Cat Nails, Cutting, Declawing

Cats use their claws as a defense element, personal cleanliness and to mark territory. They take care of their nails and sharpen them wherever they can which is why important to teach them from babies to use up their nails in a scraper so they don't ruin the furniture.

To cut nails: To start the cutting process for you cat, you should follow the directions:

• It is necessary to press the leg softly, but firmly so the claws show.
• Use special clippers to cut the nails.
• Cut only a little bit and only the white part because the pink part consists of capillary veins and if you touch them, you can hurt them. It is important to start right where the curve starts. If we do it lower, we can could cut a vein that is situated below the nail, hurting them and making it bleed.
• If the nail starts bleeding, a piece of soap can be placed making some pressure so it can stop bleeding.
• Nail trimming has to be done every time the cat needs it, it takes about a week for the nail to grow again.

If you have any doubts on where to cut exactly, it is better to ask for assistance or advice from a veterinarian. the ideal thing is to cut their nails precisely and not make the cat suffer.

Declawing: This is when the nails are extracted surgically leaving only the rear nails which they use to scratch themselves.  

With this procedure, you avoid cats from scratching and destroying any furniture and walls of the house. Looking it from this side, sounds like a good idea, but if you stop and think it thoroughly, the arguments against this practice have a negative side:

You deprive cats from their principal way of defense, for why it shouldn't be done to cats that are outdoors, only the ones that live indoors. It is almost always a practice not wanted by any professional, even though it can be done in case it is really necessary.

How is it done? This type of operation consists of the amputation of the last phalanx where the nail starts or cutting the ligaments which makes the cat extract them. Even though this procedure is recommended in extreme cases, this practice is not one of the best ones due to the post operation situation which is painful and requires the administration of painkillers.

Keep in mind that….

• For an animal which live indoors and will always stay indoors, it is less traumatic to those that sometimes are taken outdoors to the country or a park.
• Cats without nails are more defenseless than the rest in the exterior world. It is something we have to keep in mind.
• There are countries where this procedure is not permitted.
• It is more convenient before eliminating them to maintain them short.