Humans love a proper pedicure but as long as cats are concerned, they need some kind of encouragement to step into the nail cutting grove of cats. Cats might not love the idea of you holding them tight in order to cut their nails but this becomes a necessity at times. There are several cat owners who have to trim the claws of the pets. There are several types of trimmers that you can use to trim the nails of your cats.
You may choose from scissors clippers, guillotine trimmer or a human nail clipper. In order to select a nail trimmer, you have to decide which trimmer is going to be the easiest for you. Make sure you choose the one that fits in with the size of your hand and purchase one that is safe and durable.
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USE A GUILLOTINE TRIMMER
Choose a guillotine trimmer
Guillotine trimmers are trimmers which have a circular hole where you place the nail of the cat through. This is said to be the stationary ring and when you squeeze the handle, a cutting blade will appear at the bottom of the stationary ring and it slides upwards to cut the nail.
Hold the nail clipper with the top portion facing towards you
Whenever you use a guillotine trimmer, you’ll hold the trimmer in that hand that is more dominant. The top side is the flat side and the underside is the side with the movable part which you squeeze. When you trim the nails of your cat, the top and flat side of the trimmer will be turned towards you. The side that has the cutting blade will face you and the screws will point towards the cat.
Squeeze the handles for clipping the nail
When you use a guillotine clipper, hold it in the dominant hand. Place the nail of the cat in the ring thereby ensuring that you don’t go so far as you cut till the quick. Squeeze the handles so that the blade cuts and then snip off the tip of the claws. Ensure that the nail is being cut on the top and not along the sides. In case you cut the quick, this will lead to bleeding. Use styptic powder to stop bleeding. Call the vet if the bleeding still continues.
USE SCISSORS CLIPPERS AND HUMAN NAIL CLIPPERS
Use a human nail clipper
Another option that you have is to clip the nails of your cat by using a normal pair of human nail clippers. These work equally well as guillotine clippers. You just have to ensure that the clippers are sharp so that you don’t require putting too much pressure for clipping the nails. Make sure you never use the nail clippers on yourself unless you properly wash it. Or you can also get a separate human nail clipper for your cat.
Put the nail in between the blades
In order to clip the claw with the nail clippers, you have to place the clipper in a perpendicular manner to the claw. Never cut sideways as this will lead to splintered or jagged nails. Slide the nail in between the blades and squeeze the clippers.
Try out scissor clippers
Scissor clippers usually look like scissors apart from the fact that they have a curvy edge on their blades. There are many vets who use scissor trimmers and these are smaller in size than guillotine trimmers. This clearly means that it can get tough to use and hold in case you have larger hands. Scissor clippers can also be better for smaller hands. The way in which these trimmers are shaped, they can be great in trimming those nails that have grown too long and have also started curling.
The bottom of the nail should be against the blade
While you use the scissor clippers, ensure placing the nail into the blade in a proper manner. The scissors have a sharp curved edge and the bottom of the nail against the blade so that the nail can be cut from the top to bottom. This makes sure you prevent fraying and splintering.
Utilize a nail file to smoothen the rough edges
Try to keep the nail clippers sharp so that you don’t have to give too much pressure while cutting nails. Clipping nails with dull clippers can leave a jagged and rough edge. In case you find that the claw is left jagged, smoothen the rough edges with the help of a nail file.
How to cut cat’s nails
If you’re wondering about how to start clipping the claws of your cat, here are few ways out:
Set the mood of your cat
Hold the cat gently on your lap and place her paw in your hand. The sitting posture should be relaxing with no interruptions or loud noises to amaze the kitty. Let him sniff the clippers so that she gets used to it.
Protract your cat’s nails
The tip of the nail is translucent and this part of the nail has no nerves. Hence, the cat won’t feel it when you cut the nails. Cut only the tip area. Until you’re holding the nail in between the blades, don’t apply pressure. The angle of holding the clipper should be right in order to make a clean cut.
Don’t cut through the blood vessels
Further down the nail of your cat, you’ll find the blood vessels that feed the toe of your cats. This is called the quick. Don’t cut into that part of the nail. By mistake if you do cut through the quick, keep first aid ready so that you can stop bleeding. As the quick is filled with lots of nerve endings, if you cut the quick, the kitty will shake his feet in pain.
Therefore, now that you’re sure about the steps that you have to go through for choosing the best nail clipper for your feline friend, visit a store immediately. Make her comfortable before giving her a nice session of manicure and pedicure.