Claw clipping question

[zsu1980]

So Thor has been with us for about 2 months now and he is settling in. I noticed that his claws seem long and he gets snagged on things. Like I have to help him unhook his paw from just about everything every time. So I guess it is time for claw clipping. I have watched my mom do it many times and helped her to hold our cats but I have never been the clipper before. I am a bit apprehensive ...
So which clipper do you recommend … there are so many out there and I want to make sure it is a painless quick process as Thor still does not like to be held. Any good videos / tutorials?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have included a link from this site (see below) with clipping advice. I also have included a pic that is similar to the ones I use with Feeby. If your mom is available, you might want to reverse roles with her and let her instruct/guide you through the process.
How To Best Take Care Of Cat Claws

 

[tabbytom]

I have watched my mom do it many times and helped her to hold our cats but I have never been the clipper before. I am a bit apprehensive ...

You don't have to clip all the nails at one go and you don't have to clip it very short as it is very dangerous. Just clip off the sharp curve tip of the claw and do it every week. Don't stress out yourself and your cat as it is uneasy for both of you.
If your cat struggles during clipping, let her rest and continue later or the next day. No need to do all in one sitting provide your cat is fine with it.

If your cat have clear nails it'll be easier to see the quick but some cats still have the veins pretty long even though you can see the quick, you may clip the vein. Clipping on the quick is dangerous and painful for the cat. Once this happens, the cat may be weary about nail clipping the next time. Always standby plain flour or corn starch just I case you accidentally clip on the quick and it bleeds, plunge the nail into the flour to stop the bleeding and use fresh flour the next time you clip the nails.

This is not to scare you but it's just for precautionary sake and over time, you'll get better in doing it right.

 

[maggie101]

You don't have to clip all the nails at one go and you don't have to clip it very short as it is very dangerous. Just clip off the sharp curve tip of the claw and do it every week. Don't stress out yourself and your cat as it is uneasy for both of you.
If your cat struggles during clipping, let her rest and continue later or the next day. No need to do all in one sitting provide your cat is fine with it.

If your cat have clear nails it'll be easier to see the quick but some cats still have the veins pretty long even though you can see the quick, you may clip the vein. Clipping on the quick is dangerous and painful for the cat. Once this happens, the cat may be weary about nail clipping the next time. Always standby plain flour or corn starch just I case you accidentally clip on the quick and it bleeds, plunge the nail into the flour to stop the bleeding and use fresh flour the next time you clip the nails.

This is not to scare you but it's just for precautionary sake and over time, you'll get better in doing it right.
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My cat's nails are clear extra thin needles-ouch! You do need to be quick and not cut too low. I take her to the vet to do it. They grow fast. Do not let the nails curl. The yellow scissors are great if you dont have shaky hands like me

 

[Anoxia]

I use the yellow scissor-shaped clippers as well; I clip my cats on my own, so it allows me to trim them with one hand and hold their paw with the other. I had to get used to cutting with the guidelines tabbytom posted, because my natural angle of holding scissors blade down resulted in the wrong cut and their nails would split all the time until I learned to angle the scissors with the blade tilted up and the handle held low. (I clip my cats while they're sitting facing forward between my thighs; it will be different if you have your cat lay on his back on your lap.) If your cat has dark nails, a tip a friend told me was to just cut the part that curved to make sure you don't cut into the quick. While you're learning, you can clip just the very tip on a more frequent basis, and then work towards clipping more of the nail on a weekly basis.

It's possible to clip a few nails at a time if your cat allows you to handle his paws while he sleeps. I have an extremely skittish cat who doesn't sleep through touch, though, and she had to have her nails clipped by the vet twice before I was able to handle her paws (although I'm still working up to handling her back feet). I transitioned her in very slow stages and rewarded her each time I handled her; I did no more than one stage a day, and did not move onto the next stage until she was comfortable with the current one for all toes and I could consistently stay in that stage for at least a few days. If she struggled too much, I went back to the prior stage:

1. Touch her paw
2. Lift her paw
3. Lift and hold her paw
4. Unsheath a claw
5. Tap an unsheathed claw with the clippers very quickly
6. Tap an unsheathed claw with the clippers slowly
7. Open the scissors around the tip of her claw without clipping
8. Clipping just the tip very quickly; I capped it at one claw a day in the beginning

She is still very shy so I have to handle each toe every day; if I wait any longer, she forgets her handling and struggles again. With my other cat, though, I'm able to clip all of her nails in one session!

 

[maggie101]

Every time I try to clip her paws she licks me. I wish I could be fast enough