If you have one or more cats you are familiar with scratches on your legs and arms, snags in your good sweater and claw marks on your furniture. Overgrown nails or claws are probably the problem. A schedule of regular maintenance is the solution. Keeping your cat’s nails trimmed is easy and you will both be happier for it.
Your cat’s claws have a purpose other than to annoy you. Her long, sharp retractable claws help her catch prey and to climb, and like a dog, she also uses her claws to mark her territory.
Like your own fingernails and toenails, her nails never stop growing. Few cats have the opportunity to wear their nails down outdoors as nature intended her to. As a result, her overgrown nails can damage your clothes, skin and furniture. They can also cause self-injury to your cat.
Long nails can be torn off when they get caught on the carpet, loose floor tiles, window screens and other things. Some times the nails grow so long that they will curl back into the footpads similar to our ingrown toenails. This can also cause an infection. Long nails don’t function as well as for the special jobs they are meant to do.
Start trimming your cat’s nails when she is young. Some mature cats don’t like having their nails trimmed, but if you start handling her paws while she is very young, it will be easier. Gently massage her feet every now and then so the experience holds no anxiety for her. Try to make the experience pleasurable. Have some of her favorite treats on hand and praise her often. Go slowly. Do only a few toes at a time. Hold her paws gently. Don’t squeeze hard. Stop before you are wrestling with her.
There are various types of nail trimmers available. Find the kind that works best for you. I have several pairs kept in different places around the house. When the opportunity arises and she seems agreeable to having her nails trimmed, I have a pair of clippers close at hand. Be sure the trimmer is sharp.
Know where to clip. Her nail has a rich blood supply running through it. Some cats have white nails so you can clearly see where the pink quick ends. If the nail is cut too short, it hurts the cat and it will bleed. She won’t be as willing to let you clip her nails the next time. Always cut away from the quick. If the nails are black and you can’t see the quick, take off only the thin curved tip of the nail. Away from the quick. If you trim the nails about every two weeks, the quick won’t grow to the end of the nail. Apply gentle pressure to each toes and pad to expose the nails. Don’t forget the claws that grow behind and above the others. They are the equivalent of her thumbs. If left untrimmed, they curl around and grow into the flesh.
Don’t even consider declawing. It is not simply ac clipping of the claws. It is a painful amputation involving the full surgical removal of the last joint from each of the cat’s toes. It is mutilation, removing the cat’s primary means of defense. The humane alternative is to have her claws trimmed regularly and to provide her with at least one scratching post.
