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Raising cats is like everything else in life: it’s messy, not so pretty, and a bit messy. Making cuticles and nail beds easier to work with can make the process a bit smoother and easier.
1. Start small. If you’re starting with your left paw, start by trimming only that.
2. Allow nails to heal. Long nails tend to develop the worst cutting cuts. If you get in the habit of following up monthly rather than weekly trimming, the scaling will also be less frequent.
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3. Use a toothbrush. This will remove excess nail matter, keep the tip of the nail more even, and preserve suction from the gummy buildup of nail oil (I’ve made many a dark, finger-cracking cuticles during this method).
4. Keep your hands clean and dry. If you’re doing one-at-a-time, you can start easy and easily clean nails.
5. Remember that cats and scissors are like peas and carrots — make sure that every split you make or puncture to the nail that makes a cut is small enough to stop bleeding without tearing the skin.
6. Read the manual. It should come with your cat’s breed or medication. Here’s a good one on Preventing Cuticles and Groin Infections and How to Restring Nails.
7. Lather and rinse. It’s simple: use lots of soap and water. You don’t need much, but if your nails are particularly dead, more or less than usual, dry-whip the soap around the top of the nail — it helps protect your tools.
8. Spritz lubricants. This is especially helpful if you’ve got a mouse, stray, stray outside mouse you need to eat. And of course, if you’re a fan of candles, they’re a good way to eliminate dusty nail tips.
9. Seal with plastic. If you’re working with metal spoons, for example, the dry-whip of soap will seal gaps just fine.
10. Invest in nail clippers. These look especially great on metal spoons.
11. Allow a few days. Begining once every few weeks with a cuticle trim is fine for most cats. Just make sure that your cat is gentle and relaxed so that she doesn’t flee from you when you’re close enough to start trimming.
12. Get into an intimate relationship with your scissors. The main downfall with scissors are their sharp corners. Pull it back into a single point and gently point the toes at the curved edge.
13. Poke your cat in the mouth with a toothpick. This will help guide your scissors to the right spot.
14. Don’t get attached. If you’re slightly hampered with the tools, I say you should just leave your cat alone with her whiskers and have her suck a few tasty holes out of a dead bird or frog for hours on end until her nails grow back. Now that’s a true love.
15. Prune yourself. Get on the right scale before you start trimming. You might be tempted to “just give in” to the cuticles, but that’ll only make you end up with problem areas and even stubbed toes.
Bonus tip: Try this awesome addition: put a corkscrew on your toes, and use it to groom through the hematoma. Instant chic!
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