this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2025
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As they dig their claws into your leg to better launch themselves off the bed...
Cut their claws, I taught my adult cat that me touching his paws is okay and that sometimes he gets a trim. We can now "spar" all the time because he just doesn't have sharp points to claw me with. He can make biscuits on me all he wants, jump on me, off me etc.
I would not recommend that unless you know what you are doing. Unlike other animals, the claws of cats have living tissue inside, which means a cut too far from the tip is like cutting off a fingertip and pretty painful, just be forewarned.
e: thats also the reason why declawing is brutal and inhumane - there are a lot of nerve endings there too
Not really a problem often. Cats with light fur tend to have white nails and you can see the quick (the living part of the nail) really easily. There are also methods on how to cut the nail properly, with correct angles and specialized scissors. Even with dark-coloured claws, it isn't hard to avoid it. Simply trimming the extremely sharp hook end is enough, you don't need to cut half their claw off.
Declawing means removing a digit in a cats' paw. It is a completely different process to what I'm describing here and is a horrific thing to do to a cat, basically maiming it in the process. It should only be done as last resort in illness to save a cats life, not to prevent it from scratching. It is basically the difference between cutting your nails so they are short, and cutting the end of your fingers so there is no nail to cut.