Help! I cut Lilly's nail too short!

[curlyq629]

I trimmed Leo & Lilly's nails last night before I went out for dinner. When we got home, there was blood on the floor. I checked, and I had clipped one of Lilly's back toenails too short. I was so irritated with myself- this is the first time I've ever done that to one of my cats!

I confined her to the bathroom overnight, after having dipped the toe in flour to help stop the bleeding. This morning, it is still bleeding a little bit; not as much as last night, but it hasn't stopped 100%. She is notoriously obsessive about being neat and clean, and I have watched her clean the foot/toe several times. Is her "attention" to the toe keeping it from being able to scab over?

What else should I do? Every time I put flour on it, she licks it off. Should I buy some gauze to wrap around it, or put an e-collar on her for a while to keep her from licking?

Help, please!

 

[jen]

Don't just dip the claw in flour, you need to really shove the flour into the quick. Pack it in there. That is the only way to stop it.

 

[curlyq629]

Originally Posted by Jen

Don't just dip the claw in flour, you need to really shove the flour into the quick. Pack it in there. That is the only way to stop it.

Thanks; I'll try again. She isn't very cooperative, and doesn't like me messing with it, so it's been hard to get the claw in the flour for long enough to "pack it in".

 

[jen]

Scruff her with one hand a scoop out flour with your pointer finger of you other hand and just grab the foot and push the flour into the quick.

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Invest in some stiptic... they sell it in powder and stick form - they don't really like it cuz it stings some, but it'll stop the bleeding... I got mine from petco or petsmart... it's a good thing to have around when you have clawed animals that get their nails clipped (cats, dogs, birds, lizards, etc) it's not that expensive... your kitty should be ok - dont feel bad, most of us have done this at one point or another

 

[callista]

I did that to poor little Skimble when I took care of him--his bleeding stopped after twenty minutes with no care, though.

 

[curlyq629]

Update:

I got her scruffed with one hand, and got lots of flour on/in the claw after Jen's first post yesterday. I then put an e-collar on her and confined her for awhile so it could help the blood coagulate without her cleaning her paw and without Leo "helping" her.

So far, so good.

Buzby, thanks for the tip on the stiptic; I'll look for it the next time I'm at the pet store.

Silver lining - I probably won't have to cut that claw for quite a while, now!

Thanks, all!

 

[necklacemaker]

I just trimmed my cat's nail too short!  I didn't know about the cornstarch/flour thing, so I added pressure and wrapped her foot/nail up with medical tape...will that be ok or should i unwrap the tape and put on cornstarch/flour?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Welcome to TCS!

Is it still bleeding?  If so I'd go for the cornstarch.

 

[kittencats]

I just cut my cats nails a little short. It's my first time trying. I was wondering on what I should do about cleaning it because he seems not into wanting to clean it

 

[sophie1]

I did that once too.  I felt TERRIBLE about it!  It's nice to hear I'm not the only one.

With my kitty the bleeding stopped after just a few minutes.  The bigger issue came later:  he was not nearly as cooperative as he had been about getting his claws clipped.  It took a lot of coaxing and stroking and treats, and I stopped trying to clip the nails short.  Instead, I checked each claw once a week and only nipped the tips off the sharp ones, leaving the others alone.  I noticed that he got squirrelly if I came closer than about 2 mm to the quick, so I am guessing that this is enough to hurt.  I've been careful ever since to keep this distance, and not to cut unless I had a clear view of the claw.

 

[Princemom1]

My baby had a broken claw, and it has been causing him some discomfort, what I didn’t realize until after I clipped it, the nail had broken down the quick! The bleeding had stopped fairly quickly, now all I’m worried about is him going after his scratching post.

 

[Milly123]

I trimmed Leo & Lilly's nails last night before I went out for dinner. When we got home, there was blood on the floor. I checked, and I had clipped one of Lilly's back toenails too short. I was so irritated with myself- this is the first time I've ever done that to one of my cats!

I confined her to the bathroom overnight, after having dipped the toe in flour to help stop the bleeding. This morning, it is still bleeding a little bit; not as much as last night, but it hasn't stopped 100%. She is notoriously obsessive about being neat and clean, and I have watched her clean the foot/toe several times. Is her "attention" to the toe keeping it from being able to scab over?

What else should I do? Every time I put flour on it, she licks it off. Should I buy some gauze to wrap around it, or put an e-collar on her for a while to keep her from licking?

Help, please!

My baby had a broken claw, and it has been causing him some discomfort, what I didn’t realize until after I clipped it, the nail had broken down the quick! The bleeding

I trimmed Leo & Lilly's nails last night before I went out for dinner. When we got home, there was blood on the floor. I checked, and I had clipped one of Lilly's back toenails too short. I was so irritated with myself- this is the first time I've ever done that to one of my cats!

I confined her to the bathroom overnight, after having dipped the toe in flour to help stop the bleeding. This morning, it is still bleeding a little bit; not as much as last night, but it hasn't stopped 100%. She is notoriously obsessive about being neat and clean, and I have watched her clean the foot/toe several times. Is her "attention" to the toe keeping it from being able to scab over?

What else should I do? Every time I put flour on it, she licks it off. Should I buy some gauze to wrap around it, or put an e-collar on her for a while to keep her from licking?

Help, please!

Hey did your cats nail grow back normally? I did the same with mine accidentally