Help!

[tabbysia]

I posted on another forum about having to make a decision about declawing my kitten or not. I have decided to not declaw him, but I am completely ignorant and somewhat afraid when it comes to clipping his nails. I have always had declawed cats (but am trying to do the right thing now), so this has never been an issue before. He is patient with me when I handle his feet, so that shouldn't be a problem. However, I could use some advice about clipping his nails. I know that if I cut the quick, it could make him bleed. I am terrified of this happening. I don't want to hurt him and have blood spurting everywhere, like something out of a horror movie. Also, I am not even sure how to make his claws "pop out". I experimented by pressing the pads of his feet but they don't seem to extend very much. I don't want to press too hard and squeeze his little foot off. If you have any advice about clipping nails (how to do it properly, what to use, etc.), it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jezebel1490]

Hi, the first thing I would recommend is get clippers specifically made for kitty claws - they seriously work!  These are the ones I have    You don't have to apply too much pressure to "push" out the claws and once you get over the initial anxiety, it's actually a very simple process.  Thankfully kitty claws are all white so you can actually see where the nail starts.  As long as you clip in the white area, you'll be fine.  Stay away from the pink area as that will cause the kitty to bleed.  I've seen people use towels to try to bind the kitty if they're fighting too much but I find if you start them early on in life, they eventually get used to it.  I clip the nails of both of my cats about every month and though they don't enjoy it, they don't really fight me either.  I just make sure to treat them afterward for the ordeal I put them through.  Good luck and I commend you for taking the less easy road.

 

[GoldyCat]

You push down in the top of the paw to extend the claws, not on the paw pads. Here's a video of one of our members trimming a cat's claws. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/209333/how-to-trim-a-cats-claws

If you do a search on YouTube I'm sure you'll come up with a lot more helpful videos.