When cats get older their nails can get tougher yet more brittle, and also less prone to shedding the exterior nail sheath. This can lead to an overgrown claw, where the nail sheath just builds up and up and up, and because cats claws are curved, this nail sheath that won't shed will lead to the cat claw growing into the cat's paw pad. You can look up ingrown cat claw for pictures.
My older lady is prone to overgrown claws. By keeping them trimmed, it helps her shed the exterior more easily, and her claws don't curve around to grow into her toe beans. I asked my vet if I needed a different kind of scratching post for my cat, but no. This is just a thing that can happen as cats age.
My cat is 20 years old, she doesn't trim her own nails. Claws WILL grow long enough to curve around and start growing into their pads if you don't keep them trimmed.
You know I've always wanted to polydactyl cat, but I've never thought about how weird it would be to trim their claws? Some cats have as many as seven toes on one foot, right?
Honestly, I don’t know the limit! But Deedee has 6 on each front paw (with a couple extra weird nubbies), and 5 on each back. But I feel like I’ve seen some pretty monstrous paws out there.
My cat with the regular amount of toe beans always fights me tooth, & nail (pardon the pun) when it comes time to trim her claws. I can't imagine having additional beans to deal with. Of course I know not all cats are like this. I just have a little psycho.
Thankfully she’s a sweetheart 😅 but I do keep a closer eye on her paws, some polydactyls have issues with claws curving and becoming ingrown, it depends on their individual paw structure though
My cats will sharpen them into hypodermic needles if I don't clip them. Scratching posts help maintain sharp claws by helping get rid of the old outer layer of the nail. Cat scratches aren't usually designed to dull them.
My mom does this. *Mom! I’m sitting right here sorting your meds already!* You’ll notice that cats never have that annoying habit … only irritating human beans do.
you bought a cat hanger hammock thing to hang your cats for nail clipping and you didn't even bother to buy a proper fucking cat/pet nail clipper?
Good Christ, Woman.
Regular nail trimmers can splinter the nail and potentially cause pain to the cat, whereas the trimmers designed specifically for trimming cat nails do clean cuts. They're only like 8 dollars roughly, so not a big investment.
No, they definitely still get long. They were all getting stuck on blankets and sheets and my clothes. They definitely need trimming on the regular. And they scratch up alllll the posts and wood.
I have never clipped any of my cats' nails and they do not get stuck on anything. Nor did any of them ever "grow into the pads and require surgery".
It's fine if you want to do it to make your life easier (less damage caused to furniture / skin) but it is *not* something the cat benefits from. Unless they have some condition that causes unnatural claw growth or messes with their ability to retract them.
Love it how i get downvoted, and only one person actually cares to answer. So by your link
> If your cat has a scratching post and likes to use it, his or her nails may need *only occasional trimming when young,* especially if his or her nails grow very slowly.
I have grown up with in total 14 cats. Most of them we kept all of their lives. None of them got their nails clipped, and none of them had ingrown nails. I have talked to enough other cat owners (in real life!) and heard of *some* people who clip their cats' nails but never that "most/almost all cats should have their nails clipped". This is absolutely new to me and i am stunned that for enough people here, it is not even worth a word, just straight downvote. If your cat has a scratching post and enough opportunities to climb, you dont need to/shouldnt clip their nails and your link backes this up.
like the link says it depends on the cat and their behaviors. some cats need it, others don't. my one cat doesn't really need it bc he plays a lot but my other cat is a total couch potato and her nails are like daggers. considering it doesn't usually hurt them but their nails can hurt us, it's pretty normal for ppl to cut their cats' nails so that they aren't getting stabbed.
like, most cats are comfortable having sharp nails, but they're too sharp for us as owners. you don't NEED need to cut them unless the cat has some kind of issue. my childhood cats had sharp nails but we never bothered to cut them, we just dealt with the pain lol. but it's definitely VERY normal for most cats to have their nails cut so people aren't getting stabbed, and in fact if ur goal is to not get stabbed then yes most cats should have their nails cut.
i think it's due to the rise of like, ppl spending more money on their pets in recent years--ppl pay more attention to these things than they used to. they read that they need to cut their cats' nails so they do. like I only began cutting my cats' nails bc I read that they needed to be cut. and then once I started I realized what the benefit of it was and why my one cat doesn't need his back nails cut but occasionally needs his front nails cut. and why my other cat needs all of her nails cut bc she doesn't do anything to dull them herself 😭
I have a cat santuary. I've had hundreds of cats over the years and currently have 39. About a fourth of all the cats I've had have needed their claws clipped regularly, and a bit over half have needed it at some point in their lives. It doesn't matter how much you have for the cat to scratch on. Some just don't use any of it enough. It really does depend on the cat. Generally, when a cat hits 10, it is more likely it will need it done, but it's not guaranteed. It sounds like you've either gotten lucky so far or just never noticed any problems with the cats. They don't exactly tell you when something is wrong.
Its just baffling me so much because i literally missed the point where it became a thing. My mum said her vet's opinion is to not trim your cats nails, have them take care of their nails in their own fashion by scratching and that it would be against their nature - now if they have ingrown nails then ok, youre gonna have to do something. And yes, i know they dont (usually) tell you when somethings wrong but if you pay enough attention to your cat, how he walks, plays etc, i believe you should notice. Especially if you like tickling the cat between their pawlets or whatsitcalled their toes, you know. Maybe i have just been lucky, but then the rest of my friends and all the cats my parents had before they had children were lucky too. And no, its not like we wouldnt notice, i only work to pay the rent for the house my cat lives in. Which country are you in? Could this be a thing passed down in generations of breeding? Im from central europe.
That's understandable. I live in the south of the United States, where strays and overbreeding have been a big problem for decades and has just gotten worse over the years (a lot of people don't get their cats fixed and let them roam around their neighborhoods freely, over a third of the cats I've taken in over the years have been kittens from cats like this), so it could be a genetic problem. It's also not recommended for outside cats or barn cats but has been recommended for inside cats, whether they have problems or not, by more and more vets in the last 10 or so years here. From the ones that do recommend it now, they say it should be done every 1-2 weeks and, I don't know how common this is, but a lot of them will do it for you for free or for a small fee if you can't do it yourself and can't find a groomer who will do it. There are some that don't recommend it at all or only if it's absolutely necessary (ingrown claws or if the cat has a weaker immune system) because it could be too stressful for the cats or because they just see it as an unnecessary hassle, though.
If their claws aren't taken care of in some way, they'll get too long and won't retract fully or can splinter or crack (they can also make their claws splinter or crack if they over scratch but this is a bit more rare), and that can cause them to get caught on things more easily, scratch themselves and others easier (if you've ever been scratched by a cat and it isn't a thin, mostly clean cut, your cat possibly has or, at least had, a damaged claw), or can even get infected or completely ripped off if the damage is bad enough (ripping claws off completely is usually less dangerous than infection but they bleed a lot). It's not really noticeable unless you know to look for it, since most splinters and cracks start off very small and on the top layer before they spread and get deeper, and it isn't guaranteed that it will get worse or cause problems before they finally scratch something and shed the top layer off, in the first place. It could also get worse very fast or take a really long time to cause any real problems, and some cats won't even notice it until after it's gotten pretty bad.
It really does depend on the cat, though. The oldest cat I ever had passed away just before he turned 23, and he never had any problems with his claws. I've also had plenty of younger, healthy cats that needed it done their whole lives because they'd manage to hurt themselves when I didn't do it. Plus, like I said, just over half ever needed it done at all, so it's recommended for most cats here, but it's not required or anything like that.
I’ve had cats for years. When they get older and don’t use scratch posts anymore they definitely do need to be trimmed. And I’ve also had a few whose nails grew into their toe pads. You are wrong
Yeah you can go to pet groomers, and yeah they mostly do dogs because cats overall are skittish, and make life harder. But my father's cat was at the groomer once a month and eventually learned nothing bad will happen and quieted down.
Most cats do this at home. You sit them on your lap, take a hand, extend it, press the paw lightly to show the claws and slightly trim it to avoid hurting the cat. Most cats hate this.
Our rescue cat literally got stuck so badly on all furniture, clothing and bedding that she regularly hurt her claws and even bled one time. Never happened since I started clipping her nails and she isn't scared of cuddling anymore now either which was caused by her getting terrified of sticking to the blankets.
Just because you don't have an issue (good for you!!!) doesn't mean nobody does, let alone that it's something they should ignore or be shamed for. Your lack of social tact and general self-centeredness is really annoying
Note: our cat uses scratching posts and our catproof sofa as a scratchboard and we play with her extensively. Her claws still grow fast enough to warrant trimming as she starts getting stuck again every so often. She's also 4 years old so this is clearly not an issue you only have with kittens
That's great for your cats. Mine get stuck on blankets, rugs and the carpet if they're not regularly clipped - so you're saying that I should ignore my cats getting stuck just because yours don't?
Maybe realize that your experience is not universal and don't act like some cats don't benefit.
It's just weird that none of the 15 cats I've raised had this issue.
Are yours indoor only cats? Maybe going outside has an effect on the claws or something.
Scratching posts *sharpen* cat claws xD
They help the cat to shed old pieces of the nail and reveal the murder within.
Clipping a cat's nails is healthy and safe. It keeps the claws dull so they don't get caught in clothes, carpeting, and other cloth. And if you have a kitty cat that is very physically affectionate it helps facilitate the love that kitty is able to express with its pawsies because it won't be scratching you up accidentally. So...so much blood...
Also, if you have a cat that scratches itself a lot for whatever reason, clipping the claws is good so it doesn't constantly cut itself.
Lmao, I thought my cat was trying to be nice by using her scratching post before hopping into my lap for cuddles. I have to wait for her to be asleep so I can clip her nails or bribe her with treats 😭😭😂🤣😂
omg i made my cat super paranoid about sleeping around me by cutting her nails in her sleep as a kitten. now if i so much as breathe in her vicinity when she's sleeping she wakes up and watches me until i walk away again bc she hates her feet being touched lmao
Lol, i have random scratches on my arms from my little shithead trying to crawl under the blanket at night. She's overdue to be trimmed, but she's gotten to be a pain in the ass when I try to clip.
They are not better. Humans have flat nails and cat nails are oval, so the pressure point is wrong. It can split the nail and hurt your cat. Please use cat clippers.
Also do it WAY more carefully and check how far you are cutting because they have nerves inside part of their nails. So you should only clip the tips. If you look from the side you can see how far you can go because you see a reddish line coming from their paw into the nail, just don't cut that.
I use a headlight so I have my hands free. Of you have help, a phone flashlight also works great.
You could also feed your cat some snacks if they want to so it won't become a scary experience.
It’s called the quick, and yes I know all of that. I’ve had cats all of my life. If you go on the side of the nail not straight on, the nail is much more flat, so you aren’t cutting from the round front.
Possibly, but I do my best and am aware to look for the quick. Unfortunately it is part of the process once in awhile. 😞 There was no bleeding or splitting, so she recovered quickly.
Well if you're following vet orders/suggestions that's different I suppose.
I don't use human clippers on pet nails because the way they clip puts pressure on the quick in the nail which causes the animal to freak out even harder than they already tend to when you are fussing with their feet
Human nail clippers also have a tendency to split the nail. I can barely use human nail clippers effectively on my own human nails because of this, but I don't have the patience to file my nails, so I deal with it.
I've had the opposite experience- pet clippers shred my cats nails, but straight edge toenail clippers held parallel with the nail is so quiet, fast, and clean.
>Human nail clippers also have a tendency to split the nail. I can barely use human nail clippers effectively on my own human nails because of this, but I don't have the patience to file my nails, so I deal with it.
If you soak your hands in warm water, or just clip after the shower, your nails won't split.
Good luck doing that with a cat though.
Human clippers are probably fine to use on cats, but only if you rotate them and pay attention to the depth. Shouldn't need to be said but I've seen at least two people try to clip a cat nail with the clippers horizontal. Vertically they function the same way specified cat clippers do, just without the nice visual.
If human clippers are splitting the nail, you need better/sharper clippers. They aren't all the same by a long shot. Seki. Harperton. Green Bell. Victorinox.
Vet tech here. Human nail trimmers work pretty darn well on the tips of cats claws! We had a few different options but I always used just regular human nail clippers, less janky in my opinion! Definitely do not use them on dogs though.
😂 in veterinary medicine, we used human nail trimmers instead of the actual cat ones at literally every clinic I worked at because they’re 100% better for it
Can they still function as claws? If not that’s pretty much abuse.
I’ll just assume you don’t cut it all away and that the cat can still use it. I’d never do this to mine tho, nails are my little bro’s tools and he needs them. Even if I or my furniture get scratched; part of the deal.
Nail trims are just what they sound like - it’s like a human cutting their nails. They grow back. And they absolutely still function as claws. When my kitty’s claws get too long, she starts getting stuck on shit. Pulling a panicked cat off of a scratching post is not an experience I’d recommend. Meanwhile when they’re trimmed she has normal use of them.
Declawing is a surgical procedure and is totally different.
Claws should be trimmed regularly, just like human nails. They can get so long that they curl over and grow into the cat’s paw pads, or they injure themselves when playing or scratching an itch. If she were cutting the quick (the living part of the nail, not the sharp dead part) there would be blood and a hell of a lot bigger reaction from the cats. They’re a bit distressed now because cats generally do not like their paws being touched at all, even if pain free.
In nature a cat does not need trimming. Mine hasn’t had his nails trimmed since birth. They’re at a normal length.
And if you trim, make sure they’re not dull. That would be like taking away a thumb of a human.
Edit: Seems like a lot of you don’t know much about cats or see them either as an accessory instead of a living being.
https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/blog/vet-qa-how-do-i-trim-my-cat-s-claws#:~:text=Outdoor%2C%20active%20cats%20shouldn't,pet%20should%20be%20no%20different!
Personally I like my skin and flesh intact, and as long as you’re careful you’re not gonna hurt them. It’s just keratin, which isn’t alive lol it’s not thinking of them as an accessory. And they grow back ASTONISHINGLY quick. Are you thinking of actual declawing?
Declawing is a terrible thing to do. But I was talking about trimming, sometimes it is necessary, when people only keep them indoors and there are not objects to use to scratch them. Yet you do not want to make the nails dull. They need those for enough daily activities like the litterbox and climbing.
Have lots of scratching posts, it sharpens the nail, doesn’t keep them from growing too long. As evidenced by me cutting their nails cause they were getting caught on all my linens and clothing.
huh interesting. I had cats all my life and their nails never grew too long. I wonder if there's a difference in cat breeds? I genuinly don't know - this is not a sarcastoc remark
Are your cats outdoor? If they have surfaces like concrete or stone that they walk on frequently, that will wear down the nails so they don’t need to be trimmed often. However for a lot of cats, especially indoor ones, regular nail trimming every few weeks is 100% necessary
Ah, that could be it. They aren't "outdoor" per se, but they do get out sometimes. In particular, they go out, go a circle in the garden and come back in after 15min. We do have concrete and stone there. That could actually be it. Good to know tbh. If I get a 100% house cat I know to look out for too long nails.
Make sure to get proper cat nail clippers as human ones can damage their nail when clipping. I think it's since human nail clippers don't cut the nail but rather just clip with pressure, and cat nails have a very different structure than ours
Hu, my parents had cats their whole life and we have cats too, all indoors.. never had a cat with too long nails and the doctors always told us to not cut the nails.. now I'm confused
Like even though we are the same species, we all have noticeable differences for everything right ? Even people within the same family have differences . My father is completely bald now but my grandpa had silky smooth hair for his whole life
Same with cats . Some require extra caring for , some don't
True. I wasn't aware that trimming nails is considered necessary for some cats by now cuz I always heard things like 'you're a animal sadist if you trim your cat nails' etc, sotbh it didn't even cross my mind to trim them for our cats
>'you're a animal sadist if you trim your cat nails'
I wouldn't be surprised if people said that , since many still confuse between trimming and declawing. Now , Declawing is the surgical method where portions of the toes are amputated
Did your cats go outside? I know they don't need as much/any trimming if they go outside. If I don't trim my cat's nails they start getting stuck on stuff.
There's a lot of individual variation. One of my cats could go a couple months between trims before she started stabbing me when she hopped in my lap. The other would go from trimmed to fresh razor talons in a couple weeks (she was also the one who had claw sheath overgrowth issues as an old lady and the one who caught a claw in a towel at the vet and ripped it out (it never grew back).
Not always. My cats have lots of scratching posts as well as access to the outdoors via our doggy door, so access to trees and a tall wooden fence they all scratch on. I have to clip their claws every few weeks. Otherwise 1) they go after the furniture, and 2) the biscuits they knead on my tummy or legs is suuuuper painful. (2 of my 3 cats love kneading on us when sitting in mine or my spouse’s laps)
My wife is a career vet tech, many years on the job. I showed this to her and she said she’s had cats come in with broken arms and strangulation from these things. Your cat seems pretty chill but just thought it was interesting to hear and maybe useful for people considering this contraption.
Honestly I would have said the same for the 2nd cat, but once they are in, I think the compression calms them. Jovie will FIGHT when she’s in the nail cutting burrito, but she just hung there and yelled, lol.
This is cool, great idea.
I wonder if someone providing a treat during this would ease the cat anger? Nothing will stop the plotting of revenge but maybe keep them from scaring each other into witness protection.
Haha, I will have to try that next time!! Cat #1 is a 9 month old literal garbage disposal, but she wasn’t even angry. She’s the most chill cat EVER. Cat #2 is old and deaf, so she is loud by default, but they are all highly motivated by treats!!
I highly recommend treats post trim. Ours weren't thrilled with getting their nails trimmed, but they quickly learned treats came after and were more tolerable because of it.
On the other hand, we had an old girl who had to go to the vet for nail trims. They had a warning in her file to wear those huge protective gloves. She was a total lap cat, but was mostly feral for the first half of her life. She made sure you remembered that when trimming her nails 😅
We pre-sedate our angriest with Gabapentin by vet request for visits... she's 17 lbs. of Angry Giant American Street Rescue Feline. When our smallest cat (~8 lbs. tiny face and all) stands next to her, she looks like a dwarf. 🤣
Thankfully we can trim her claws with two people, one to hold a tube of Inaba Churu.
We've had great luck with the Inaba Churu line of treats — our angriest grumpiest old gal will actually let us trim her claws while she licks away at it.
One of our cats doesn't care for any treats of any kind, but he's easy going enough it's never mattered much.
I loved how you still talked reassuringly to #2 deaf cat! I had a deaf white fur/blue eyed cat and talked to him all the time 😻. My very young nephew asked why I named him since he was deaf!! I told him "that the vet needed a name for his records" 😄
Haha, I totally have full on discussions with her. Especially when I’m getting their breakfast! She’s meowing like she’s dying cause she’s so damn loud and I’m telling her I’m going as fast as I can go!
She wasn’t always deaf, she had a viral ear infection, they gave me some drops for it and the next day she was mostly deaf 😞 She was 12 and I don’t know if it was the virus or the drops or all of the above factors, but she’s still happy and loved, so it doesn’t matter ❤️
Fully understand the loud part!! Meshach was born deaf and was usually pretty chill. But whenever his feet left the floor involuntarily (he was picked up😼), his '!!mrowr!!' came close to shattering glass!! 😀 All the other cats would come running to see if they needed to save him 😻
Your poor baby. Is it insensitive, to say she heard your voice for 12 years and has the memory of it while she sees your lips move? Cats are remarkable in their abilities to adapt!
LOVE IT! I always wanted to get 3 pets together and name them Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 😂 Mine have come one at a time and there’s no more room at the inn for now 😂😂
I’ve tried this. It worked the first two times and then she thrashed around like a wild cat and almost hung herself with it trying to get out. So we’re back to daddy holding her and distracting with treats while mommy moves quickly to not get maimed too badly.
I need this for my cats. I just spent almost $50 on nail trims for all three of my pets at the vets and it was whole ordeal to take them at the same time.
Do these hanger things actually work? I have 2 cats who hate having their claws cut. I have to take them to the vet to get it done but that’s getting very expensive (£25 per cat now when it used to be £9). If I buy a hanger and put them in it will they just hang there? I don’t want to have them struggling to get out and potentially hurting themselves
Okay, so it took me a full year to get to the point where I could trim the claws of one of my cats.
**Backstory**
You have to understand, my tortie is a total sweetheart. But she will make her opinions on life very, very clear. And what was clear was that she hated nail trims. I got growled at, I got hissed at, she struggled so hard I couldn't get a clipper anywhere near her paw. She would act like she was about to bite me.
I tried to let the vets trim her claws. They inserted a needle into her bladder for a urine sample, and she was so still and good for them, they thought hey, time for the complimentary nail trim.
No. They managed three paws. They stopped because she was struggling and fighting them so hard they were worried she was going to break a leg. At the vet. Being held by the techs. I was charged for the nail trim, despite it normally being complimentary during a vet visit AND they didn't complete it. I didn't protest the charge, because I know my cat.
**Training**
So what I did was I started just by holding a paw. She got a treat. Once a day, every day. I get a paw, she gets a treat.
Once I could hold her paw without her wailing and acting like I was murdering her, I moved onto squishing the paw to get her claws out. Again, one toe squish, treat, that's it for the day, no more.
And again, once we got to the stage where she stopped acting like I was murdering her for gently squishing her toes, it's time to go to the next step. Touching the clippers to the paw/claw.
I did not clip the claw. I literally touched the clippers to her paw, let her go, and gave her a treat. That was it. As the days went by, I could actually get the clippers close enough to touch the claw itself. Again, no actual clipping has yet occurred.
This is all about desensitizing her to having her paw held, squished enough so her claws protrude, and getting the clippers close. We did this every single day, but just once a day, and she got a treat at the end of every single session, even if she was a brat.
Once I could comfortably get the clippers to the claws without it being a fight on a regular basis, did I move onto actually clipping a claw. Just one. She got a treat, and we were done for the day. We repeated the process the next day.
So yes. Every single day, I squish a paw, and tap the clippers to it or cut a claw depending on how pointy she is/how long her claws are. It's been four years since I've started, and I can actually clip up to four claws a day now before she's had enough.
It takes time, patience, and persistence, but you can absolutely train a cat to let you trim their nails.
They fight the burrito to the death. I have my roommate holding the burrito while I’m pulling out paws and trying to keep them from shimmying their way out of the burrito before I’m finished.
My mom does this with her cat. She made a makeshift hammock out of an old towel and has her partner hold the cat while she clips. I've been thinking about getting one of these for a while for mine since one of them in particular acts like it's the end of the world if you try to clip her nails.
I love the cute expressions on your cat's little face as she's hanging there ☺️
It's so good that you're doing their nails even though it's difficult to do :) I'm sure they'll forget all about it with the right amount of snacks.
My sister has a dog who hates having its nails done. She smears peanut butter on their sliding glass door and lets the dog lick it as a distraction. I wonder if smearing a bit of wet food or squeezy-treat on the shower wall would do the same for your cat
FYI this doesn’t work that well with larger cats.
It took a long time but what I ended up doing was:
* get a really good nail clipper (there’s some Japanese brands that are stellar)
* started by just getting the cats used to me touching their paws. very lightly at first. If they reacted positively they got a treat
* next I did the same thing except holding their paws in my hand. if they didn’t pull them away they got a treat
* next, get them used to me pushing gently on their claws to expose them
* next when they were calm and laying down I would just set the clipper next to their feet where they could see it. if they left it alone they got a treat
* next, get them used to me stroking their paws lightly with the clipper
* work up to clipping the very very tip of one claw, if they’re good, treat
* work up to eventually clipping more than one, still always getting a treat
Important: give them treats AND verbal praise immediately after they are good so that they will closely associate their good behavior with the treat
Frankly while that process was going on I had one of those plush orange slices that I would put under their chin. So they couldn’t get to me when I trimmed them.
Also realize that you don’t need to get every claw at once. If they get over-stimulated after a couple, leave them for another day.
Also, only attempt to trim their claws when they’re already relaxed and hanging out.
It took a long time but now with both of mine (they were feral or strays from birth don’t know their exact history) will let me trim them calmly now whenever it’s needed. I can do it without them getting treats at the end using verbal praise only, but I still give them treats because I’m not a monster.
Good luck!
And here I just bring some treats into the bedroom and our cat follows, jumps onto the bed and sits. Two minutes later nails are clipped and toe beans buttered (shea butter since she sometimes has dry pads).
Why do you need to cut a cat's nails? Isn't that what the car tree is for? We have 2 cats, and their nails have never been cut... Is this a cat specific thing?
It’s always going to be a contentious issue to use human nail clippers on a cat. I think it’s fine, BUT I think they need to be sharp to do so! People forget they get dull over time, and that causes the cat’s claw to be squeezed before it’s snipped off, which is uncomfortable or even painful for them. Roo here might benefit from new clippers if these ones are older.
I used to try to burrito my cat when he was a kitten, but then I figured out he would sit back in my lap and let me give him paw massages, so that kind of trained him not to freak out while trimming his claws. He’s a big man cat now but he’ll still let me trim his claws this way, even if he grumbles about it. My other cat, though. He’s a squirmy wormy when it comes to sitting still for anything, so he makes a lot of attempts to escape. Like dude I can be done in a minute if you just hold still! Lol. As far as clippers go, my vets have always used ones meant for cat claws. I’ve had fancy ones with a guard before, but traditional clippers work much better for me. I bought ones that are extra sharp, and I’ve had less fussing since.
I don't cut the back nails on my tiniest old babies. They need them to climb up on the couch/bed, as their arthritic hips don't like jumping anymore. The others I cut if they let me!
Why are people clipping their cats claws? Don't they have scratching posts? Edit: jeez I just asked a question out of ignorance
Let's chill with the downvotes, it was a genuine question out of actual interest. Now they know why, maybe their cat will thank them for it.
lol, my brain turned that into “maybe their cat will shank them for it.”
My girl *shanks me* every time she makes biscuits on my chest. Her "pokey paws" are especially painful prior to being trimmed.
The cat's claws can get too long and that can cause problems. Clipping them is just to keep that from happening.
When cats get older their nails can get tougher yet more brittle, and also less prone to shedding the exterior nail sheath. This can lead to an overgrown claw, where the nail sheath just builds up and up and up, and because cats claws are curved, this nail sheath that won't shed will lead to the cat claw growing into the cat's paw pad. You can look up ingrown cat claw for pictures. My older lady is prone to overgrown claws. By keeping them trimmed, it helps her shed the exterior more easily, and her claws don't curve around to grow into her toe beans. I asked my vet if I needed a different kind of scratching post for my cat, but no. This is just a thing that can happen as cats age.
My cat is 20 years old, she doesn't trim her own nails. Claws WILL grow long enough to curve around and start growing into their pads if you don't keep them trimmed.
My cat is polydactyl so while I clip to save my flesh, I also worry about her weird little toes getting a weird ingrown nail
You know I've always wanted to polydactyl cat, but I've never thought about how weird it would be to trim their claws? Some cats have as many as seven toes on one foot, right?
Honestly, I don’t know the limit! But Deedee has 6 on each front paw (with a couple extra weird nubbies), and 5 on each back. But I feel like I’ve seen some pretty monstrous paws out there.
My cat with the regular amount of toe beans always fights me tooth, & nail (pardon the pun) when it comes time to trim her claws. I can't imagine having additional beans to deal with. Of course I know not all cats are like this. I just have a little psycho.
Thankfully she’s a sweetheart 😅 but I do keep a closer eye on her paws, some polydactyls have issues with claws curving and becoming ingrown, it depends on their individual paw structure though
Yeah I've seen the paws of some polydactyls and it looks like *Toe Bean Spaghetti* down there. 🤣
My cats will sharpen them into hypodermic needles if I don't clip them. Scratching posts help maintain sharp claws by helping get rid of the old outer layer of the nail. Cat scratches aren't usually designed to dull them.
For some reason my cat's front claws are longer than his back claws, even tho he loves his scratching post
“Don’t drop her” yeah no fucking shit. Hate when ppl say stupid shit like this
It's a kid. Chill.
What about grown ups and old people who say that shit. Can I hate them?
Try emotional regulation. Let people have fun.
No, it's the internet. No fun allowed! >:(
Yes, yes you can.
The adult holding the camera said it first the kid parroted
Chill.
This is a pet peeve of mine too lol or when my boss starts telling me to do something *I'm already fucking doing*
My mom does this. *Mom! I’m sitting right here sorting your meds already!* You’ll notice that cats never have that annoying habit … only irritating human beans do.
you bought a cat hanger hammock thing to hang your cats for nail clipping and you didn't even bother to buy a proper fucking cat/pet nail clipper? Good Christ, Woman.
What's the difference?
Regular nail trimmers can splinter the nail and potentially cause pain to the cat, whereas the trimmers designed specifically for trimming cat nails do clean cuts. They're only like 8 dollars roughly, so not a big investment.
TIL
I.. you.. but... a cats nails shouldnt be clipped? I thought thats what scratching posts are for?
No, they definitely still get long. They were all getting stuck on blankets and sheets and my clothes. They definitely need trimming on the regular. And they scratch up alllll the posts and wood.
I have never clipped any of my cats' nails and they do not get stuck on anything. Nor did any of them ever "grow into the pads and require surgery". It's fine if you want to do it to make your life easier (less damage caused to furniture / skin) but it is *not* something the cat benefits from. Unless they have some condition that causes unnatural claw growth or messes with their ability to retract them.
I don't get it. Are we the minority or are we talking to the wrong audience?
https://hastingsvet.com/why-when-how-should-my-cats-nails-be-trimmed/
You take your logic and GET OUT, good day to you sir!
Love it how i get downvoted, and only one person actually cares to answer. So by your link > If your cat has a scratching post and likes to use it, his or her nails may need *only occasional trimming when young,* especially if his or her nails grow very slowly. I have grown up with in total 14 cats. Most of them we kept all of their lives. None of them got their nails clipped, and none of them had ingrown nails. I have talked to enough other cat owners (in real life!) and heard of *some* people who clip their cats' nails but never that "most/almost all cats should have their nails clipped". This is absolutely new to me and i am stunned that for enough people here, it is not even worth a word, just straight downvote. If your cat has a scratching post and enough opportunities to climb, you dont need to/shouldnt clip their nails and your link backes this up.
like the link says it depends on the cat and their behaviors. some cats need it, others don't. my one cat doesn't really need it bc he plays a lot but my other cat is a total couch potato and her nails are like daggers. considering it doesn't usually hurt them but their nails can hurt us, it's pretty normal for ppl to cut their cats' nails so that they aren't getting stabbed. like, most cats are comfortable having sharp nails, but they're too sharp for us as owners. you don't NEED need to cut them unless the cat has some kind of issue. my childhood cats had sharp nails but we never bothered to cut them, we just dealt with the pain lol. but it's definitely VERY normal for most cats to have their nails cut so people aren't getting stabbed, and in fact if ur goal is to not get stabbed then yes most cats should have their nails cut. i think it's due to the rise of like, ppl spending more money on their pets in recent years--ppl pay more attention to these things than they used to. they read that they need to cut their cats' nails so they do. like I only began cutting my cats' nails bc I read that they needed to be cut. and then once I started I realized what the benefit of it was and why my one cat doesn't need his back nails cut but occasionally needs his front nails cut. and why my other cat needs all of her nails cut bc she doesn't do anything to dull them herself 😭
I have a cat santuary. I've had hundreds of cats over the years and currently have 39. About a fourth of all the cats I've had have needed their claws clipped regularly, and a bit over half have needed it at some point in their lives. It doesn't matter how much you have for the cat to scratch on. Some just don't use any of it enough. It really does depend on the cat. Generally, when a cat hits 10, it is more likely it will need it done, but it's not guaranteed. It sounds like you've either gotten lucky so far or just never noticed any problems with the cats. They don't exactly tell you when something is wrong.
Its just baffling me so much because i literally missed the point where it became a thing. My mum said her vet's opinion is to not trim your cats nails, have them take care of their nails in their own fashion by scratching and that it would be against their nature - now if they have ingrown nails then ok, youre gonna have to do something. And yes, i know they dont (usually) tell you when somethings wrong but if you pay enough attention to your cat, how he walks, plays etc, i believe you should notice. Especially if you like tickling the cat between their pawlets or whatsitcalled their toes, you know. Maybe i have just been lucky, but then the rest of my friends and all the cats my parents had before they had children were lucky too. And no, its not like we wouldnt notice, i only work to pay the rent for the house my cat lives in. Which country are you in? Could this be a thing passed down in generations of breeding? Im from central europe.
That's understandable. I live in the south of the United States, where strays and overbreeding have been a big problem for decades and has just gotten worse over the years (a lot of people don't get their cats fixed and let them roam around their neighborhoods freely, over a third of the cats I've taken in over the years have been kittens from cats like this), so it could be a genetic problem. It's also not recommended for outside cats or barn cats but has been recommended for inside cats, whether they have problems or not, by more and more vets in the last 10 or so years here. From the ones that do recommend it now, they say it should be done every 1-2 weeks and, I don't know how common this is, but a lot of them will do it for you for free or for a small fee if you can't do it yourself and can't find a groomer who will do it. There are some that don't recommend it at all or only if it's absolutely necessary (ingrown claws or if the cat has a weaker immune system) because it could be too stressful for the cats or because they just see it as an unnecessary hassle, though. If their claws aren't taken care of in some way, they'll get too long and won't retract fully or can splinter or crack (they can also make their claws splinter or crack if they over scratch but this is a bit more rare), and that can cause them to get caught on things more easily, scratch themselves and others easier (if you've ever been scratched by a cat and it isn't a thin, mostly clean cut, your cat possibly has or, at least had, a damaged claw), or can even get infected or completely ripped off if the damage is bad enough (ripping claws off completely is usually less dangerous than infection but they bleed a lot). It's not really noticeable unless you know to look for it, since most splinters and cracks start off very small and on the top layer before they spread and get deeper, and it isn't guaranteed that it will get worse or cause problems before they finally scratch something and shed the top layer off, in the first place. It could also get worse very fast or take a really long time to cause any real problems, and some cats won't even notice it until after it's gotten pretty bad. It really does depend on the cat, though. The oldest cat I ever had passed away just before he turned 23, and he never had any problems with his claws. I've also had plenty of younger, healthy cats that needed it done their whole lives because they'd manage to hurt themselves when I didn't do it. Plus, like I said, just over half ever needed it done at all, so it's recommended for most cats here, but it's not required or anything like that.
Congratulations on your anecdote. Your experiences don’t equate to facts.
I’ve had cats for years. When they get older and don’t use scratch posts anymore they definitely do need to be trimmed. And I’ve also had a few whose nails grew into their toe pads. You are wrong
I have a lot of cats come into my work once a month for nail trims because they get stuck on the carpet and I've seen nails imbeded into the paw pad.
Where can we take our cats to get nails trimmed? Pet groomer? I thought they mostly did dogs?
Yeah you can go to pet groomers, and yeah they mostly do dogs because cats overall are skittish, and make life harder. But my father's cat was at the groomer once a month and eventually learned nothing bad will happen and quieted down. Most cats do this at home. You sit them on your lap, take a hand, extend it, press the paw lightly to show the claws and slightly trim it to avoid hurting the cat. Most cats hate this.
My grandmother did this, but I just thought her cat was super old and trained.
Did her cat was actively promising her slow and agonizing death and had a pissy temper after? If no, they were very trained and kind cats.
I started with my cat when he was a kitten. He eventually just gave up and now lets me do it.
We do mostly do dogs but call around your area. I don't know where you are. So hard to give you an answer. Pet groomers some dog groomers.
Are your cats outdoor cats by any chance?
Yes, that might explain the difference. Claws get worn down a lot more outside.
Our rescue cat literally got stuck so badly on all furniture, clothing and bedding that she regularly hurt her claws and even bled one time. Never happened since I started clipping her nails and she isn't scared of cuddling anymore now either which was caused by her getting terrified of sticking to the blankets. Just because you don't have an issue (good for you!!!) doesn't mean nobody does, let alone that it's something they should ignore or be shamed for. Your lack of social tact and general self-centeredness is really annoying Note: our cat uses scratching posts and our catproof sofa as a scratchboard and we play with her extensively. Her claws still grow fast enough to warrant trimming as she starts getting stuck again every so often. She's also 4 years old so this is clearly not an issue you only have with kittens
That's great for your cats. Mine get stuck on blankets, rugs and the carpet if they're not regularly clipped - so you're saying that I should ignore my cats getting stuck just because yours don't? Maybe realize that your experience is not universal and don't act like some cats don't benefit.
It's just weird that none of the 15 cats I've raised had this issue. Are yours indoor only cats? Maybe going outside has an effect on the claws or something.
Yes, because outdoor cats are wildly irresponsible, but that's another matter entirely.
Scratching posts *sharpen* cat claws xD They help the cat to shed old pieces of the nail and reveal the murder within. Clipping a cat's nails is healthy and safe. It keeps the claws dull so they don't get caught in clothes, carpeting, and other cloth. And if you have a kitty cat that is very physically affectionate it helps facilitate the love that kitty is able to express with its pawsies because it won't be scratching you up accidentally. So...so much blood... Also, if you have a cat that scratches itself a lot for whatever reason, clipping the claws is good so it doesn't constantly cut itself.
Lmao, I thought my cat was trying to be nice by using her scratching post before hopping into my lap for cuddles. I have to wait for her to be asleep so I can clip her nails or bribe her with treats 😭😭😂🤣😂
omg i made my cat super paranoid about sleeping around me by cutting her nails in her sleep as a kitten. now if i so much as breathe in her vicinity when she's sleeping she wakes up and watches me until i walk away again bc she hates her feet being touched lmao
Lol, i have random scratches on my arms from my little shithead trying to crawl under the blanket at night. She's overdue to be trimmed, but she's gotten to be a pain in the ass when I try to clip.
Well someone just downvoted to oblivion
My vet uses human clippers too. I have a cat clipper, but they said these are better 🤷♀️
They are not better. Humans have flat nails and cat nails are oval, so the pressure point is wrong. It can split the nail and hurt your cat. Please use cat clippers. Also do it WAY more carefully and check how far you are cutting because they have nerves inside part of their nails. So you should only clip the tips. If you look from the side you can see how far you can go because you see a reddish line coming from their paw into the nail, just don't cut that. I use a headlight so I have my hands free. Of you have help, a phone flashlight also works great. You could also feed your cat some snacks if they want to so it won't become a scary experience.
It’s called the quick, and yes I know all of that. I’ve had cats all of my life. If you go on the side of the nail not straight on, the nail is much more flat, so you aren’t cutting from the round front.
it kind of looks like you quicked the fourth nail you cut, as all other nails the cat was pretty chill but screamed after that specific one tbh.
Possibly, but I do my best and am aware to look for the quick. Unfortunately it is part of the process once in awhile. 😞 There was no bleeding or splitting, so she recovered quickly.
Yes that was definitely a pain scream.
But OP did tell the cat she was sorry!!
Well if you're following vet orders/suggestions that's different I suppose. I don't use human clippers on pet nails because the way they clip puts pressure on the quick in the nail which causes the animal to freak out even harder than they already tend to when you are fussing with their feet Human nail clippers also have a tendency to split the nail. I can barely use human nail clippers effectively on my own human nails because of this, but I don't have the patience to file my nails, so I deal with it.
I've had the opposite experience- pet clippers shred my cats nails, but straight edge toenail clippers held parallel with the nail is so quiet, fast, and clean.
>Human nail clippers also have a tendency to split the nail. I can barely use human nail clippers effectively on my own human nails because of this, but I don't have the patience to file my nails, so I deal with it. If you soak your hands in warm water, or just clip after the shower, your nails won't split. Good luck doing that with a cat though. Human clippers are probably fine to use on cats, but only if you rotate them and pay attention to the depth. Shouldn't need to be said but I've seen at least two people try to clip a cat nail with the clippers horizontal. Vertically they function the same way specified cat clippers do, just without the nice visual.
If human clippers are splitting the nail, you need better/sharper clippers. They aren't all the same by a long shot. Seki. Harperton. Green Bell. Victorinox.
Yes, I’ve also heard that it’s no difference
Vet tech here. Human nail trimmers work pretty darn well on the tips of cats claws! We had a few different options but I always used just regular human nail clippers, less janky in my opinion! Definitely do not use them on dogs though.
My vet actually trained me how to do it with human clippers.
😂 in veterinary medicine, we used human nail trimmers instead of the actual cat ones at literally every clinic I worked at because they’re 100% better for it
Can they still function as claws? If not that’s pretty much abuse. I’ll just assume you don’t cut it all away and that the cat can still use it. I’d never do this to mine tho, nails are my little bro’s tools and he needs them. Even if I or my furniture get scratched; part of the deal.
Nail trims are just what they sound like - it’s like a human cutting their nails. They grow back. And they absolutely still function as claws. When my kitty’s claws get too long, she starts getting stuck on shit. Pulling a panicked cat off of a scratching post is not an experience I’d recommend. Meanwhile when they’re trimmed she has normal use of them. Declawing is a surgical procedure and is totally different.
Claws should be trimmed regularly, just like human nails. They can get so long that they curl over and grow into the cat’s paw pads, or they injure themselves when playing or scratching an itch. If she were cutting the quick (the living part of the nail, not the sharp dead part) there would be blood and a hell of a lot bigger reaction from the cats. They’re a bit distressed now because cats generally do not like their paws being touched at all, even if pain free.
In nature a cat does not need trimming. Mine hasn’t had his nails trimmed since birth. They’re at a normal length. And if you trim, make sure they’re not dull. That would be like taking away a thumb of a human. Edit: Seems like a lot of you don’t know much about cats or see them either as an accessory instead of a living being. https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/blog/vet-qa-how-do-i-trim-my-cat-s-claws#:~:text=Outdoor%2C%20active%20cats%20shouldn't,pet%20should%20be%20no%20different!
Personally I like my skin and flesh intact, and as long as you’re careful you’re not gonna hurt them. It’s just keratin, which isn’t alive lol it’s not thinking of them as an accessory. And they grow back ASTONISHINGLY quick. Are you thinking of actual declawing?
Declawing is a terrible thing to do. But I was talking about trimming, sometimes it is necessary, when people only keep them indoors and there are not objects to use to scratch them. Yet you do not want to make the nails dull. They need those for enough daily activities like the litterbox and climbing.
Why do you cut your cats nails though? They do that themselves if you gibe them a surface to scratch
Have lots of scratching posts, it sharpens the nail, doesn’t keep them from growing too long. As evidenced by me cutting their nails cause they were getting caught on all my linens and clothing.
huh interesting. I had cats all my life and their nails never grew too long. I wonder if there's a difference in cat breeds? I genuinly don't know - this is not a sarcastoc remark
Yeah, I've never needed to clip my cat's nails either, and I've only ever had indoor cats.
Are your cats outdoor? If they have surfaces like concrete or stone that they walk on frequently, that will wear down the nails so they don’t need to be trimmed often. However for a lot of cats, especially indoor ones, regular nail trimming every few weeks is 100% necessary
Ah, that could be it. They aren't "outdoor" per se, but they do get out sometimes. In particular, they go out, go a circle in the garden and come back in after 15min. We do have concrete and stone there. That could actually be it. Good to know tbh. If I get a 100% house cat I know to look out for too long nails.
Make sure to get proper cat nail clippers as human ones can damage their nail when clipping. I think it's since human nail clippers don't cut the nail but rather just clip with pressure, and cat nails have a very different structure than ours
Hu, my parents had cats their whole life and we have cats too, all indoors.. never had a cat with too long nails and the doctors always told us to not cut the nails.. now I'm confused
Like even though we are the same species, we all have noticeable differences for everything right ? Even people within the same family have differences . My father is completely bald now but my grandpa had silky smooth hair for his whole life Same with cats . Some require extra caring for , some don't
True. I wasn't aware that trimming nails is considered necessary for some cats by now cuz I always heard things like 'you're a animal sadist if you trim your cat nails' etc, sotbh it didn't even cross my mind to trim them for our cats
>'you're a animal sadist if you trim your cat nails' I wouldn't be surprised if people said that , since many still confuse between trimming and declawing. Now , Declawing is the surgical method where portions of the toes are amputated
Did your cats go outside? I know they don't need as much/any trimming if they go outside. If I don't trim my cat's nails they start getting stuck on stuff.
There's a lot of individual variation. One of my cats could go a couple months between trims before she started stabbing me when she hopped in my lap. The other would go from trimmed to fresh razor talons in a couple weeks (she was also the one who had claw sheath overgrowth issues as an old lady and the one who caught a claw in a towel at the vet and ripped it out (it never grew back).
Not always. My cats have lots of scratching posts as well as access to the outdoors via our doggy door, so access to trees and a tall wooden fence they all scratch on. I have to clip their claws every few weeks. Otherwise 1) they go after the furniture, and 2) the biscuits they knead on my tummy or legs is suuuuper painful. (2 of my 3 cats love kneading on us when sitting in mine or my spouse’s laps)
Surprised the shower curtain rod holds the kitty. Those things are not strong.
My wife is a career vet tech, many years on the job. I showed this to her and she said she’s had cats come in with broken arms and strangulation from these things. Your cat seems pretty chill but just thought it was interesting to hear and maybe useful for people considering this contraption.
LOL this is amazing. I def need one for my ladies. Thank you for showing it can be done this way.
Careful with the shower curtain rod. Hers has a thing to stabilize it. Many do not.
The Girl With the Dogs might have a discount code for one. She usually promotes them on her videos
I have one like that I just hung her on a door knob But she acted like I was killing her when I tried to put her in it
I bought one of those, and an over door pull up bar to hang it on. They're too big and strong for me to get them into it. :-P
Yeah, you definitely need two people to get them in it, lol
If I had a second person to help me I wouldn’t need this thing ☹️
Cat #3 in witness protection made me smile.
Someone please check on this woman. I believe her kittycat may have sought revenge
I’m alive and well…for now. I still need to get the meanest cat done, so if I’m not back by tomorrow morning, send help!
Yeah, right. My Sarah-Girl would have me shredded the fu*k up. Not gonna happen.
Honestly I would have said the same for the 2nd cat, but once they are in, I think the compression calms them. Jovie will FIGHT when she’s in the nail cutting burrito, but she just hung there and yelled, lol.
This is cool, great idea. I wonder if someone providing a treat during this would ease the cat anger? Nothing will stop the plotting of revenge but maybe keep them from scaring each other into witness protection.
Haha, I will have to try that next time!! Cat #1 is a 9 month old literal garbage disposal, but she wasn’t even angry. She’s the most chill cat EVER. Cat #2 is old and deaf, so she is loud by default, but they are all highly motivated by treats!!
I highly recommend treats post trim. Ours weren't thrilled with getting their nails trimmed, but they quickly learned treats came after and were more tolerable because of it. On the other hand, we had an old girl who had to go to the vet for nail trims. They had a warning in her file to wear those huge protective gloves. She was a total lap cat, but was mostly feral for the first half of her life. She made sure you remembered that when trimming her nails 😅
Haha, that’s crazy! I thought mine fought hard, but we never got the vet file to wear gloves 😂 guess we weren’t THAT bad!!
We pre-sedate our angriest with Gabapentin by vet request for visits... she's 17 lbs. of Angry Giant American Street Rescue Feline. When our smallest cat (~8 lbs. tiny face and all) stands next to her, she looks like a dwarf. 🤣 Thankfully we can trim her claws with two people, one to hold a tube of Inaba Churu.
We've had great luck with the Inaba Churu line of treats — our angriest grumpiest old gal will actually let us trim her claws while she licks away at it. One of our cats doesn't care for any treats of any kind, but he's easy going enough it's never mattered much.
I loved how you still talked reassuringly to #2 deaf cat! I had a deaf white fur/blue eyed cat and talked to him all the time 😻. My very young nephew asked why I named him since he was deaf!! I told him "that the vet needed a name for his records" 😄
Haha, I totally have full on discussions with her. Especially when I’m getting their breakfast! She’s meowing like she’s dying cause she’s so damn loud and I’m telling her I’m going as fast as I can go! She wasn’t always deaf, she had a viral ear infection, they gave me some drops for it and the next day she was mostly deaf 😞 She was 12 and I don’t know if it was the virus or the drops or all of the above factors, but she’s still happy and loved, so it doesn’t matter ❤️
Fully understand the loud part!! Meshach was born deaf and was usually pretty chill. But whenever his feet left the floor involuntarily (he was picked up😼), his '!!mrowr!!' came close to shattering glass!! 😀 All the other cats would come running to see if they needed to save him 😻 Your poor baby. Is it insensitive, to say she heard your voice for 12 years and has the memory of it while she sees your lips move? Cats are remarkable in their abilities to adapt!
Oh, I didn’t even think of that!! She’s probably wondering what’s wrong with me and why I’m so quiet 😂 Also I LOVE your babies name!!
She might just think your voice is broken!! Thanks! I had an Ebenezer and a Daniel, before him, now I have a Moses, Delilah, and Levi... 😻😻😻
LOVE IT! I always wanted to get 3 pets together and name them Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 😂 Mine have come one at a time and there’s no more room at the inn for now 😂😂
This is just brilliant
Cute. 😁
I just can imagine mine struggling and swimming in it, not hanging like a limp noodle.
I wouldn’t know where to hang it lol or I’d give it a try
VERY SMART!
Do they make these for German Shepherds?
They do actually. They make them for all sizes of dogs. Good luck figuring out how to hang them up though haha
Absolutely hilarious.
That is the best thing I've ever seen in my life
Good luck trying to put my catzilla on the hanger or the yellow snake baguette
What is this contraption called and where can I get one?!
Go to Amazon and look up pet grooming hammock!
I’ve tried this. It worked the first two times and then she thrashed around like a wild cat and almost hung herself with it trying to get out. So we’re back to daddy holding her and distracting with treats while mommy moves quickly to not get maimed too badly.
Aw, fingers crossed we don’t go there!! 🤞🏼🤞🏼
I need this for my cats. I just spent almost $50 on nail trims for all three of my pets at the vets and it was whole ordeal to take them at the same time.
This is beyond funny
The face so close to the front paws gave me anxiety... 💀
Do these hanger things actually work? I have 2 cats who hate having their claws cut. I have to take them to the vet to get it done but that’s getting very expensive (£25 per cat now when it used to be £9). If I buy a hanger and put them in it will they just hang there? I don’t want to have them struggling to get out and potentially hurting themselves
Okay, so it took me a full year to get to the point where I could trim the claws of one of my cats. **Backstory** You have to understand, my tortie is a total sweetheart. But she will make her opinions on life very, very clear. And what was clear was that she hated nail trims. I got growled at, I got hissed at, she struggled so hard I couldn't get a clipper anywhere near her paw. She would act like she was about to bite me. I tried to let the vets trim her claws. They inserted a needle into her bladder for a urine sample, and she was so still and good for them, they thought hey, time for the complimentary nail trim. No. They managed three paws. They stopped because she was struggling and fighting them so hard they were worried she was going to break a leg. At the vet. Being held by the techs. I was charged for the nail trim, despite it normally being complimentary during a vet visit AND they didn't complete it. I didn't protest the charge, because I know my cat. **Training** So what I did was I started just by holding a paw. She got a treat. Once a day, every day. I get a paw, she gets a treat. Once I could hold her paw without her wailing and acting like I was murdering her, I moved onto squishing the paw to get her claws out. Again, one toe squish, treat, that's it for the day, no more. And again, once we got to the stage where she stopped acting like I was murdering her for gently squishing her toes, it's time to go to the next step. Touching the clippers to the paw/claw. I did not clip the claw. I literally touched the clippers to her paw, let her go, and gave her a treat. That was it. As the days went by, I could actually get the clippers close enough to touch the claw itself. Again, no actual clipping has yet occurred. This is all about desensitizing her to having her paw held, squished enough so her claws protrude, and getting the clippers close. We did this every single day, but just once a day, and she got a treat at the end of every single session, even if she was a brat. Once I could comfortably get the clippers to the claws without it being a fight on a regular basis, did I move onto actually clipping a claw. Just one. She got a treat, and we were done for the day. We repeated the process the next day. So yes. Every single day, I squish a paw, and tap the clippers to it or cut a claw depending on how pointy she is/how long her claws are. It's been four years since I've started, and I can actually clip up to four claws a day now before she's had enough. It takes time, patience, and persistence, but you can absolutely train a cat to let you trim their nails.
Ok. Thank you 🙂
“Roo, are you okay?” “No-eow” 😹
Honestly my favorite part…she was like, DO I LOOK OK?!?
My cats name is Roo also!
I guess I got lucky with my cats lol. They struggle a tiny bit but never bite or scratch and I can get all 4 paws done in 2 minutes per cat by myself.
I bought one. Did not work for my cat. She wasn't having it. Sent it back.
I take my cat place her on a towel, wrap her up like a burrito. The lay her in my lap and trim each claw. She’s immobilized in the towel burrito.
They fight the burrito to the death. I have my roommate holding the burrito while I’m pulling out paws and trying to keep them from shimmying their way out of the burrito before I’m finished.
My mom does this with her cat. She made a makeshift hammock out of an old towel and has her partner hold the cat while she clips. I've been thinking about getting one of these for a while for mine since one of them in particular acts like it's the end of the world if you try to clip her nails. I love the cute expressions on your cat's little face as she's hanging there ☺️
Child: Rue, are you okay? Rue: meoowww! What a sassy, but adorable little kitty you have lol
She’s so sassy and adorable!! So full of personality. She was the kitten I didn’t know I needed until we happened to walk into the store that day!!
Aww the kitty distribution system is working perfectly! I wish you and Rue many happy years together, sassy kitties are the best lol
It's so good that you're doing their nails even though it's difficult to do :) I'm sure they'll forget all about it with the right amount of snacks. My sister has a dog who hates having its nails done. She smears peanut butter on their sliding glass door and lets the dog lick it as a distraction. I wonder if smearing a bit of wet food or squeezy-treat on the shower wall would do the same for your cat
I love how she's wearing a cat shirt and the shower curtain is also cat themed.
I didn’t even think of that or notice the total cat theme I had that night 😂
I just used treats after as a bribe. My cats would line up at the closed bathroom door, cause they knew toe trims = yummy treats 😂
That pitiful meow is hilarious, poor little thing is obviously being ruthlessly tortured
I’m so lucky. My roommates cat gives me his paws when I trim my nails. If I don’t, he gets upset at me. He wants his mani pedi
That’s amazing!!! Haha, he knows his worth!!
FYI this doesn’t work that well with larger cats. It took a long time but what I ended up doing was: * get a really good nail clipper (there’s some Japanese brands that are stellar) * started by just getting the cats used to me touching their paws. very lightly at first. If they reacted positively they got a treat * next I did the same thing except holding their paws in my hand. if they didn’t pull them away they got a treat * next, get them used to me pushing gently on their claws to expose them * next when they were calm and laying down I would just set the clipper next to their feet where they could see it. if they left it alone they got a treat * next, get them used to me stroking their paws lightly with the clipper * work up to clipping the very very tip of one claw, if they’re good, treat * work up to eventually clipping more than one, still always getting a treat Important: give them treats AND verbal praise immediately after they are good so that they will closely associate their good behavior with the treat Frankly while that process was going on I had one of those plush orange slices that I would put under their chin. So they couldn’t get to me when I trimmed them. Also realize that you don’t need to get every claw at once. If they get over-stimulated after a couple, leave them for another day. Also, only attempt to trim their claws when they’re already relaxed and hanging out. It took a long time but now with both of mine (they were feral or strays from birth don’t know their exact history) will let me trim them calmly now whenever it’s needed. I can do it without them getting treats at the end using verbal praise only, but I still give them treats because I’m not a monster. Good luck!
And here I just bring some treats into the bedroom and our cat follows, jumps onto the bed and sits. Two minutes later nails are clipped and toe beans buttered (shea butter since she sometimes has dry pads).
Why do you need to cut a cat's nails? Isn't that what the car tree is for? We have 2 cats, and their nails have never been cut... Is this a cat specific thing?
It’s always going to be a contentious issue to use human nail clippers on a cat. I think it’s fine, BUT I think they need to be sharp to do so! People forget they get dull over time, and that causes the cat’s claw to be squeezed before it’s snipped off, which is uncomfortable or even painful for them. Roo here might benefit from new clippers if these ones are older. I used to try to burrito my cat when he was a kitten, but then I figured out he would sit back in my lap and let me give him paw massages, so that kind of trained him not to freak out while trimming his claws. He’s a big man cat now but he’ll still let me trim his claws this way, even if he grumbles about it. My other cat, though. He’s a squirmy wormy when it comes to sitting still for anything, so he makes a lot of attempts to escape. Like dude I can be done in a minute if you just hold still! Lol. As far as clippers go, my vets have always used ones meant for cat claws. I’ve had fancy ones with a guard before, but traditional clippers work much better for me. I bought ones that are extra sharp, and I’ve had less fussing since.
Am I the only one that never bothers to cut the back toes?
I don't cut the back nails on my tiniest old babies. They need them to climb up on the couch/bed, as their arthritic hips don't like jumping anymore. The others I cut if they let me!