How to Care for a Cat's Nails With Soft Caps

Nail caps provide a painless alternative to declawing your cats, a procedure that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not recommend. You apply these soft, vinyl caps over your cat's claws to cover them and prevent the cat from doing any damage when it scratches items in your home. The caps also prevent injury to adults, children or other animals from sharp claws. The caps come as part of a kit and last from four to six weeks after application, requiring little maintenance during this period.

Things You'll Need

  • Pet nail clippers
  • Styptic powder
  • Cat nail caps kit
  • Cat treats
  • Cat food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Trim your cat's nails by gently taking each of your cat's toes between your thumb and forefinger to extend the nail and clipping off the sharp tips with a pet nail trimmer. Look for the pink "quick" at the bottom of the nail, and clip about halfway between the top of the quick and the tip of the nail, staying as far away from the quick as possible. Cutting into the quick will cause pain and bleeding. If this happens, apply styptic powder to the nail to stop the bleeding.

    • 2

      Give your cat some treats after the nail trimming and wait a few hours or until the next day before applying the nail caps.

    • 3

      Fill each nail cap one-third of the way full with the glue provided in the nail cap kit right before application. Use only this special, non-toxic glue that will allow the cat to naturally shed the nail in four to six weeks.

    • 4

      Apply the nail caps when your cat is sleepy or resting. Take one of its toes between your thumb and forefinger to extend the clipped claw and place the glue-filled nail cap completely over the nail. Place a cap over each of your cat's nails, including the nails on the back feet if you desire, by using the same procedure.

    • 5

      Engage your cat's attention for five minutes after the application of the caps with a food reward, such as a series of cat treats or feed your cat its favorite food. After five minutes have passed, the nail cap glue will have set and the nails will last for four to six weeks.

    • 6

      Check your cat's nails every week after the application of the nail caps. If the nails have grown long, and the nail caps are still attached, you can clip the tips off of the nail caps to break the glue seal and remove them. Re-trim the nails and apply new caps.