Cat Claws
By Tara J. Yen
Often cats rub their paws on carpet, couches, and your clothes. This is their way of sharpening their claws. But it is important to take care of their claws by clipping them. When they are kittens, rub their paws so they get used to someone handling their paws. This will help you when it comes to clipping their claws. If you have an older cat that isn't used to having it's paws handled, it may be harder to do. You can hold your cat like a baby in one arm and then use your other hand to clip the claws, or you can hold you cat on your shoulder, with someone else clipping the claws.
It is important to get guillotine clippers, which are made for cats. You can get these at pet shops or cat shows. Do not clip the claws to far, or you may run into a blood vessel, know as the quick, which runs close to the tip of the claw.
If your cat is an outdoor cat, it will not need its claws clipped as much. The claws are part of a cat's defense as well as a way for them to climb trees. If you cat is an indoor-only cat, I strongly suggest de-clawing your cat's front claws. However, I think it is best to leave their back claws in, incase they get out. It is a rather cruel thing to do, but your cat will not scratch up everything and will in short, be a great help.
If you do not feel comfortable clipping your cat's claws, ask your vet, who will do it for you.
Tara J. Yen is the youngest daughter of David and Annette Yen, and enjoys making toys and playing games to amuse her happy cat, Scamper, of whom she is the happy owner.