The Petzine

Trimming your pet’s nails is a great idea, and by doing so, there are many benefits to be enjoyed. Scratches won’t be nearly as painful, you can eliminate the “click-clack” as your pet walks along the hard wood floor, and your pet can enjoy health benefits as well, such as reducing the amount of strain put on joints from the nails curling the foot pad at an upward angle. This can help reduce arthritis in the future. Unfortunately, many pet owners are freaked out at the very thought of nail trims, and I’m sure it’s because they have heard horror stories about the “vein” inside of the nail and the bloody mess that can occur if that blood supply is accidentally nicked. I would like to explain the process of nail trims, and hopefully give some pet owners the confidence they need to begin this routine at home.

The Anatomy Of The Nail (yawn)
It’s important to understand the anatomy of the nail, in order to familiarize yourself with the best way to avoid nicking the “vein”, or more commonly known as the “quick”, which is the blood supply to the nail. I know, I know — boring! I’ll keep it brief. Here is a great diagram of the inside of a dog or cat’s nail, from the Best Pet Supplies Blog:

As you can see, the quick grows to look kind of like a smaller nail, inside of the “real” nail. The quick is usually a pink color, but on very thick or dark-colored nails it will be very difficult, if not impossible to see. This can make it tricky to know where to cut. My tactic was always to err on the side of caution, and clip only in the area where the nail tapers to a thinner point.

If your pet has clear nails, it’s a piece of cake. Just steer clear of the pink area of the nail. Sometimes, especially with pets who have not had routine nail trims in the past, the quick will be almost as long as the nail. In this situation, the only thing you can do is clip as much of the nail as possible without hitting the quick, and do this once or twice weekly. You will only get tiny bits off at a time, but eventually the quick will begin to recede back into the nail, and you can begin to cut it shorter each time. After it gets to the appropriate length, you can cut back the frequency of the clippings to whatever works for you and your pet.

What Should I Use?
There are several different types of nail clippers that you can purchase. Millers Forge makes a great line of clippers than you can purchase at almost any pet store. My favorite is the kind that feels like a pair of pliers. They look like this:

These are the easiest to handle for me, and will cut anything from a little kitten nail to a Mastiff nail, with ease.

There is also a guillotine style clipper, that looks like this:

These work well on cat’s nails, but it’s sometimes confusing to figure out what direction to hold them. There are also clippers that look like a pair of scissors with a custom end, these are usually marketed towards puppies and small cats, but I’ve found that they are pretty useless, and dull quickly. Then, of course, you have Pedi Paws.

Pedi Paws for pets, in my opinion, is like the Ped Egg for people — useless, but looks cool enough that everyone wants to try it. Some pet owners have used it with success, but could have achieved the same affect and gotten a wider range of use by grabbing an old Dremel. Most pets don’t appreciate the noise and grinding feeling associated with this instrument. If you can get it to work, I think it’s a great idea as it does eliminate the risk of quicking and sharp edges, but I think the likelihood of your average pet tolerating this kind of thing is slim to none.

Oh No! I Quicked The Nail!
I know it can feel like the end of the world when this happens. You feel like the worst pet owner in the entire world. Just relax — it’s extremely common, and it’s not nearly as bad as it looks. When you quick the nail, your pet will probably jump or yelp. It’s like when you poke yourself, more startling than painful. Also, it will usually start to bleed quite a bit. More than you thought possible for a little nail. If you just let it bleed and bleed and bleed, eventually it would clot and stop — nothing to write home about, no bleeding to death. But obviously we don’t want to do that, so there are a few products you can use to curb the bleeding a little faster.

The most common product is called styptic powder, which you can purchase from a pet store, or sometimes your veterinarian will sell you a bottle. It’s a powder, usually yellow in color, that you apply to the nail to stop the bleeding. You can also purchase the same type of product in a stick, called Styptic Sticks or Silver Nitrate Sticks, that you roll over the nail to apply the product. Be careful with these. If you touch your skin with them, it won’t look like anything at first, but after a few hours a brown stain will develop that takes DAYS to scrub off. It’s not harmful, but it definitely looks gross!

If you find yourself at home with no styptic products, you can use flour or corn starch in a crunch. It won’t stop the bleeding as fast as the styptic products, but it will help soak up the blood and slow it down. If all else fails, pressure applied directly to the tip of the nail where the blood is coming from will eventually stop it. Just stay calm, tell your pet it’s okay, and ride it out. It’s NOT the end of the world, I promise! In 8 years of assisting veterinarians, I never saw more than a slightly grumpy pet result from a quicked nail.

My Pet Hates Having Her Nails Touched
If you’re lucky enough to have a cooperative critter, you can stop reading. Also, if you’re lucky enough to have a puppy or kitten, now is definitely the time to start conditioning them for things like nail trims, teeth brushing, exams, etc. Play with their paws and clip their nails often. This is the best way to save yourself sweat and tears in the future.

For those of you who are not so lucky, and have the common problem of a critter that HATES having their nails touched, you definitely have your work cut out for you. Finding a way to cope with your pet’s behavior and learning to trim their nails at home is a huge accomplishment, and you should take it in steps. Begin conditioning them like you would a puppy or kitten by playing with their feet, giving them treats, speaking to them in a soothing tone. When the time comes for a true trim, you can enlist a helper to hold your pet in place while you clip. Remember, take baby steps — if you get even one paw done, consider it an accomplishment. Using a towel to wrap squirmy kitties in is an excellent idea, and will cut down on scratches.

If all else fails, you may have to pay your veterinarian or groomer to work their magic. Ask them to show you their technique, and you can begin to learn the best way for your pet. Every pet is different and you may find that one way works better than another. Some pets like being held a certain way, some prefer a certain type of clipper, some respond better to a stranger doing the trim rather than their owner. It’s a process to figure out what works best for each individual pet, and it’s important to stay calm and patient. Feet-sensitive pets were an every day occurrence where I worked, so don’t feel too bad. A patient and understanding owner would make all the difference to us (the technicians), and to the anxious pet.

Tagged as Add new tag, guillotine, millers forge, nail trim, pedi paws, quick + Categorized as Medical