Please help with my friends cats nail

[Scottishman14]

My friends cat beanz is a very sweet cat, but one of the nails on his front right seems to be twisting into his paw. It doesn’t seem to have penetrated the paw but I was wondering if it would be okay to cut at home or if I should push for the vet. I attached pictures, if better pictures are needed I can try.
- thanks

 

[furmonster mom]

Depends on how confident you are that it hasn’t embedded into the pad, and how easy he is to handle.
If you can get some nail clippers on the tip, clip the tip. Then once the tip is out of the way, work back, but be careful to avoid clipping the quick.

You may notice the nail start to fray, that is because cats nails grow in layers, like an onion. It’s okay to peel off the outer layers, if he’ll let you. Usually, a cat sheds those layers when they scratch on the post, which keeps their claws from getting thick and ingrown.

If the cat gets too squirmy to handle, or reacts in pain, definitely go to vet.

 

[Babypaws]

I’d go to a vet….

 

[cassiopea]

I have a polydactyl cat (24 toes in total) and her littlest ones are prone to this!


I actually use a really good small yet strong human finger nail clipper, since I am usually unable to use a cat one due to the awkwardness of spacing and placement, and Tippy Toes understandably doesn't like it if I do something uncomfortable like try and go underneath the nail. I clip sideways half way down the nail, far away enough from the base and for the trimmed piece to fall or pull off comfortably, specially if it is touching or about to penetrate the skin. Trim or clean up further if needed with a proper kitty clipper, avoiding the aforementioned quick.

During checkups at the vet they do it of course, but this works out well in between since I have to make sure to maintain her unique toebeans.

If you still feel uneasy, I would go ahead and opt for the vet.

 

[furmonster mom]

I actually use a really good small yet strong human finger nail clipper… I clip sideways

If you still feel uneasy, I would go ahead and opt for the vet.

I also use a human nail clipper.
Since a cat’s claws are more oval-flat than round like a dog’s, they just seem to fit better.
A regular fingernail clipper works for most jobs, but if a claw has gotten extra thick, I’ll break out the larger toenail clippers.