Target walks slowly up his pet steps but as he steps onto the sofa, he pauses; his claw is tangled up in the throw. Being Target, he gives me an accusing look. In his world, anything that is wrong is to be fixed by me, and instantly.
But as I unhook his claw, he meows in protest. He’s just remembered what happens when he gets stuck. Thankfully, we avoid the usual drama because we’ve had an epiphany.
Target’s claws are thick and yellow. They would be at home on a velociraptor’s feet. Yet when he was younger, Target’s claws were lean and transparent.
Cat claws are made of keratin, a thick protein, just like our human nails. But where our nails grow out straight, cat claws grow in layers. New claws form inside and the outer sheath peels off.
With active cats, climbing trees, running around and general clawing keeps their nails sharp and helps peel off the older sheath when needed.
When cats age, their claws become thick and they curve inwards more. Generally, there’s less running around and climbing so the sheath doesn’t always fall off. Poor health can cause issues too.
Target’s vets have said his claws are normal for his advanced age, so we’re not worried about disease. But Target no longer runs around outside. He’s a little too rickety to climb the cat poles too.
As curved claws can grow into paw pads, much like a human having an ingrown toenail, I tend to Target’s paws.
Seeing his claws have thickened. I bought new pet shears, beautiful stainless steel blades that are designed to snip without crushing, in attractive pink.
When I put Target on my lap, his ears went flat. I pointed out the ergonomic genius, the wonderfulcolour and the enormous price tag.
No deal. Target pulled his paw back and grumbled. I’m determined, so I held on to him and gently pushed out a claw.
Unlike our nails, cat claws have a ‘quick’ – a vein that runs inside the claw. It contains nerves and blood vessels and so it is vital to avoid going near it. If you trim a claw and touch the quick, you’re slicing into the cat’s body.
I took lessons years ago from a vet and have had practice. Still, with Target’s thick claws, I was super careful. I sat in bright sunlight and examined them.
The quick is pink and thankfully, clearly visible. Staying well away from it, I trimmed the tips of two of his front claws. Target grumbled and moaned.
Now Target is a dramatic cat. He throws a perfect snit if dinner is late or if I take up too much of our pillow. One the rare occasion I accidentally step on his paw, we have a three-act tragedy.
Even so, Target’s nervous pulling away and large eyes told me there was more going on. I’d not hurt him, I was certain of that, but something about trimming his claws was not comfortable.
Another way
A few days later, I tried a different method. I took some straight clippers, moved them sideways over the claw and snipped. Again, perfect result, no crushing but Target pulled that face again.
Target pulled similar faces when I helped him remove the sticky tape stuck in his fur last Christmas.
And again when I cleaned a scratch in his ear, a souvenir from a rowdy battle game with Tic Tac.
In the past, Target grumbled a bit but he was perfectly okay with a trim. This was definitely different.
Tom and I talked it over, and we wondered if old cat claws might be more sensitive than young cat claws.
Maybe, we thought, it’s like filing a human nail when you have a sore finger. Although the nail itself is just dead cells, you feel the vibration higher up.
We love our old orange, so I whipped out my treasure: a Czech tempered glass chemically etched nail file. A few passes over my nails is worth minutes of work with a classic metal sapphire file.
Once again putting Target on my lap, I gently pushed out a claw, held it firmly by the top and filed.
Target sat still. No moaning. No complaining. No drama cat.
With each pass, the relief swelled. I file my nails every week, and so the action is very natural. Plus, filing removes the nail slowly, so monitoring progress is a snap. There’s little danger of going near the quick either.
Target sat happily but after doing one paw, he was bored. I let him go and a few days later did the other paw. Again, no problem. Target was no exactly overjoyed, but after I promised him an extra treat, he decided the inconvenience was worth it.
It’s been a few weeks now and Target’s claws are in fine shape. I don’t need to worry that they’ll grow into his pads and he doesn’t get stuck on the sofa.
As for the other two, Tic Tac runs up and down the sisal cat poles but Inkie is a lazy bear of a cat. I may have to tackle his claws as well soon, which will be an enterprise because he is squirmy and is a complete scaredy-cat.
But that’s in the future. For now, I’m basking in my new position as Target’s personal manicurist.
