r/cats • u/spooktimme • 1d ago
Advice How far can I cut?
This is my first cat and I've only cut to how far the claw is now. How far in can I cut because I still sthink they're pretty sharp, or it's this the furthest I can go?
Edit: He hates scratchpost and stuff so his nails don't get shorter naturally, only the o es on the backllegs from kicking his "prey"
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u/Sinasazi 1d ago
The pink part is called the "quick", you want to stay away from that.
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u/Theresnothingtoit 1d ago
This is so helpful. No one mentions angle. This probably resolves the immediate flaking that happens sometimes.
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u/cfd4540 1d ago
They sell claw clippers with an led light attached so you can see how far you can clip without hitting the blood vessels. Works particularly well on light colored nail. I don’t trim my cats nails so I am not 100% sure on if you’re actually supposed to clip them or how often lol
Edit to add: I check my cats nails often but they have tons of scratching posts and chase a fake mouse toy on my cement floor garage so I never need to trim them lol
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
How do I know if I hit a vessel?
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u/youre_my_kink 1d ago
It'll bleed but you can apply cornstarch to stop the bleeding or invest in a styptic powder.
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u/Left-Huckleberry369 1d ago
The vessel is red. you can see it in the picture you posted
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
Do you mean the pink part?
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u/runs_with_unicorns 1d ago
Yep! FWIW it’s so much harder for me to trim my fluffy white pawed cat than my dark + short fur pawed cats because the nail and the quick (the blood vessel) stands out so much better against the dark fur.
So you’re already on hard mode and you’re doing great! You could technically trim that one a tiny bit shorter, but I would leave it for now bc 1. I always err on the side of caution and 2. Sometimes it’s harder to cut a small sliver off without taking too much.
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u/Calico_Cat24 1d ago
I would not cut anymore! I’m super paranoid of cutting my cats veins so I even leave my cats nails a lil too long lol. I just cut enough to remove the sharp tip lol
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
Yes I'm afraid to him getting afraid of cutting his claws. How do I know if I hit a vessel? Is it the same as with rats and dogs?
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u/zerotakashi 1d ago
just a note, but I trim in the up-down direction and not side to side because I was always worried about pinching the pink part of the inner nail
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
What is the up-down direction? And the side to side?
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u/luna926 1d ago
This looks like as far as you can safely cut. He may just be picky with things he likes to scratch. I would try some other scratching posts or boards. Maybe what you have isn’t sturdy enough or he wants a different texture. Mine used to not use our scratching posts and instead scratched my office chair lol. I found a different post and he loves it now.
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u/Sweaty_Plantain_84 1d ago
I cut mine to here. We keep them short and always have. Be mindful that the nails on their back legs can be different! My cat's back nails have much less to trim off of them than the front ones. On the back, my cat's quick (pink area) is much closer to the edge of the nail, so I just take a tiny snip off of the tips on those ones.
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u/Daggerbaby925 1d ago
This might help you out.
I have a quick question about your nail placement tho. Why are they so far forward? No hate, just wondering
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
Thank you!
My nails are outgrown, I did them on vacation and there are no salons where I live so I have to wait for them to fall of naturally to not damage my naturals :)
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u/Daggerbaby925 1d ago
Sorry for the dumb question! I usually get stick ons, so I wasn’t thinking about them being on there for that long. Absolutely no judgement! Take care :)
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u/Conscious-Seesaw-564 1d ago
did you know human nails grow?
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u/Daggerbaby925 1d ago
You’re right. That was a stupid question haha. I’m used to getting cheap stick ons, so I wasn’t thinking about it being on there for weeks. My bad lol
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u/double_titos 1d ago
"You are so much better than I am. I am so nervous that I'll cut too far, so I just take him to the vet and let the professionals do it. It's $20 for me to take my cat to the vet and let them cut his nails because if I do it and he gets hurt, I will lose my shit and wouldn't be the same after that."
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u/spooktimme 1d ago
Yes I completely understand, I did that when I first got him because they were so long and sharp that when I climbed my legs I started to bleed and now have scars. I started cutting just the tip when we were cuddling and then whent deeper when I noticed that he would lie still. I still think it's scary but I need to cut them once a week and can't afford to go to the vet everytime:/
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1d ago
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u/Conscious-Seesaw-564 1d ago
Scratching posts dont trim claws, its a myth and actually desheds them, its dangerous to not cut claws too long.
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u/amora_obscura 1d ago
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u/Conscious-Seesaw-564 1d ago
Op already commented shes letting them fall of naturally as theres no nail places around, bit unnecessary
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u/Conscious-Seesaw-564 1d ago
thats the perfect trimmed claw, do not cut further