Have you ever cut/filed down your kitten's/puppy's claws?

I’ve never sanded them, but I have clipped cats’ claws. One was very mellow and didn’t care, the other two freak out from the moment I hold a paw. Lots of twisting and fighting. However, I have learned that if I catch one of them while he’s laying in the sun or in front of a fire, he’s too mellow to care.

I have heard that if you start them early and get them used to touching their paws, they accept the clipping more easily.

I bought that silly sanding product and my cat HATED IT. So I resorted the clipping, which he doesn’t mind.

Clipping cat claws is pretty simple and quick – a sander is just going to prolong the process and increase the stress,

I had a cat for twelve years and never trimmed her nails. Luckily she wasn’t interested in tearing up the furniture.

I just took the scratches all over my arm as badges of affection. She calmed down a lot with age.

Just my experience with one cat, FWIW.

No, I have not done this, and never would – certainly not to the extent that a significant part of the claw was filed away or removed.

The people who owned our family cat before we had him cut his claws back, leaving him unable to defend himself if attacked by other animals, and unable to escape from situations (e.g., he was unable to grip to run away up a tree).

Cats have claws for a reason, and I really feel quite strongly against people removing them or cutting them back dramatically because they don’t like being scratched or having their furniture damaged. If you don’t want that to happen, then don’t get a “pet”. Don’t remove features of your animal that have developed for a reason to make your life easier. If you want to be able to play with your cat without him or her scratching you, then perhaps consider wearing thick gloves. Moreover, given appropriate opportunity, your cat will wear his or her claws down naturally. Please don’t forget that cats have developed claws for very good reasons, and they serve many useful functions, even though they may not be that great for you.

I think clipping is a good compromise (not to be confused with declawing, which should be completely avoided); to @reverie‘s point, just clipping the very tips of the sharpest, needle-point claws is usually sufficient. Sometimes I don’t clip all the claws because some of them weren’t too sharp. I agree that if a cat that goes outdoors, the claws should not be clipped at all. I only very rarely clipped the rear claws of a cat who had his front paws declawed (not by me). When I didn’t, he would actually chew at his own claws when they got too long. I have hard-wood floors, but long, super-sharp claws on a strictly indoor cat can be dangerous depending on the type of carpet. I have seen cats claws get caught in loopy carpet which doesn’t turn out well when the cat is running.

I’ve lived with cats all my life and have always clipped their claws. Some take to it better than others; one of the ones I had when I was still living with my parents required two people – one to hold and one to clip.

Especially with ones who didn’t like it so much, we took care to speak to them calmly and not force them too much. @tedibear mentioned a good tactic – approach them when they’re relaxed and mellow, and try not to disturb them too much. Assure them with gentleness and soft speech, and give treats afterward.

If you decide to clip claws (or even if you don’t), make sure that they have access to a sisal rope post or something they can use to “strip” their claws – where they get rid of the dried-out, outer layers of their claws.

And, if your hands get scratched while playing, try using a toy instead to play with her. You can use your hand to dangle a toy mouse or other toy and get the same playful interaction, just without as much exposure to those claws.

Milo here: I have insured that Gail hauls me 28 miles (round-trip) once a month to the Animal Shelter for my mani/pedi. I insist on barfing in the carrier to make life even more difficult for her. I occasionally use the stupid sisal mats or scratching post, and my nails still grow back very fast. Nothing Gail has tried has made me more amenable to her clipping me. Even the promise of nailpolish…

I use a Dremel on my golden retriever’s nails. I’m too terrified that I might cut into the quick with clippers as he moves his paw around. With the Dremel, I can slowly round off the sharp parts without risking a sudden snip in the wrong place. My dog isn’t really a huge fan, but I try to make the experience as pleasant as possible with lots of his favorite treats.

I trim the nails of all of my cats (5) once a month and they never give me any problems. It takes less than 2 min. If you start clipping a cat’s nails when they are young and/or new to your household the process will be easy for you and kitty.

From the sound of it you need to teach kitty how to play properly (never with your hands). All the nail clipping in the world will not solve the aggression problem.

I use clippers on my cats to take the really sharp part off. I have never hit the pink part which would make them permanently uncooperative.

I don’t have a cat or dog, I have a bird. I cut his talons once and I’ll never cut them again. :-)

My dog’s claws would wear naturally from walking, but the last year or so as she’s got older she doesn’t walk far enough any more to keep them short, so I get them clipped when they grow too long.

Get a scratcing post for kitty :-/ from the pet shop…..... this will help wear down her claws..

My cats. It wasn’t easy though because he always squirmed.

Use professional quality clippers, not the cheap ones. We have a scratching device that looks like corrugated cardboard. The cat loves it, and it keeps his claws smooth.

I never filed them. I used to cut my cat’s nails with toenail clippers. You have to be careful to only clip the very ends, and it has to be done often.

I’ve always trimmed and then followed up with a sanding but recently have changed over to a battery sander/dremmel tool. My dog is used to being groomed and will be cooperative, almost appearing to like it.

We’ve always clipped our dog’s claws. My dad always dreaded it because he hated not being able to cut enough off without the stress of it bleeding. After a while we just let the groomer do it for us.

I was thinking of doing what @gorillapaws did, using a dremel. Seems like a great idea to me!

I’ve learned to cut them, which takes some doing. I would never try to sand them, it is too prolonged. Once you get comfortable that they will survive your ministrations and gain a needed confidence and firmness handling them, clipping is easy. Sanding would be too lengthy and pointless.

@gailcalled—your animal shelter does that? That is terrific! When J&J had the Banfield plans I got that done for a reduced amount twice a year, not enough for those guys, tho’

clipping is easy.

@anartist: I’m comfortable, confident and firm, and still can’t get Milo’s nails and a clippers in the same room with each other.

Well, maybe it takes what I reached during a low point—a depression so deep that I was impervious to all except their well being, even if it came to harm to myself. That was when I got good at it. I hung on to that valuable skill/awareness.

I’ve clipped lots of cats’ claws. I can use toenail clippers, but I prefer claw clippers.

All the cats I’ve known get used to it. My cat prefers her claws clipped. She’s old enough to know now. Younger cats get scared of it, but eventually get used to it.

@Kraigmo you are talking about that thing that is a cross between an eyelash curler and a guillotine right? Maybe even called a guillotine clipper?

There are two types of cat clippers. One is the guillotine type which is a smaller version of those used on dogs.

The other type is more like a mini pair of scissors that are notched.

This is the type which gives you far more precision and control as you can see exactly where you’re cutting so as not to hit the blood vessel part.

Trying to manage it with the guillotine type is like working blind. So much more difficult.

What I’ve always done with all my cats is to sit cross-legged on the floor or bed. I then place kitty on her back with the head towards me and the back feet facing away.

I make sure to have a towel or T Shirt handy to drape over the back paws to prevent scratching.

This enables me to do the front paws one at a time and also be able to see what I’m doing.

If you’re doing this for the first time with your cat just take off a tiny little bit of each claw. This will ensure that you don’t cut into the blood line which is very painful for any animal, as well as bloody.

If kitty is really squirming just do one paw and try for the next one tomorrow. Give cat plenty of praise and treats so she has good associations with this activity.

After the first few times of being extremely conservative in the clipping and now that you kind of have a better feel for the clippers, the best guideline to avoid going too deep in the clipping is to let the natural curvature of the nail guide you.

Never go further than the apex of the curve and you’ll be sure of not going too deep. Cats have long memories so you don’t want to give them any reason to be afraid of the clippers.

The scissor type seem to be getting harder to find these days but being persistent until you find that type is well worth it.

Since your kitty is still young, a little patience and calm demeanor will get her accustomed to this in due time.

Putting her on her back between your legs even when you’re not clipping her nails will get her more used to this position and if combined with a soothing voice, love and chin stroking lets the cat know that there is nothing to fear from being in this position.

It really does give you maximum control for clipping the nails since the cat can’t easily run away. And as long as you practice putting kitty in this position just for snuggling and petting helps the whole process along.

@Buttonstc I have both types of clippers and find I prefer the guillotine clippers. For me they are more precise.

Also I do it totally differently. My kitty is lying prone position head facing me, sometimes I have blanket or towel over her rear. If cantankerous she is wrapped in a towel. I lift up one of her front paws, squeeze the palm in various points to extrude each claw and clip the extended bit with the guillotine.

I never thought of putting her on her back
1. because she would feel more helpless and therefore more afraid and
2 because the vet never did.

Whatever works is my motto.

I did the towel wrapping when I had to do assisted feeding with my current kitty as she stopped eating or drinking following her spay. But that had it’s difficulties also and left me wishing I had more than only two hands :)

I guess I just sort of developed my particular clipping method more by instinct. But I’ve always had a tendency with every cat I’ve ever had to hold them cradled in my arms on their back on a regular basis when NOT clipping them. Only one really struggled against that initially but soon realized that she could trust me and relaxed about it.

But different things work for different folks and as long as it gets the job done, it’s all good.

I just clipped my cat’s claws now (all 10 of ‘em, so that includes the thumblike ones).
And I filmed it, too. You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/rRnQmbhWcsw

@Kraigmo ya those thumbs[dewclaws] are the hardest; took me a while to learn those.
I don’t do the back claws. They never sharpen them and I thought they were more likely to wear down with the force jumping etc.

I may need to try @Buttonstc ‘s technique but Jilly [formerly part of JackyJilly] is 11 now and I’m not sure she would be amenable to change.

@artist

It’s interesting that after your post, I started to think back upon what types of things I’ve done with all my cats.

I’ve realized that totally apart from clipping issues, I’ve always had a tendency to put them on their backs while petting them and playing with them on a regular basis.

Some of them have initially squirmed and resisted fiercely initially but finally realized that no harm would come to them and it just became normal.

My recent cat had a chin issue the first six months or so that I had her so I had to have her on her back while I ran a comb through her neck and chin hair so I could see what I was doing.

Now it’s one of her favorite positions and she’ll tilt her head back to get chin skritches
All the time.

The first few times I did her claws she resisted but now it’s no big deal at all since she knows it won’t hurt so it’s no big deal. I don’t even have to put towel over her back feet either.

But as we all know, EVERY cat is their own individualistic little self. All we can do is share what works for us and our own cats and hope it may help someone else (depending, of course, upon their particular feline’s wishes)

:D

@Buttonstc some of my cats have come in from the cold as feral adults and were very resistant to anything so vulnerable as an exposed belly. My cat who lived with me until she was 21 never allowed this and was always a bit aloof. I NEVER cut her claws. The vet had to sedate her before doing some grooming, such as removing mats from her long hair. She was a wild white angora.

I only learned clipping with my JackyJilly.

I have a few times, and she (my dog) hates it. We try to calm her down by giving her treats while simultaneously clipping her nails, but it never works. I would say you might want to go to to a professional??

I used to do this – not any more!
My current cat looks really sweet, but can be vicious.
I think his previous servants must have treated him badly.
He has a short fuse – any ideas on how to hypnotize a cat?

I have just found the clothes peg trick . . m-m-m-might try it?
It is a form of acupressure : http://www.tributememorial.net/CLIPPINGNAILS.html
From this link you can also click through to a sensible “How to” guide which ends :

“If your cat is not used to having his nails trimmed, start slowly, and gradually work up to simply holding his toes firmly for 15–30 seconds.
Do not let him mouth or bite at you. It can take daily handling for a week or more to get some cats used to this.
When your cat tolerates having his feet held, clip just one nail, and if he is good, praise him and give him a tiny treat.
Wait, and then at another time, do another nail.
Continue until all nails have been trimmed.
Slowly, you will be able to cut several nails in one sitting, and finally all the nails in one session.”

Really? They’ve not met my cat.
I doubt he’ll allow me to apply the pegs.
I predict he will “simply” clamp his jaw around my wrist and tear me to shreds.

I don’t know if anyone else suggested this or not but if your kitten is playing that rough, cutting the nails wont solve the problem. Do cut the nails but also stop playing with your kitten when she gets too rough, by continuing to play at this point, you are rewarding her roughness.