Cats

How to Trim Your Cat’s Nails

How to Trim Your Cat's Nails
Written by Arlene S. Lane

Cat is known for its beauty and habit of keeping itself clean. However, this isn’t enough for the cat parents who want their cats to make good-looking all the time. After all, it isn’t just about their pet staying beautiful but it will be an indicator that the pet owner is caring for their pet. There are several factors to consider especially when you are wondering about How to Trim Your Cat’s Nails. Search any pet care guide and you will see nail trimming as a top consideration.

From fur trimming to paws and ear cleaning to nail cutting. Nail cutting is one of the most important parts of cat grooming.  Search any However, you may have no idea about how to Trim Your Cat’s Nails. If you are wondering why nail cutting of domestic cats is important. Here is what you need to know.

How to Trim Your Cat’s Nails

If you don’t know how to trim your cat’s nails then continue reading the following to understand the procedures of clipping cats nails.

1- Get The Right Tools

There are different types of tools available to trim a cat’s claws. Use clipping cat nails that suit your cats. There are different types of scissors that are modified to hold cat claws to conveniently trim the cat’s nails. You can also select pliers like clippers or one that features the sliding “guillotine” blade. However, if you don’t want to spend much then regular nail clippers for humans can also work for them as well. Whatever tools you are using, make sure the blade will remain sharp.

If you are doing it for the first time and wondering how to trim your cat’s claws then mind that dull blade pressure will hurt the animal and they might bleed from excessive pressure. If excessive moving has caused a little bleeding from the nail then use some cornstarch or styptic powder, or a dry soap bar to stop bleeding.

2- Setting the Mood

Another important part of “how to trim your cat’s claws routine” is setting the mode. During cat nail trimming time you have multiple options. If you want your cat to stay calm and ready for nail trimming then you should start practicing when they are younger. They will easily pick this up. Whenever you are going to start kitten nail trimming make sure it is in a calm and quiet location. Or you should cut the nails when they are sleeping after a meal. Don’t cut the nails near the window or near the other pets as they may distract you or alarm them. Sit somewhere calm with little to no noise and make your pet sit on your lap.

3- Controlling the Paws

Not all cats feel happy when they found that their paws get touched or are being held. This is something that every cat owner should understand when they are planning to clipping cats nails. If you are going to use the sharp nail trimmer in one hand going to hold the paw in the other hand then you will just annoy your kitten and chances are you will get nothing. Something that no pet owner will be thinking about.

Even if you don’t know how to trim kitten nails then you should be considering taking sometimes and befriending them with a cat’s paw. You can get the cat to rest on your lap and hold the paw with one hand while holding the nail trimmer in your other hand. This may take a while if your cat doesn’t have calm nature. For a more social cat, you can convince it to lie on its back. Gently squeeze the paw so the nail will extend then give your cat the treat. Do it twice or thrice so the cat gets habitual with the routine. This will greatly be helpful in clipping cat’s nails

4- Get Familiarized With The Nail Trimmer 

When it comes to clipping cats nails have to interact with an unfamiliar object then they can easily get stressed or even scared. Just when you are wondering how to trim a cats nails make sure to make it familiarized with the trimmer. So, what you need to do is to leave the trimmer somewhere where it can interact with or you can place the treat near the nail trimmer as well. So it can sniff and familiarize itself with the trimmer. The sound of the nail trimmer may scare the kitty as well. So before you start trimming the nails, you use the spaghetti to cut with the trimmer. Do it more often so they will not have any stress by the sound of a nail trimmer. Just when it accepts the nail trimmer sounds give it a treat.

5- Time to Clip

Once you have trained your cat about nails and kitten nail trimming now is the time to do the practical. When it is cat nail trimming day, you should put the cat in your lap. Take one paw in your hand and gently press on the paw until you see its claw clearly. Gently trim the nail if they need trimming and make it as slow as possible to keep your cat calm.

Once you have completed clipping cats nails, immediately leave the paw and give your cat a reward. If they have noticed what you have done then wait for a little to proceed to the next. Once he didn’t mind what you have done then continue to the next nail. 

If your cat didn’t react well to what you have done then immediately leave it and let it go. You can even delay the cat nail trimming for days. This doesn’t mean that you don’t know how to trim cat nails but your cat may require some time to get used to all the procedures. To make your cat feel better, you should treat it or get it a toy after every nail trim. Make it feel like it is a rather fun activity and not a stressful one. This may require several small sessions to complete the nail trimming.

6- Never Go Quick

If you don’t know how to trim kitten nails then consider doing it with a regular human nail trimmer and make it slow. Don’t do it in a rush and use force to trim the kitten nails. If you tried to cut the nail quickly, you may hurt the nail or paw with the trimmer. If your cat was afraid of this then a nail trimming session for the next time would be quite stressful for them.

7- Set A Routine

You should set a routine for clipping cats nails. Kitten nail trimming will help you to make your cat get calm while nail trimming and cutting. Clipping cat’s nails once a week or once in two weeks will be helpful in keeping your cat’s nails under control. You can ask a pet groomer as well if you are having trouble with the nail trimming of your cat.

Bottom Line on How To Trim A Cats Nails

There you have it. Hope you will have an idea about how to trim your cat’s nails now. Keeping your cat’s nails under control will be helpful in keeping you and your cat safe from unwanted cuts. Nail trimming is the basic part of the cat care routine but not knowing how to trim cat nails may cause damage to your cat’s nails. Make sure to have some practice before doing any practicals.

About the author

Arlene S. Lane

Arlene S. Lane is a veterinary technician and hospital manager with over 12 years of experience. Arlene has been contributed expert content to The Pet's Rise for over 10 years.
Arlene has worked in veterinary medicine since 2017. Arlene's veterinary experience ranges from routine wellness care and preventive medicine to emergency and specialty care, where she has performed duties ranging from specialized nursing to clinical administration.

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