cutting kitten's claws

[Liza]

Indi was always more of a roamer (is that a word?!?!) and would disappear for hours.......the ironic thing is we moved from somewhere on a main road to a little quiet cul-de-sac and that's where he got hit.........we were lucky though that he can home to us, but after a few days at the vets we took the hard decision.

Hadn't really considered cat proofing as the girls seem happy enough playing in our garden or popping over the fence into the neighbours and always need to be able to see/hear us.  We defintely think about it though.......they also don't like the winds and wet weather at the moment - they charge straight back inside and onto the comfy sofa or bed

[Beccles]

Sorry to hear about your boy, Liza - would cat-proofing your garden be an option?

There is a bit of a conflict between keeping claws short enough to not hurt delicate human skin, and long enough to be useful in the great outdoors, as you've discovered - I don't think there's an easy answer.

[Liza]

They've both been spayed (mid oct) but they're only going out at the weekends at the moment, I'm not keen on them going in the dark - think this is cos we lost our boy cat in a rta last December.  Therefore their claws aren't rubbing down - they do have a post to scratch but that doesn't take much of the sharpness off............my poor leather sofas are constantly covered in a throw!!

[Déborah]

can you see any pink? That's the bit you need to avoid. Maybe look at it right under a lamp if you can't see it, cat claws are transparentish so it is actually quite easy to see the colour difference.
My kitten is indoors only until she's spayed. Her claws need to get trimmed every 10 days or so because they grow fast and as she's a scratcher, she can cause a lot of pain 
If your cat is going to stay mostly in, I guess it's alright to trim his/hers. I never used to trim the claws of my previous cats, who spent a lot of time outside, but then again, they never used to maul me to death either 

[Liza]

I'm thinking of trimming my kits claws but not sure how much to take off.  I've had a look at them and to be honest I can't see any colour difference in them (like you do in dogs - I think).  Any advice?

Ps my hubby doesn't agree with this as they'll be "unarmed" but surely its ok for the winter when they're indoors most of the time?

[Déborah]

mmm, that's pretty much what I've been doing    The blood has stopped and she seems fine. I just hate the idea that I hurt her! Poor wee girl. Ah, well...

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Aw, she'll be ok.  If she's not bleeding horrendously you must have just caught the edge of the quick.  Provided the bleeding has stopped I don't think you need to do anything else - someone correct me if I'm wrong - except give her loads of treats and cuddles and be prepared to spend the next few days grovelling for forgiveness!

[Déborah]

Hiya there everyone,

I was trimming my kitten's claws, and she jumped out of my arms, the result being that I cut through the quick a little bit. She's bleeding a bit, nothing horrendous, but is there something I can do? I feel absolutely dreadful, I'm such a bad mummy! She doesn't seem to resent me, but I feel really really bad, I should have been more careful! 

Do you think I should clean it with water, or let her deal with it? As I said, it is bleeding a bit but not much.

arrrrgh, I'm a bad person