How to Trimming Cat Claws Perfectly

Many people love cats just like I love my Catman. If you are one of them, you need to know that having a cat as your pet comes with great responsibility as well. You need to do more than just feeding. One of the most daunting parts when taking care of cats is trimming their claws. Just like humans, they also need proper grooming.  However, cutting their claws may take you forever if you don’t have the skill to do it.

 

Initial Step

Having the right position will also make you and your cat feel comfortable during the process. You may opt to put your cat on the floor, on the table or over your lap.

How to Trim Claws

Unlike humans, cats hide their claws under their paws. Hence, you need to push this part to reveal them and assess if they need to be cut or trimmed. Check for the pink portion which is termed as the “quick”. If you happen to cut through them, it would cause them to bleed and this can be very painful to your cat as well. You need to hold the finger nail clipper parallel to the cat’s claws. If you have assumed the best position, you may cut through it very quickly.

Things You Need to Remember

You need to know that you must not rush into cutting all your cat’s claws all at once. Though the ideal is cutting them every fourteen days, some actually trim their cat’s nails only four times a year. In fact you can cut only 1-2 claws per day. Some would not even bother cutting them since their cats chew their tips regularly. If you are too afraid to trim your cat’s claws, then you may contact a veterinarian who will do it for you.

 

Training Your Cat to Use Scratching Post

The most horrible thing that may happen when you own a cat is worrying about it destroying your favorite furniture or carpets because of its scratches. No matter how you stop a cat from doing it, they will always do it because they are born to be that way. Animal behaviorists claim that this is their way of communicating, contrary to what we believe that this is only done to sharpen their claw. Cat’s scratch things because they want to tell people and cats where they are and what they are up to. Studies also show that their paws come with scent glands. Hence, every time they scratch, they are leaving scent marks as well.

How to Choose the Best Scratching Post

The best way to determine what type of scratching post to choose is by observing your cat. If your pet loves to scratch on your furniture then this means you need to choose a stable and vertical scratching post. This would resemble your furniture which will allow your pet to do vertical scratching. You can put this beside the fixtures that your cat loves to scratch. 

 

How to Lure Your Cat into Scratching the Post

The greatest challenge that you will have is on how to divert your cat’s attention to your scratch post. Though some cats are smart enough and will get the idea that this is a scratching post, it may take several days for other cats to have a clue what this fixture is all about. You may place some toys and treats on the post so this will attract your cat’s attention. As one tries to reach for the treat or the toy, it may accidentally stick its claws on the scratching post, discovering how it feels to do this task. If your cat loves to scratch the carpet’s surface, you may use a horizontal scratch board instead. Cats also love to scratch after they sleep. Hence creating a place on the scratching post where one can play and sleep at the same time will make it more attractive for cats to use.

Whiskers Makes My Cat Like A Leader

My cat, Catman, has wonderful Whiskers, which makes him like a sophisticated leader. This picture is token when he is staring out of the windows. He seems to be having a significant thinking now. When I was young, I heard from someone that the cat's whiskers are as wide as his body's widest spot, so that cat can use his Whiskers to measure the space to find out if he can go through. I don't know if it is true. But I am pretty sure that this rule can not be used for overweight cats.

Whisker actually is one type of hair, called tactile hair. The tactile hair also includes eyebrows and chin hair. The main function of tactile hair is serving the sense of touch. The whiskers are long and thick. They root in deep cat's tissue, connected with the nerve endings. Therefore, cat can use them to investigate the objects close to them. They can even be used to get the state of air currents and air pressure.

My cat Catman's whiskers are very long. And sometimes he fan them out, and sometimes he rotates them forward and them sweeps them back. Before I thought he did it because he was very very boring. And now I know he does that because he is trying to measure something, maybe some small air currents changes. And his whiskers are sensitive enough to feel any micro changes of which I will never get the sense.

Damp Footprints on My Wooden Floor

These days I notice that my Catman always leave his damp footprints on my wooden floor. At the beginning, I thought he might make his foot wet in the bathroom and he likes print his footprint on the floor. But later I found out I was wrong. Sometimes, his foot is wet even he just stay in my living room. I am surprised why his foot always get wet and if it is a sign which tells me he is sick.

After talking with my friend, I find out the reason of this damp footprints. Actually when Catman's foot is wet, it means he is hot. When we feel hot, we will sweat and it makes us wet on the surface of the skin. And it will evaporate and help us reduce the heat from our body. The same as my Catman (actually the same as all the cats :P ), when he feels hot, he will sweat and it makes his foot wet and he will remain his damp footprints on the wooden floor when he is walking. According to some researches, cat secretes sweat when he feels hot, frightened,or excited.

Cat only secretes sweat on his foot pad. It is true.In the cat, eccrine sweat glands are found only on the foot pads. So we can find that cat paw always keeps wet. But sweating is not the only way for cats to reduce heat. Like my Catman, he always lays on the floor and lets his body fully touch the floor to cool himself.

Is My Cat Catman Sick?

My cat mate, Catman, have been living in my home for one and a half month. I gave him the same food as which his former host gave, and I also play with him all the time. He is supposed to be happy but sometimes it doesn't look very well. I don't know if he start to miss his old host. And I am very afraid that he may get sick. So I start to read some books about cat care.

Cats are susceptible to a number of different basic diseases. There are a number of different diseases that cats can suffer from, such as skin diseases, ear diseases, nose diseases, mouth diseases, even mental diseases. Take care of a cat is not only just feeding him well, but we also need to pay attention on his living conditions. For example, regularly brushing your will keep them clean, and reduce the hair which he will licked off and swallow. And this is the most efficient way to avoid the hairball problems for you cat, and it is also the best solution to keep your house clean without shed cat hair.

No matter how much I know, I still can not find the reason why my cat looks like very unhappy sometimes. And I feel very much ashamed because I promised my friend I would take care of him well at that time. To find out the treatment, I have to ask for some advice from my vet friend. To my surprised, the reason why my cat, Catman, looks like that is just because he is tired and he wants to have a sleep. -_-!