Maybe I missed something but....
I trim my nails. I trim the cats' nails. Part of it is self-defense. I
have a few who like to hang out on my shoulders, some who will jump into my
arms if I don't pick them up quickly enough. Also, if I don't blunt the ends
of their nails, the cats stick to the upholstery. Amusing though this may be
-- what better time to tickle a cat? -- I figure it's only fair that I trim
those little nails.
I blunt just the ends, don't go anywhere near the quick, and use clippers
designed for cats' claws. It does not hurt them and it's pretty quick. I
can't see any reason not to do it.
Oh, I HAVE seen an ingrown nail on a cat who was rescued from a very harsh
existence on the street, a tuxedo tom named Sylvester. He was a really good
boy and appreciated every indication of care that he received. He was only
with us 14 months. The starvation he had endured had damaged his kidneys, and
probably other internal organs as well. He never minded having his nails
trimmed and he really understood when we dealt with the one growing into his
back paw pad.
"[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
First off, I carbon copied this to the FELVOT list, so we can take
this discussion over there, please reply ON THAT GROUP, not on this list:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/felvot/
Well, for one, I have NEVER seen an ingown claw on a cat. Given proper
scratching surfaces (natural wood, sisal rope, carpet - and sofas, LOL) cats'
claws naturally shed periodically. The older, outside sheath sloughs off much
like a snake sheds it's skin, leaving a sharper and shorter fresh claw
underneath it. It's been my experience that EVERY time I have ever seen a cat
get it's claws trimmed (like when I took one in to be spayed, or neutered, or
had dental work, etc), there is some amount of splintering of the outside claw
sheath, which causes premature sheath shedding. When the claw splits and tries
to fall off the cat before it is "ready", it can (and in my experience,
USUALLY, starts at the tip, and begins to loosen from the tip up towards the
cuticle. I've seen many times where the claw sheath was hanging from JUST the
cuticle, but wasn't ready to come off, snagging on things, and actually causing
my cat discomfort. Attempts to gently pull it off resulted in YOWLS
and jerking away, thus I came to the conclusion that it is painful for the
cat. I cannot see inducing ANY amount of unnecessary pain on my cats, thus, I
am morally opposed to claw trimming, based on my past experiences. Yes, I have
scars, yes, I have had cuts that bled for hours and hours, and through several
band-aids. My cats come first, though, IMO. I do not believe there is any
reason to trim cat claws, outside of human vanity and convenience, but I am
OPEN to the possibility that it may be true that ingrown claws could exist - I
have just never seen it myself, and my opinions are based on what I can back up
with personal experience and personally proven fact (in other words, my
opinions are based on what I have seen with my own two eyes). Maybe your
Persians, in addition to having human-induced deformed faces, also have
human-induced deformed feet, leading to a higher ingrown claw factor (me thinks
maybe human breeding programs are at the root of most cat-evil in the
world)???
Phaewryn
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