How you trim the nails of your cat
The claws are an important tool for cats and it’s important to trim them regularly.
Cat's claws at a glance
The front paws are equipped with five and the hind paws with four claws. When walking, the cat's claws are usually retracted. However, if necessary, your cat will be able to extend them within seconds.
The claws are a tool for climbing, a weapon for fights with other cats, and a hunting aid for holding onto prey.
When do you have to trim the claws?
You will certainly know that cats regularly sharpen their claws. Ideally, they use their scratching post and sometimes, unfortunately, their sofa at home for this purpose.
In outdoor activities, the claws usually wear out by themselves when walking on hard surfaces or climbing trees, so that a scratching post is usually not necessary for claw care.
However, it is quite common with domestic cats that the scratching post is not used often enough and the claws become longer and longer over time. This not only disturbs when walking, but also carries a risk of injury that should not be underestimated.
At the latest when the claws obviously disturb your cat when running and clatter on the floor or when there is a risk of injury when cleaning, it is therefore time to unpack the claw scissors and support your four-legged friend with claw care.
Accustom your cat slowly to trimming claws
No cat likes having its claws trimmed. Before you can safely devote yourself to claw care, you must slowly get your pet used to the procedure.
To do this, wait until your cat is cuddled with you and is completely relaxed. Now gently stroke her legs down to her paws. If your four-legged friend lets you do this without any problems, you can try to carefully embrace his paw with your hand and in the next step you can also press on the ball of his paw so that the claws are extended.
When practising it is important that you do not hold your cat with force, but give him the opportunity to pull his paw away at any time. Because if you are already using force while stroking, cutting the cat's claws will be even more difficult.
Do not cut cat claws with nail scissors
The claws of a cat differ in their anatomy very clearly from the foot and fingernails of humans. For this reason, it is very important not to cut them with conventional nail scissors, but with a special claw clipper or claw scissors.
These cutting tools have a small recess into which the cat's claw is inserted before cutting. This makes clipping easier and helps to prevent unnecessary injuries.
How to cut your cat's claws properly
You can be sure that your cat will not put up with the cutting of her claws without resistance. Therefore, it is best to choose a moment when your four-legged friend appears relaxed and let a second person help you.
Hold the cat and each paw firmly and gently press down on the ball of each paw. This will automatically extend the claws so that they come close to them for cutting.
At least with light coloured claws you should clearly see a darker area inside. This is the part of the cat's claws that contains nerves and blood vessels. In order not to hurt your cat, you should not catch it when cutting.
Be careful not to stretch the cutting of cat's claws unnecessarily. Also be sure to always shorten the claws in the direction of growth. This makes it easier for your quadruped to care for his claws on his own.
Have the cat's claws cut by the vet
With a little practice, cutting cat's claws should soon no longer be a big problem. However, if you don't think you can do it or if your cat becomes particularly aggressive, you can of course consult a vet.
They know exactly what to look out for when cutting a cat's claws, so your cat should be able to get through the treatment within minutes.
Our conclusion on the topic of cutting cat claws
As you can see, cutting the claws is very important from time to time, especially for pure indoor cats. With the right cutting tool, some patience and a steady hand the procedure should not be a big problem.
To help your cat relax while cutting the claws, it may be useful to administer Shiimun Calm beforehand.
Shiimun Calm is an easily digestible food supplement for cats, which can counteract stress and nervousness in a natural way thanks to carefully selected ingredients.
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