents do happen, lol. I can't manage a pet clipper, scissors type, the positioning is difficult to handle. So I decided to continue with the human nail clipper, I have 3 sizes, S/M/L. L is the toe clipper which I use only for his hind leg claws.

I thought its better to have the curvy and sharp nails trimmed for times when they start scratching on us. I had his nail hooked onto my arm once and he was literally hanging off my arm when I stood up. I thought my skin was gonna be ripped off, it was really scary.

well, it was only a few months ago he was trying to bite us to death for no reason at all... .

So, familiar cats still bite? Sometimes, i just don't understand cats. I just got bitten by ET last nite, ungrateful cat, he bit into my elbow with his teeth, hard and for a long time, his claw on my knee. Thank goodness his nails were trimmed.

 

I figured they had a quick. I'm used to being super careful because my dog has black claws.

So you're saying to hold the clippers vertically and clip? That's usually how I do my dog's.

Will it hurt her if the claw splits? I don't want her being terrified of me holding her paws from one simple mistake.

 

Yeah, by vertically I mean the blade of the clipper should be going along the long side of the claw, not the narrow top or bottom side. It's probably how you do your dog's.

Splitting the claw is not super easy to do, so don't worry about it. If you can get the cut in a stroke or two, it's not going to happen. It's just that sometimes people are perfectionists about it and do multiple partial cuts - just avoid that and you'll be fine.

 

I clip three of my five cat's nails about once a month. I would like to be able to do everyone's claws, but I haven't yet been able to get at Autumn's or Ramona's, although I did clip Ramona's while the vet tech held her when she went in for her 2nd & 3rd boosters. Both Autumn and Ramona will let me handle their front feet a bit, but they won't let me clip, and I can't hold on to them to do it because they panic; having been feral/semi-feral, neither tolerates being picked up. We're working on it though, and, other than the issue with being picked up, they both behave pretty much like regular house cats.

 

Sigh...so it's normal and common. Yesterday's biting was unprovoked too. I kept wondering what went wrong. From his behavour now, I'm sure he knew he shouldn't do that, cos I have been ignoring him since, left him alone to eat on his own and confine him to his room.

Though his nails were trimmed, his scratch still draw blood, though not as bad as when they weren't trimmed.

 

Casie was a bit of a brat. Lol there is not one person who came to our house regularly who wasn't bitten/scratched. But I loved her anyway.

Alright, front claws have been trimmed. I hadn't realized how long some of her claws were, especially the dew claws! She wasn't as bad as I expected her to be. I made her into a blanket burrito and grabbed her paws and clipped. She squirmed quite a bit, but I think she was just confused by it. Next time I'll probably do it when she's sleepy.

I only got to clip her front claws. Back ones seemed well worn and I don't think she would have let me get them anyway.

As soon as I released her and gave her dinner, she was acting like nothing happened at all. Lol


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I'm glad it went well.

I very rarely clip my cats' back claws. I just do it when it's needed - maybe every six months or so? It's not something I do regularly, though, because they just don't get that sharp like the front ones do.

 

i clip my cats nails every while coz if i didnt i get scratched pretty badly especially coz my cat is very playfull... i guess clipping just the tips of the nails is ok for both of us

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I never did it, never had to, we would see the little "sheaths" on the cat's perch, or on the window seat I made for him. My first cat wouldn't tolerate being held long enough to cut one, let alone all his front claws. At 25 pounds, fighting with him wasn't something I enjoyed much. I have scars all over my arms from just playing with him. My present cats are a lot more tolerant of being held and having their feet touched than Orville was. These cats are climbing on me constantly, and so far, they are doing more damage than my other cat did, even though both of them together don't weigh anywhere close to 25 pounds.

 

I have been around cats that have had their claws trimmed and not.

Elvis, our old family cat was front paw declaws, but his back claws were still intact and were never trimmed.
I trimmed my sister's cat's, Sir, claws when she lived with me because she liked to have a go at a certain chair. She doesn't get them trimmed anymore, as I'm not there, and her claws are fine.

Pixel and Basil get their claws trimmed currently because aside from the scratching post, they like the box spring that we just purchased. Pixel was never trimmed before I came along, and I've trimmed Basil since I had him.

Out of all of them, Pixel is the only one I've noticed that might REALLY need to be trimmed out of sheer necessity. She gets some serious daggers and one or two of them begin to curl ever so slightly. But, as I said, she was never trimmed before I started doing it and before I had a mind to, she was fine.

 

I'm finding I like Cherry's nails trimmed. Less stabby.

 

Aye i've been trimming both my boys front claws since they were kittens so they are well used to it.. I've never needed to do the back ones..
The front ones tho they both go out on occasion still get too sharp for my liking ..