Here is some cat grooming help with trimming claws. Learn how to do it effectively and with the least amount of pain to your animal.
Clipping your cat's toenails is one of the least favorite things to do among pet owners. You should start trimming your cat's toenails early on in it's life, or the procedure will come with great resistance. Cats don't like getting their toenails trimmed, because they sometimes experience a mild pain with the procedure. But trimming toenails is something that absolutely must be done.
How many times has your cat greeting someone by clawing at them with long, sharp nails, or has dug its claws into you in an effort to hang on to your or enhance its grasp on your shoulder? The longer a cat's claws, the sharper and more severe the pain is when it scratches or grips you. The other reason you need to keep your cat's claws neat, short, and dull is to control the damage that is done to your furniture and draperies when your cat scratches at it.
Cats can naturally keep their claws short by having a scratching post for them to claw at. If you can train your cat to use a scratching post, you can not only give it an item to claw at when it gets the urge to scratch, but you also give it an opportunity to dull and file its nails.
You want to clip your cat's toenails when it is tired and somewhat limp. Usually after a big meal or right before bed time is the best period to clip your cat's nails. You should use special pet nail clippers to clip your cat's nails. Human toenail clippers and scissors can pinch your cat's nails at a level that can hurt them.
When you clip its nails, you should clip one foot at a time. Hold the toenail up into the light so you can see the quick. The quick is the spot where the blood vessel and nerves end in a cat's toe. You only want to clip a very small portion of its nail off. If you take too much, you run the risk of hurting your cat and cutting the quick. If you cut the quick, blood will gush out. If you see blood, you should use alum powder on it to stop the bleeding. Cat's toes are known to bleed badly.
Many cat owners are quite nervous about the toenail clipping process. If you feel nervous about clipping the nails of your pet, you may want to have your vet conduct the procedure.
