Choosing cat clippers

Cutting the claws of a domestic cat is a mandatory procedure that allows not only to maintain the health of the pet, but also to protect interior items from the tenacious claws of the animal. You can take the cat to a veterinarian to perform the claw trimming procedure. And you can buy special scissors and learn how to trim the claws on your own. Moreover, this is a fairly simple procedure.

The main goal of the procedure is the prevention of claw ingrowth. As soon as the claw begins to grow into soft tissues, inflammation begins inside the body, an abscess, the cat begins to limp.

Pets with clipped claws are not so dangerous for wallpaper, upholstered furniture and other interior items. It is also important for cats to cut their nails in several cases.

• Housing cat content. If a pet lives in the house who has access to the street, then, in fact, he himself can cope with the length of his claws, because in nature cats "do manicure" by sharpening on hard surfaces or the bark of a tree. A cat who always lives in a house does not have the ability to climb trees and grind its claws, so it needs artificial pruning.
• Sedentary lifestyle. The apartment cat, especially castrated, is often lazy and voracious, it is passive and prefers to spend most of the time lying on the couch. Such an animal should always have a claw trimming procedure.
• Visit the exhibition. So that the four-legged exhibitor does not harm the visitors, he needs to cut the claws. The same applies to other activities in the cat's life, for example, swimming.
• The appearance of children. When small children appeared in the house, then they should also be protected from tenacious cat claws, so it is important to regularly cut the claws of the pet.

Cutting a cat's claws is possible with four varieties of claw cutters.

• Special scissors. In appearance, these are ordinary manicure scissors, but their blades have a concave rounded shape, and a hole is formed in the center. The cat’s claw is placed in this zone, the blades are compressed and cut to the desired length.
• Forceps. Remind pliers. To cut the claw to a certain length and not injure the animal, such a tool is equipped with a special limiter. And also there is a fuse that prevents the full disclosure of the blades. Due to the protective mechanism, the device is safe for children.
• Guillotine. The most popular option. This tool easily and quickly cuts the cat's claws, but before that the owner needs to get used to it. The fact is that when using the guillotine, the captured claw length is completely invisible, so the owner must first get used to this method of work, after which he will learn to put his pet's claws in fairly good order.
• Grinders. This is an electric device with removable nozzles that works like a file. The device connected to the network starts to rotate the head, which cuts off the cat’s claw. Some models are equipped with stops to remove a specific claw length. Typically, this equipment is used to work in professional grooming salons.

When choosing cat claw scissors in a store, try picking up your chosen tool in your hand. Try to feel how convenient it will be to use a particular model. If the pet is still very small or it is a miniature breed cat, it is recommended to give preference to scissors or tongs. Be sure to choose a tool made of quality steel, but such that there are rubber pads on the handles - it is more convenient to work with such scissors.

To properly carry out the procedure for trimming cat's claws, you should study the structure of this part of the body. Looking at the claw in the light, you can see that its color is different. Pay attention to the pink part of the claw. These are blood vessels, therefore pruning in this area is prohibited.

Naturally, the pet will experience pain and the next time it will be quite difficult to make him sit calm during the manipulation.

To avoid such a problem, it is recommended to cut only the curved part of the nail, to the area where the vessel is adjacent. It is better to start the procedure from a young age, so that the kitten is accustomed to circumcision. Despite the fact that correctly performed pruning for the animal is painless, the cat still feels some discomfort. After all, usually it needs to be tightly clamped in a blanket, and this scares the animal. If pruning is done from childhood, then the pet will have time to get used to it, so it won’t panic at the sight of scissors. The procedure consists of several stages.

1. Prepare the tool. Sanitize it, wash your hands.
2. It is better to perform a “manicure” to the cat with an assistant. One person must hold the animal, the second - to trim. If there is no partner, then it is recommended to wrap the cat tightly in a blanket, leaving only the head and the right paw.
3. Having fixed the pet well, you need to take a paw and put a finger on the pillow, then the animal will show its claws.
4. If the claw is light, then it is cut at a distance of 1-2 mm to the pink zone.The pigmented claw is trimmed 1–2 mm from the tip.
5. If the owner still touched the blood vessel, it is recommended to moisten the cotton pad with hydrogen peroxide and treat the damage.

The following additional recommendations for the procedure should be followed:

• it is believed that cats cannot cut nails with ordinary scissors, but this is not entirely true - simple scissors are really quite inconvenient to use, but if the owner of the animal has extensive experience in carrying out the procedure, then he will also be able to handle this tool;
• Before starting the operation, let the cat sniff an unfamiliar instrument so that he understands that this object is not dangerous;
• in order to reassure a pet after such an uncomfortable manipulation, it is recommended to reward him with “yummy”, stroke, praise his patience with an affectionate voice;
• the frequency of the procedure at home depends on the lifestyle of the pet, the growth rate of the claws of a particular individual and other factors, but the generally accepted interval is considered once every two weeks.

See below for an overview of nail clippers for cats and how to use them.