Why do you need to clip a cat’s claws? Isn’t that what a scratching post (or doorjamb or expensive wooden furniture) is for?
Or your leg.
Scratching posts don’t wear nails down anywhere near enough.
Plastic-moulding gate cutters are also an excellent tool for clipping nails/claws.
I would suggest to not do all the claws in one session. The cat I tested it on did not want to cooperate. A longer play-session with the kitty, one claw at time when she feels about getting one done, does the job in much more comfortable (and fun) way for both. (Also, let the cat play with the cutter for a while at her own terms, so she does not perceive it as A Threatening Foreign Object.)
Thought: a piece of sandpaper as a scratching post? Or some other suitable abrasive with texture engineered to be attractive for the cat?
I’m not sure that they point of a scratching post is to “wear down” the claws as in making them dull, but rather to remove the excess material so they don’t get so long as to be a problem for the cat.
In my experience, scratching posts help hone cat claws to a nice needle tip!
IANACO, but I thought a scratching post was to give Fluffy a legit place to try and shred stuff rather than attack the couch.
In my experience (on five different cats) the little scissor-like clippers work well because they don’t fall out of your fingers if the cat makes a sudden move, as often occurs. When I’m trimming a cat’s nails almost all my attention is on the hand holding the paw, and the paw itself, so I don’t want the (albeit minimal) distraction of my other hand having to actually keep hold of the trimmer.
I like to use human clippers.
My wife is always getting different nail clippers for the pets – for the dogs, they all seem to work well.
For the cats, the best thing for me is a good old pair of human toenail clippers – I can do a much faster cleaner job than with any of the pet clippers.
The large version of these clippers:
Cats grow new claws inside the old ones and shed the old ones after a while. The scratching at the post is to help to get rid of the old and dull claws so the new sharp ones are available. Then the cat can use his claws as intended by evolution: in a multi-functional capacity to improve dexterity, hunt and defend. Watch the fully clawed cat delicately lift a single thread from the ground to play. They like them sharp for a few reasons.
I use those, too (the larger toenail clippers). I turn them sideways. They are small enough to fit neatly even in smaller hands. A good sharp pair is essential - throw out your grand-dad’s old dull pair that crease and shred the claws (and fingernails).
My preferable mode is the sleeping cat ambush. I can usually get three or four claws done quickly before they are fully awake, then go back for the others at a different time. This is far better (and easier) than a big struggle where the cat is hyperventilating and MAD. The clippers are also easy to conceal in the hand to disguise your intentions from the other clip-wary cats in a household.
Aww, Kitler looks surprised.
Cat scratching, and cat nail clipping, are two entirely different things. The scratching action sharpens claws, removes dead cells, and marks a cat’s territory, both physically and chemically (through a scent released from the paws). Clipping is a method to reduce the damage a cat can do when it does scratch.
We have one cat that doesn’t shed the sheath very easily. Her nails can get very thick. When she first showed up at our door many years ago, she had calluses on her pads where her fat nails would rub.
She only has one nail (and one dew-claw) that still consistently grow thick.
I’m awfully glad my dog wears her claws down on her own . . . we do a lot of walking.
The only nails that need trimming are her dewclaws, which the groomer snips on her twice-a-year bathes.
sweet affiliate link
Now what would make you say something like that?
…ooh
On the other hand, why should BB leave money on the table? Presumably it links to the exact same page Mark would have linked to anyway.
Why clip cat’s nails anyway? Nasty human habit…
Regular nail clippers work great for me too. I usually roll up my cats in a towel and extract their paws to cut them. My cats are wiggly and one likes to bite me, so the towel minimizes that.
There’s no way possible to even get close to my cat’s claws for clipping. He simply will have none of that nonsense. And, he will make you pay for it, if you even try.
