Nail Clipping

[help!]

I read somewhere that I should clip the kittens' nails so they don't scratch up Momma and cause her to possibly stop nursing them. I bought some baby nail clippers last night and would like to know if anyone knows when I should start clipping them, how often, and how I should go about it.

Momma and babies are doing great. She is taking little breaks and coming out for some love and just seems so happy!

 

[xxtashaxx]

some on here start from about 3 weeks of age others a bit later. me personally i have never cliped any of our nursing kittens or adults for that matter as iv never had the need to (luckly enough) apart from the odd scratch i may get when there in there mad half hours. but there are many benfits to cliping them.
someone with a bit more experince will be a long soon.

 

[goldenkitty45]

I start at 3-5 weeks old and just nip off the sharp tip. I had an RB kitten almost loose his eyesight from playing with a brother - they were about 2 months old at the time.

After that, I started clipping nails by the time they were a month old!

 

[tarasgirl06]

I'd strongly suggest buying nail clippers specifically for cats. The ones for humans aren't designed for cats' claws and can tear them or leave ragged edges. Make sure you clip on the white part only, NEVER into the pink part as that's the quick, just like on our nails. I've never heard of clipping kittens' claws, for that reason or any other; but then, I always speuter.

 

[help!]

I thought that cat clippers were to too big. I have the tiny baby clippers with the little magnifying glass.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Baby human clippers or baby kitten clippers? The magnifying glass is a good idea...

 

[help!]

Baby human clippers. I'll go look online now and see if they sell kitten clippers.

 

[bnwalker2]

I start at around 3 weeks old, and I use human baby nail clippers. They get used to it so much quicker when starting at such a young age.

 

[goldenkitty45]

If you are clipping nails on kittens younger then 4-5 months old, human nail clippers work best and don't hurt the kittens.

Tara,

I hope you never have to deal with a scratched eye like I did with the kitten. They had to stitch his eye shut for a few weeks. Vet said another millimeter and he would have lost sight in that eye! I'm just paranoid of that happening again. So I clip nails at a very early age.

 

[tortiebaby]

Well, maybe I'm the only person on here that does it, but I used to snip the very tips of the nails fromm the time my kittens had their eyes open. I had read in a couple books(didn't have the computer at the time) that it's a good idea to trim them to prevent kittens from scratching thier eyes(or their siblings').

Of course, like I said, I may be the only person who does that, aparently, lol.

 

[danimarie]

I just clipped my little angels' nails yesterday.
They're 3.5 weeks now.

It just made it easier for them to walk around on the carpet and not get stuck since they're crawling EVERYWHERE now!!

 

[charliefarley]

I started clipping claws at 6 weeks has helped a lot.

 

[callista]

You can use human nail scissors... blunted tip, of course!

That won't work for older cats' claws, though. For older cats, toenail clippers... Toenail clippers are bigger and have more leverage, so you get a cleaner cut.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I've never seen any clippers designed specifically for kittens; I've never heard of anyone clipping kittens' claws, either. Is there any way you could hold off on that until they are older? It's natural for kittens to have claws, after all --and queens have been dealing with that since time began...

 

[help!]

I will start clipping their nails when they being opening their eyes like suggested above. I really don't see how it could hurt them.

 

[vrgchs]

I use human clippers on my kittens. I start clipping their claws anywhere between 3-5 weeks old. I too have heard horror stories of kitties eyes getting scratched while playing, and I do not want to experience that...(that is one way to damage a nice show cat)

Valerie

 

[callista]

Yeah, they do scratch each other while they play. Nature isn't perfect--after all, cats in the wild live five years; our house cats live fifteen... Clipping claws is one more thing that can make cats healthier and happier, if only in a small way. Another benefit that only becomes apparent once the cat is an adult: Scratching an itch will no longer result in injuries.