Trimming Your Cat’s Nails

My husband works at North Shore Animal League America, therefore I have access to vets and sound medical advice pretty much whenever I am seeking it. So recently, after chasing my cat around the house with the nail clippers for nearly 20 minutes, I decided to ask my vet at North Shore how I can make this experience less stressful for my cat and less painful for me.

According to my vet, it’s best if you train your from an early age to get used to having their nails trimmed. You can easily do this when they are kittens by gently massaging their paws until they gradually get used to being touched. When you gently press the paw the nails will come out, making for an easy trim. Remember to give constant affection and rewards like treats to reinforce the behavior. From that you can usually use either sharp human nail clippers, or nail clippers designed especially for cats (you can pick these up at any local pet store) to gently clip the tip of the nail.

However, for those people who have adult cats in their lives that have not had this training as kittens, it’s a bit trickier. From personal experience, the best time to trim your adult cat’s nails is when they are really sleepy. Cats tend not to fuss quite as much then because they just want to sleep. Remember never attempt to trim a cats nails when they are hyper or stressed, this will cause a more severe reaction.

If you have happen to cut the nails a little too much and they bleed, there are commercial coagulants available at almost all local pet stores to quickly stop the bleeding. For further details on how to trim your cat’s nails including how frequently it should be done, please visit the Humane Society of The United States website.

Remember trimming a cat’s nails is important for their safety and for their health. Long and overgrown nails can be painful and can cause cats to get stuck to everything they walk on. If, despite this advice, you still have trouble trimming your cats nails, please visit a vet or a professional groomer for help.