All cat parents know that felines require regular maintenance to maintain them looking clean and neat and most significantly, be sure that they’re healthy. While there are several vital areas of cat grooming, one stands out specifically: nail care.
Taking good care of your cat’s nails and frequently trimming them is important for stopping overgrown nails, which could impact your cat’s ability to maneuver.
Nevertheless, cat owners will be hesitant about this process, especially in the event that they don’t know which tool to make use of. There’s also a lingering query amongst many cat parents, especially those that also own dogs: Can you employ dog nail clippers on cats?
The reply to this query is technically yes, you should utilize dog nail clippers on cats, but some versions are higher than others for this task.
Let’s dig deeper into this topic, explaining the differing types of pet nail clippers, why nail clipping is so vital to cats, and the right way to select suitable clippers in your feline!
Can You Use Dog Nail Clippers on Cats? Is It Protected?
You should utilize almost any form of dog nail clippers on a cat, but it’s best to rigorously think in regards to the options to make the clipping process go easily and to stop accidents.
Here’s what you could know:
- Scissor-style dog nail clippers are your best option because they work the identical as cat nail clippers; the one difference is that kitties can get this product in an actual scissors shape. Still, these should enable you to do an honest job so long as you rigorously cut around your cat’s quick areas.
- Grinder trimers are as efficient as they’re easy to make use of, they usually don’t have any blades. Nevertheless, they’ll often be loud, which can make some cats scared or nervous.
- Guillotine-style dog nail clippers require you to place your pet’s nail through the guillotine opening, which will be unsuitable for cats. It’s possible you’ll lose control over the cutting area and by accident nip the short.
For those who live in households with multiple pets, each must have their very own pair of nail clippers. Nevertheless, if that’s something you currently can’t afford, you should utilize dog nail clippers on cats, but with caution.
At all times disinfect the clippers before using them on one other pet, and repeat the identical process for each cutting session.
The three Different Kinds of Pet Nail Clippers
There are three various kinds of pet nail clippers that you would be able to use in your furry companion.
1. Scissor-Style Clippers
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These pet nail clippers have a design much like scissors, with a tension spring that requires you to make use of your hand force to make use of it. It’s great for dogs because it could do the job quickly and efficiently without causing pain, especially in case your dog’s nails are unusually thick.
In terms of scissor-style clippers for cats, they’ll either have an analogous design to the dog ones or literally seem like human scissors, making them easier to handle.
2. Guillotine-Style Clippers
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These pet nail clippers have a guillotine design that requires you to slide the pet’s nail through with a view to clip it. They sometimes also function with a tension spring principle that requires you to make use of the force of your hand to clip the claw.
Any such nail clipper typically works higher for dogs than for cats, as felines are likely to have more sensitive nails; when clipping them, you’ve gotten to watch out to not clip the short area.
3. Grinder Trimmers
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These electrical devices are entirely secure because as an alternative of using blades, they depend on small grinders that trim the nails. These trimmers are efficient but can take time to get used to.
It’ll also produce an amazing deal of noise and vibration that could be upsetting, especially for small dogs and cats.
Why Is It Necessary to Trim Your Cat’s Nails?
Unlike outdoor and stray cats that wear down their nails with activities like tree climbing and attempting to find food, indoor cats typically don’t have these opportunities. Since a cat’s nails are consistently growing, you could help your cat with proper nail care. Otherwise, your cat’s nails can grow to be overgrown, resulting in discomfort, pain, and possible infections. Felines with overgrown nails may also experience mobility problems; they might get stuck in carpets or similar surfaces or be unable to retract their claws.
In case your cat likes scratching, scratching posts can come in useful to maintain the claws at a correct length. Nevertheless, some felines may additionally attempt to scratch your furniture and other possessions, which is why keeping their nails short can prevent or minimize the damage done to your house.
Final Thoughts
You should utilize dog nail clippers on cats, as some types are an identical to those for cats. Just know that some cats could also be frightened of grinder trimmers on account of their noise and vibration, and remember to watch out in the event you’re using the guillotine-style nail clippers in your cat.
If you’ve gotten multiple pets, it’s best to have a pair of clippers for every pet to advertise healthy nail clipping. But when you’ve gotten no other options, any type could be okay—so long as you get your feline’s approval, in fact!
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