Now, as anyone who’s played with a cat will know they do have very sharp claws
and keeping their claws in good condition – it’s not as good for you because it’ll mean
less scratches but it’s also good for them. In the wild, cats will keep their own claws in
good shape by scratching on things. And they do this for 2 reasons – one is to wear the
nails down so they’re nice and sharp and ready for hunting and the other is they’re a bit
like a bit of feline graffiti that will use these claw scratch marks to leave their scent and
leave their mark around their territory.

So, your cat may well be just like a wild cat preferably able to keep their own
claws in good shape. So that’s no problem but you do need to check them to make sure
they are doing that and the way to do that is cats have retractable claws so to see their
claws, what you need to is just press on the top of their foot like that. So, just hold their
foot, gently press and the nail will come out. And you can see if they’re too long if
they’re really more than a quarter circle. A cat’s nail should just be a quarter circle like a
letter R coming over with an ice sharp point.

It shouldn’t be visible, really, unless you actually push the nail out as
demonstrated there. If they are too long, you need to trim them and for this, you need a
good pair of nail clippers like these which will just act as a guillotine and trim the nails
off and cats nails are fairly straightforward to do. And you just generally need to take the
very tip off. So, you just need to hold the cat’s claw and if they’re in a playful mood, that
can be a bit troublesome. And then just literally snip the ends off avoiding them quick.
So, if in doubt, leave them longer.

If you’re having trouble with your cat, it’s best to get someone to help hold them
and if you’re in any doubt, head down to your vet and make them give you a proper
opinion about whether they need trimming and you can also risk their hands by doing the
trimming itself.