Cat Litter Boxes

Grooming your cat is very important. Everything from combing their hair to using cat clippers to keep their nails clean and at a healthy length is an essential part of properly caring for your pet. When it comes to combing your pets coat, it isn’t very hard. In fact most cats enjoy gently being combed. However when it comes to using cat clippers to keep your pet’s nails properly groomed, things can become a bit more complicated.

Clipping your cat’s nails can be a little bit scarey. The reason for this is that cats, as well as dogs, have a very large vein that reaches more than half way down their claw. If this vein is cut, it can cause a great deal of blood loss. This is why many pet owners are weary of clipping their cats nails. It would not be so bad, but for many of us it can be quite hard to hold our cats still while we are attempting to complete this task. If you are thinking about trying to clip your cat’s claws, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.

The part of your cats claw that causes them to bleed is you do not properly clip their nail is called the quick. The quick is the fleshy part of your pets nail. This pink tissue holds veins and nerves. What does that mean? If you clip the quick, it will cause pain and bleeding. Needless to say this is something that you want to avoid. Look at the picture to the right. It will give you a better idea of where you want to place the cat clippers before you make the incision.

Most importantly, you should make sure that you purchase a good pair of cat clippers. Having sharp and well made cat clippers can make the task much safer and easier. If you have a cheaper, more dull pair of clippers, you may find it harder to cut through the nail. The utensil may not be able to slice through the claw cleanly and smoothly. During this time your cat may begin to struggle which will increase the chance of injury. This is why step number one is to make sure that you have a good, sharp pair of cat clippers.

One of the first rules of cat nail clipping is that you should do it from a very young age. If you have been clipping your cat’s claws ever since they were a kitten, they will be used to you handling them in such a way. This makes them much more docile during the process and makes your life much easier as well as lessening the chance of injury. If you have never clipped your cat’s claws, you may want to practice before you try using cat clippers. Have your cat lie on your lap as if you were going to clip their claws but instead gently rub their paws. Try lightly pressing on the bottom of their paw, pushing out the claws. This will help your pet to get used to their paws being handled. After awhile, when you feel a bit more comfortable handling your cat’s claws, you can attempt to clip them.

When clipping your cat’s claw, you should make the cut vertically. Not only will this make a cleaner cut but will make the claw far less likely to split or break later on. Cutting the claw vertically will also put less pressure on the quick, which could cause your cat some pain causing them to struggle.

If this is your first time using cat clippers on your pet, don’t worry, it gets easier over time. A great tip that will help make this experience go more smoothly is to reward your cat with a treat after each grooming session. This will help them stay calm and maybe even look forward to them. If you ever accidentally clip the quick and your cat’s claw begins to bleed, relax and don’t begin panicking. Yes, this is a bit painful for your cat but the bleeding will quickly stop. Calm your cat down and once he or she is relaxed you can pick up your cat clippers and begin again.

How often should you clip your cat’s claws? This depends on how well your cat grooms their own claws and how much of the claw was trimmed during the last grooming session. For the most part, this should probably be done once or twice a month.

If you simply can not clip your cat’s claws, whether it is because your pet will not allow it or your are too worried about cutting the quick, bring your pet to a veterinarian. Your vet is a professional and will easily be able to clip your cat’s nails.