Feline Nail Care
Most cats maintain their nails themselves. Often this is not to our liking since their claws can be razor sharp weapons. For our indoor cats, sharp nails are not necessary and can get a kitty into lots of trouble!
There are cases where cats may not be able to take care of their nails. If a cat is injured or in pain, she may not be able to scratch properly to sheath the nail and keep it healthy. Many cats 
also use their teeth for nail care, so if a cat is missing a few teeth, it may be more difficult for them to maintain the nails. The result is the nail continues to grow, curling around until it digs into the cat’s toe pad. Not only is it very painful and easily become infected. Indoor cats, of course, must walk into a litter box, and with an open wound on one or more toes that’s a recipe for problems.
The first time a client brings their cat to us for grooming they are often surprised at how easily we can trim their cat’s nails. Every cat we groom receives a nail trim. There are several factors that contribute to our ease, and we all get plenty of practice. Because the cat is in a strange place being held by someone new, the surprise factor is to our advantage. And, of course, we are trained to trim cats’ nails as safely as possible, so the cat suffers little if any trauma.
When a cat need nails trimmed between grooms or vet visits, the cat may not wish to cooperate. Nail trimming does not have to be a battle, but to get to the point where a cat accepts 
someone providing this service, a person will need to work up to it. We make the following recommendations to our clients:
-The first piece of advice is to not try to trim the nail as short as possible. Instead, just trim off the sharp tip. Once you and your cat have become more experienced at nail trims it will become natural to trim them shorter. Don’t rush that though. If you cut the nail too short, it will bleed. This is referred to as quicking the nail and it hurts the cat, so of course the cat will fight all future nail trims. By being more conservative and avoiding any pain, your cat will learn that what you are doing is okay.
-The next piece of advice is to only trim nails when you are both relaxed. It’s easy to think of nail trims when someone gets scratched or a piece of furniture is being used for a scratching post. We are usually upset when these things happen, and your cat will sense it and will be concerned with why you are upset and what you are about to do. By waiting until everyone is relaxed, you will have much better odds of success.
-The final piece of advice we give is to start by only trimming one or two nails at a time. You can reach this goal before your cat realizes what is happening. Over time, you will be able to increase the number of nails done at each session. The typical cat has 18 claws, so you can get every claw done in two to three weeks. Since you are only tipping the nails, you will need to start back at the beginning right away. As your cat allows, trim more claws at each session. I have a cat that was so interested in her toys and play, she was two years old before I was able to trim all 18 claws in one session. My reward is that she now sits in my lap and does not complain when I give her a full nail trim.
~Ellen Vogel, CFMG (Certified Feline Master Groomer™), Elite FFCP
