How To Grind Your Cats Nail

grinding-cat-nails — A variety of pocket-size grinders are available that tin can do your cat'due south nails. If y'all can, try one out before purchase to see how it feels in your easily and how loud it is.

Nail care should be a part of your cat's routine health maintenance. Many cats wear their nails downwards on their own, only others can be decumbent to overgrowth (see sidebar). Check your cat'due south nails regularly to monitor their length. You may as well find extra-long nails when your cat jumps on or off your lap and accidentally stabs you! Whatever the reason, if your cat's nails are overgrown, you must trim them back.

Nail trimming is stressful for many cat owners for two reasons: an uncooperative true cat and fear of hurting the cat. If your cat is not thrilled about having her paws handled, start by simply working on that. Gently touch his paws briefly while he is resting by or playing with you, gradually increasing how much you handle his paws over time. Y'all can also reward him with treats, petting, or play for letting yous touch his paws. Work on it a niggling fleck every mean solar day and then it becomes part of your normal routine.

When to Utilise a Nail Grinder

If your true cat is agape of the click of blast clippers or you lot are concerned nigh hitting the quick in his nails and causing him to bleed, nail grinders can help. Nail grinders are tools that grind down nails with a head that rotates at high speed.

Nail grinders do make noise, but rather than the sharp, sudden click of nail clippers, information technology is a abiding hum, which some cats accommodate to speedily.

You can notwithstanding hitting your cat'due south quick if you go too far with a smash grinder, but the high speed of the grinder head volition frequently cauterize the blood vessels immediately and prevent haemorrhage (hitting the quick withal hurts, though). Some nail grinder models have caps to limit how much of the blast can be ground off, but the success of these attachments depends on the size of your cat's toes and how grown out the quick is, so y'all still need to pay attention as you work to preclude discomfort. Thankfully, most cats accept white/articulate nails, which makes it easy to see where the pinkish quick is.

Some other do good to using a nail grinder is that it smooths out the end of your cat's nails rather than leaving sharp edges that tin can nevertheless scratch your peel when your true cat moves across your lap.

Choosing a Boom Grinder

Leni Kaplan, DVM, MS, Lecturer in Cornell's Community Practice Service, advises, "Pet owners should consider getting a grinder that has at to the lowest degree two speeds; about owners (unless very experienced) will want to use the slower speed to start, depending on the size of the boom and how close they are to the quick." Speed will also impact the intensity and frequency of the noise the grinder makes, and then your cat may adopt i speed over another merely because of the sound it produces. Dr. Kaplan also recommends getting a cordless grinder. "This eliminates the hanging cord, which may scare the pet when it moves as the grinder moves. The pet will besides not get inadvertently tangled in the cord during blast grinding with a cordless product," she says.

You may hear nail grinders referred to equally "dremels" because Dremel is a popular and well-known brand of tools that use rotating heads. Most grinders come with a head made of a material like robust sandpaper, but you tin can also invest in a diamond chip for actress durability.

If possible, "test drive" a grinder earlier purchasing. This will requite you a chance to see how the product feels in your hand and how loud it is on the unlike speed settings.

Introducing the Grinder

"GO Tiresome and be patient," advises Dr. Kaplan. "Pets tend to be skeptical about this new object that makes a humming noise, gets hot with utilize, and produces a strange odor." Unless yous accept an extremely confident and relaxed true cat, you will non be able to grind all of your cat's nails on the first day.

Use these steps to introduce the tool:

After purchasing the nail grinder, put information technology on the floor and give your true cat a treat every time he goes near it.
Once your cat does non seem to care almost the object, movement it closer to his anxiety, and if he does non object, requite him a treat.
As he gets more comfortable, desensitize him to the grinder by touching his paws gently with the grinder when it is OFF and give him a treat as he learns to tolerate this.
When he seems adequately comfortable with the grinder, start to turn information technology on for a few seconds at a fourth dimension so he gets used to the humming noise. Retrieve to give him treats and then he assembly treats (a positive experience) with the grinder.
Over fourth dimension, keep the grinder on for longer periods, e'er giving positive reinforcement (treats, verbal praise) to your true cat.
When beginning using the grinder, trim only 1 or two nails at a time until he gets used to the grinder.

For some cats, this process may take months (especially if y'all need to get your true cat used to having his feet handled starting time). Only it's worth information technology! By the finish of the process, y'all volition have a relaxed cat who tolerates nail trims rather than fighting you and trying to escape.

What You Should Know

The humming noise may be scary to your cat.
The grinders can become hot with use, so make sure to accept breaks and don't spend too much time on any one nail.
The basis-up boom bits accept a pungent scent that some cats don't like. You can wear a mask to foreclose inhalation of nail particles.
The vibration of the grinder on the nail volition feel foreign to your cat and may take some time and gradual exposure to get used to.
Long hair can get caught in the grinder, which hurts. Trim hairy feet or concur the hair back away from the nail with your fingers.
If you sense your true cat is losing patience with you, cut the session short and come up back to it later.

Why Do I Need to Trim My Cat'south Nails?

Many cats successfully article of clothing their nails down by using scratching posts (hopefully the ones intended for that use and not co-opted furniture!), simply others are either not as active or accept been blessed (cursed?) with fast-growing nails. Older cats in particular are decumbent to thick, overgrown nails. Polydactyl cats (cats with extra toes) are also at hazard for overgrown nails, equally the nails on extra toes may not come in contact with the ground and the surface of scratching posts.

Nails allowed to grow unchecked can curl under and into your true cat'southward mitt, causing hurting and promoting infection. As the nail pierces the manus pad or skin, it creates an open wound on the base of the foot. This wound is an easy entry betoken for any bacteria or other microbes that your cat may run into, including when she steps in her litterbox.

If You Hit the Quick

If you hit the quick when grinding your cat's nails, she will likely jerk her paw away of a sudden. Don't panic! Calmly choice your cat's manus up again and pet her and praise her for letting you concur information technology. Then turn the grinder back on and bear on it to the outer edge of the same nail briefly before praising and rewarding. Touching the grinder to the outer border will avoid contacting the sensitive quick in the middle once more, and gives you the opportunity to reinforce that boom grinding is not a scary event. After telling your cat how wonderful she is, do at least one more nail before quitting for the day.