Accidentally Clipped Cat Nail - What to Do?

[~christina~]

I accidentally clipped one of my cat Mew-mew's nails too short.
I heard a small yowl and when I took a close look I saw red.

I had keep him on my lap and apply pressure to stem the bleeding..he was complaining..but now it's fine.
I put some medicine on it but I don't want him to lick it so I put a bandaid over one of his toes as well.
I have to keep him from attacking it though so I put him in his bed and I'm watching him right now. (I think he fell asleep=> such a good kitty)


has anyone ever done this before?

 

[kaisxuans]

... that's bad. you will have to watch him all day! take one eye of him and he willl start bleding again. cats tend to lick their wounds...

 

[lisab]

I've read about it. I've heard it's easy to clip too close so I don't clip my dogs' claws. For one, they HATE having their paws touched and will fight and kick to get away. They're claws are black and I can't see where the pulp is, so I leave it to the vet or the groomer. I'm too chicken!

I don't have to clip Phoebe's claws - she climbs trees and fence posts, and that seems to wear them down.

If the bleeding has stopped it's probably OK. Poor Mew-mew...and poor chistina, I can imagine how you feel!

 

[~christina~]

... that's bad. you will have to watch him all day! take one eye of him and he willl start bleding again. cats tend to lick their wounds...

I don't think it will since it's his nail itself but I don't want him bouncing off the walls. (he literally does this)

I've read about it. I've heard it's easy to clip too close so I don't clip my dogs' claws. For one, they HATE having their paws touched and will fight and kick to get away. They're claws are black and I can't see where the pulp is, so I leave it to the vet or the groomer. I'm too chicken!

I don't have to clip Phoebe's claws - she climbs trees and fence posts, and that seems to wear them down.

If the bleeding has stopped it's probably OK. Poor Mew-mew...and poor chistina, I can imagine how you feel!

I used to have a dog...and his nail was black too. We didn't clip his nails since we didn't do it when he was a puppy and so he wasn't used to it. I'm not sure exactly how a groomer would do it though if it's own owner can't clip them.

When I volunteered at an animal hospital they actually put the cat asleep and then clipped their nails. I feel that if you do this when they are young such as with my cat, it's not so much of a battle with them.

My kitty's an indoor kitty so no trees for him. ^___^

 

[Evo]

I'm always afraid of clipping too short. Poor thing.

 

[GeorginaS]

I'm very careful just to clip the sharp tips off. I feel for you, christina, I'd be heartsick. One thing I might suggest is just keeping an eye on that claw to make sure it doesn't get infected. Kitty litter boxes are bad places for open wounds. I think I'd keep cleaning the tip of that claw with a little bit of mild soap for a few days just to make sure.

 

[Poop-Loops]

I tried clipping my dog's claws once. Got too close on the very first one, it started bleeding, and I never attempted to clip his claws again. I don't want to hurt him. :(

 

[Moonbear]

It's somewhat like breaking a fingernail into the quick. It'll sting for a while, but if you've gotten the bleeding stopped, it should be fine. She's just going to be mad at you for a while.

I don't think you can actually keep a bandage on a cat without wrapping it all the way up to its body like a mummy.

 

[Kurdt]

One should never have to clip a cats claws. They will look after them themselves if you get them adequate equipment.

 

[~christina~]

I'm very careful just to clip the sharp tips off. I feel for you, christina, I'd be heartsick. One thing I might suggest is just keeping an eye on that claw to make sure it doesn't get infected. Kitty litter boxes are bad places for open wounds. I think I'd keep cleaning the tip of that claw with a little bit of mild soap for a few days just to make sure.

Thanks for the tip but I'm not sure I want to wash it with soap though since that would proably open the wound again.

One should never have to clip a cats claws. They will look after them themselves if you get them adequate equipment.

like my furniture?

He has a scratching box which I purchased from the store...but I don't want him clawing up my lap when he kneads me, thus he needs his claws clipped.

It's somewhat like breaking a fingernail into the quick. It'll sting for a while, but if you've gotten the bleeding stopped, it should be fine. She's just going to be mad at you for a while.

I clipped his nail halfway, heard him yowl, saw it bleed and stopped before the nail was cut off. He was fine the last time I did this and it was worse last time since I think I made a few nails bleed...

I don't know if he's mad at me since he's sleeping at the moment.

I don't think you can actually keep a bandage on a cat without wrapping it all the way up to its body like a mummy.

:rofl: -> imagining how that'd look

You'd be surprised at how much my cat will tolerate. (he wore a sweater that belonged to a teddybear, for a whole year..untill he licked it into a fuzzy mess and I had to dispose of it)

 

[Oerg]

whats so bad about letting cats lick their wounds?

 

[BobG]

I've never tried clipping a cat's claws. They retract their claws so they don't really need it. Give him a scratching pad or scratching post work to protect your furniture. If they've gotten used to scratching your furniture, there's some odorless (to humans) product you can spray on it to discourage the cat from scratching it.

I've clipped my dog's nail too short once. It's not serious and a styptic pencil will stop the bleeding (good since you don't really want them to track blood around the house). As long as they're used to it, dogs are pretty easy to clip, even after clipping one too short. Even with black claws, just feel for a little notch and stay outside of that.

Mine's pretty used to me messing with her feet. I really don't like her tracking mud and snow through the house, so if it's bad outside I have to clean her paws off when she comes in. With long hair, she tends to get little clumps of ice between her toes.

The hair dryer is a completely different story. It was pretty funny the first time I gave her a bath in the winter. The hair dryer totally freaked her out. She's finally got to the point where she doesn't fight it, but she's definitely not happy.

 

[qspeechc]

I don't think you should put a plaster on it- unless you're afraid of it getting infected.
Anyway, licking it clean is not problem to me?

 

[Astronuc]

I accidentally clipped one of my cat Mew-mew's nails too short.
I heard a small yowl and when I took a close look I saw red.

I had keep him on my lap and apply pressure to stem the bleeding..he was complaining..but now it's fine.
I put some medicine on it but I don't want him to lick it so I put a bandaid over one of his toes as well.
I have to keep him from attacking it though so I put him in his bed and I'm watching him right now. (I think he fell asleep=> such a good kitty)


has anyone ever done this before?

I've clipped the claws but I've been careful to avoid the root. I learned the procedure from a vet. We have a special nail trimmer.

Our cats are indoors so they don't have the opportunity to wear down the tips which get very sharp.

You handled it appropriately.

The nails are shed anyway so it's OK to trim them. It's the shedding process where the outer layer of nail separates, it irritates the softer tissue sorrounding it. Cats usually bite at the nails or 'scratch' carpet or fabric which helps them remove the outer layer of nail.

 

[Ephratah7]

... that's bad. you will have to watch him all day! take one eye of him and he willl start bleding again. cats tend to lick their wounds...

>_>... it's their nature...

 

[larkspur]

Peticure

Anybody tried this?

http://www.peticure.com/"

 

[Astronuc]

Anybody tried this?

http://www.peticure.com/"

I'd ask a vet. Looking at the video, how does one know when to stop grinding. I can actually see the tissure under the nail with our cats, do it's easy to trim. The dogs nails are black to it's not possible to see the soft tissue, however I can trim about 1 mm and that's sufficient.

 

[Moonbear]

Anybody tried this?

http://www.peticure.com/"

If you don't know where to put the clippers, you don't know any better when to stop filing either.

At least cats have clear nails that are easy to clip. Dogs were always such a pain with their black nails. The best I could hope for was some clear nails to match the black ones to.

You have to pay attention to each nail...at least with Ember, her nails don't all grow at the same rate. Some will be super-sharp and pointy, while others look like they've barely grown since the last time I clipped them. I just take off the points, and sometimes skip a nail or two that don't look like they need any clipping at all. On cats, the shape of the nail changes a bit right where the quick starts, so even if you couldn't see the quick, you can tell where to cut. It's not so obvious on dogs...but if you don't cut a dog's nails, they can curl up under their paws and hurt them. At least cats could wait until you visit the vet if you don't mind them shredding your furniture and arms.

I'm lucky that Ember plays with her claws in. My friend's cat always has her claws out when playing, and they are SHARP! When I would cat sit for her, I couldn't play long at all, because every touch resulted in blood drawn from me. You could tell by the rest of her posture/expression that she was playing, not fighting, but my arm didn't bleed any less. That cat also absolutely REFUSED to use a scratching post, much preferring the sofa.

 

[larkspur]

Another thing I am curious about this peticure is the noise it makes. They seem to have left out the sound of the grinding in the video. If it makes noise Aspen will attack it like she does the Littermaid box.

 

[Moonbear]

Another thing I am curious about this peticure is the noise it makes. They seem to have left out the sound of the grinding in the video. If it makes noise Aspen will attack it like she does the Littermaid box.

I don't even think they'd tolerate the filing. I tried using an emory board to smooth off the rough edges after I clipped Ember's nails once, and she wanted NOTHING to do with that. It must feel weird for her. She'd prefer to go to the scratching post and take care of it herself.

 

[turbo]

>_>... it's their nature...

And that's OK, too. The irritants in their saliva that flare up allergies in humans are probably pro-active in their immune response systems.

 

[BobG]

Blonde twins use peticure! I'm buying one now! "Giving Peticures is so much fun!"

And did you see that woman in the tube top giving her dog a peticure? I'm definitely buying one!

And with a 2-year warranty for only $9.99, there's probably only about a 20% chance of the product breaking unexpectedly.

If you watch the video on the http://www.peticure.com/demos.html , they cover "How do I know when to stop?" (When you need glasses?) You should be able to see the quick when you start to get close, but they don't show any really black nails from the bottom. The darkest is only medium dark.

I might make fun of it, but it's at least worth considering (interesting enough to see what others say about it). But, there's a hidden reason for the 4 week delivery. They had a problem with the batteries being junk. It was also virtually impossible to get in contact with the company since you call an independent call center and the company is supposed to get in contact with you. Lots of people were upset, but the company did finally start getting ahold of customers and will send them new batteries when they're received by the company (the estimate was for February, but even if the new batteries did come in, they're probably being sent to folks that already bought a Peticure).

If you look at a few dog grooming forums, the story's the same. Great reviews when they first get them, then total frustration reaching a crescendo in December when the owner finally started trying to fix the situation.

 

[lisab]

"How do I know when to stop?" (When you need glasses?)

:rofl:

 

[BobG]

It looks like a regular dremel tool might be a better option. The only difference between the Peticure and a dremel is the Peticure has less power, plus has a safety shield. The safety shield might be worth buying from them (he lists the models his shield is compatible with).

Buying a dremel from someone else would probably be a little more reliable unless Peticure actually gets his battery problem fixed. Here's a site with some very detailed instructions on using a dremel: DoberDawn. The site uses frames, so you have to click on "How to dremel dog nails" down at the lower left. Unfortunately, no blondes were exploited in the making of her website.