clipping kitty's nails

ok... i am such a baby... i want to clip my kitties' nails... but am kind of nervous to do it... do i need to buy special clippers or can i do it with regular human clippers? what is the best way to clip 8 1/2 old kittens' nails?

If they're that young, their nails are usually soft enough for you to use human nail clippers. Just be sure not to cut the quick. =) Here is a link on a how-to.

I picked my cat clipper at Petsmart. =)

With small kittens, its easier to use the smaller fingernail clippers. When they are a few months old and the nails are a little bigger, I use the scissor type of cat nail clippers.

Dog clippers are usually too big to be using on cats. You can wrap your cat in a towel and do one foot at a time. I train 4 week old kittens to sit in my lap and get theirs done. As they get bigger, I put them on their backs in my lap and do them.

If you are still unsure of how to do it, then take your kitten to the vet and have the vet tech show you how to do it. Its best to check and trim nails once a week.

I did it with those guys about 2 weeks ago. I had an extremely hard time doing Ginger but Marianne was really good. I used human nail clippers. Good luck!

lol, i noticed that with the baths...the vet... cleaning ears and everything else... lol, marianne is much easiergoing (not sure that is really proper grammar ... or even a word!) with grooming stuff

yes you do need a special nail cutter for cats and if your cat has white nails it is easier to do you always cut below the red the red that you see is a blood vessel you do not want to cut into that if he has black nails the best way is to hold his paw in your hands were the nail curves you cut if it does bleed a little you can buy clotting stuff at the pet store or you can get a bar of soap and make it tacky and use that to clot the blood good luck

You don't especially need special nail clippers although they are available. I have always only ever used human nail clippers and have no problems at all. I start playing with kitties paws when they are very young to get them used to being handled and clipping. I don't think they ever learn to love it but most will tolerate it. We don't even have to hold Bijou and Mika now in order to clip their claws. Bijou can be laying down on the table and I can just sit in the chair, lift his paws and cut his nails.

It's really a matter of training IMO.

Thanks for the responses! I do have both scissor cutters for cats and a guillotine cutter for cats... lol, and the styptic powder! ( i tend to overkill )

However ... i am still kind of nervous that i will damage them... the paws look so tiny and delicate... marianne and ginger both stay still when i play with their paws (thank you Lindsey... you did a great job socializing them!) ... like i said i am probably being a baby... lol, i almost went back to the vet to have them show me again!

On a kitten, you don't need to take off very much, and you do want them to be able to use their claws to catch themselves when they fall, misjudge a jump, or something.

I kind of just wanted to make sure they were used to it... for the future...

i finally did it... i think it helped my more shy kitty Marianne be a bit more comfortable with us!!!

however our outgoing kitten, Ginger ... well she squirmed and complained and i had to do 2 nails in between each fit!... but i finally got her done!

Thanks y'all for the advice!

Originally Posted by Mama of Bronte

ok... i am such a baby... i want to clip my kitties' nails... but am kind of nervous to do it... do i need to buy special clippers or can i do it with regular human clippers? what is the best way to clip 8 1/2 old kittens' nails?

Click to expand...

Is your kitty 8-1/2 years or months old?

I have always just used human nail clippers and hold them sideways, i.e., not clipping top to bottom as that tends to split the nail.

Have some treats handy to give them after the clipping (I don't do this myself but then I've gotten our kitties used to having their paws touched and played with since they were babies so clipping is not a problem for us at all).

If you cut just the tip of the claw you'll be fine. As you get more comfortable with clipping, you may cut a bit more off but never cut right down to the pink part. Unless your cat's nails are black, you'll be able to see where the pink part starts and be able to stay away from that.

i'm sorry i didn't realize that i didn't put whether it was weeks or years ... they are 8 1/2 weeks old...

i tried the treats... they don't seem to go for them however one of the kitties sits tight for clipping the other one will eat the treat eventually if i leave it in a bowl... but i am not sure if she associates the treat with getting nails clipped... maybe i just need to find a treat they like better?

Originally Posted by Mama of Bronte

i'm sorry i didn't realize that i didn't put whether it was weeks or years ... they are 8 1/2 weeks old...

i tried the treats... they don't seem to go for them however one of the kitties sits tight for clipping the other one will eat the treat eventually if i leave it in a bowl... but i am not sure if she associates the treat with getting nails clipped... maybe i just need to find a treat they like better?

Click to expand...

As I said, I don't use treats because I just got the kitties used to having their nails done so it's not a necessity. You are starting your kitties early which is great. I think it's important to have them trust us enough to play with their feet, cut their claws, etc. I don't know if it's just Bijou or the way we worked with him, but he is so trusting it's amazing. Any one of us can roll him over, kiss his tummy, do raspberries on his tummy, clip his nails, nuzzle his neck, gently bite on his ears, etc., and he never tries to scratch or bite, in fact he usually starts purring. He lets me hold his paws - he'll just close his eyes and leaves his paw in my hand.

Agree with Yo, while you might start out with a few treats, its really better to condition the cat to weekly nail cutting w/o the treats. You may be in a situation or place where treats are not handy and the nails need to be cut.

I train kittens from 4 weeks old to have nails trimmed w/o treats. I can cut them any place/any time

They sell cat nail clippers at pet stores, but I've heard you can use baby nail ones too (not sure). If you're lucky enough to have your cat nap on you while watching tv, for ex, thats when i do it because she is soooo relaxed it doesnt matter what im doing then. Also, make sure to play with the paws alot all the time to encourage comfort with them being touched. Mine likes her front paws rubbed more than the back ones.