Is it safe to trim my cat's paw fur to stop her from sliding?

We do routinely shave cats that have matted or soiled fur. How easy this will be will depend on your cat's personality, so you may need to enlist the help of a professional groomer! They have special groomer clippers to shave the fur to different lengths so hopefully they can keep some of her hair, or they may be able to remove the burrs. It also might be helpful getting a detangler or creme rinse made for pets and spraying it on the areas and then trying to comb over the areas with a fine comb, as it may loosen the burrs from the fur and help you avoid having to shave her! I wouldn't recommend using scissors to trim her down as it is very easy to accidentally cut a cat's thin skin. You will also want to keep her indoors if it is cold in your area and her coat is still short.

If it is only the black, thick, superficial part of the pad, then it is safe to cut it off with scissors or nail clipper. That part of the pad does not have nerves or blood supply, so there should not be any pain or bleed when you do it.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. Trimming the hair from between the toes can help prevent Luna from slipping on a hard surface such as tile and also help prevent mud and snow from building up between the toes. There are no products that I would suggest using to dissolve the fur as any chemical applied to the skin has the potential for a reaction. I always recommend using hair clippers / trimmers to remove the hair from between the toes. This is what I used for my own dog and it worked just fine. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Yes you should very carefully cut this nail before it causes skin problems. If you are afraid to do this, take her to your vet to have it cut properly. They may show you how, so you can do it yourself the next time when it is necessary.

Yes, you are correct, you could accidentally cut Sophia. I've done this myself! My cat needed stitches. I felt awful. You can take her into a groomer to have them shaved out, that's the safest thing to do. You can also buy shaving razor for pets from a pet store to do it yourself. I hope this helps!

Hello, and thank you for your question. I would try keeping the nails very trim by cutting them every two weeks with cat nail clippers. It may be worth visiting a pet groomer or the vet to be shown how short the nails can be cut. If she is still catching her claws on the furniture even with regular trimming, then you may need to consider declawing. However, declawing is a painful procedure with chance of complications, so I would not encourage doing this unless absolutely necessary. I hope this helps! Good luck with Kiki and I hope trimming the nails regularly does the trick!

Hello and thank you for your question about Maggie. Many polydactyl cats have the same issue and routine nail trimming is a must. This should be done every 2-4 weeks depending on how fast the nails grow. I advise to go online and watch a few videos on trimming cat’s nails. It’s easier to see the process than to read about it. In general, you want to trim off the hook portion of the nail and avoid the quick (that’s the pink tissue within the nail) by at least 5mm. You can use human or smal pet nail trimmers and having a second person to hold Maggie may help. I hope you found this helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.