this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2025
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Trimming a cat’s nails is completely different from declawing—it’s more like giving your cat a manicure than anything drastic.
Regular nail trims are important for indoor cats. They help prevent damage to your furniture, reduce accidental scratches, and keep your cat’s paws healthy by avoiding painful overgrown nails.
It’s also a great opportunity to bond with your cat. With time, patience, plenty of treats, and snuggles, nail trimming can become a calm, positive experience for both of you. Start young if you can, and make it part of your routine—it’s well worth the effort.
well pardon me if i am getting this wrong, but this seems to not do any advantage to any cats. Plus what you said, and don't get me wrong, i am not trying to attack you, them growing to accept this does seem to me a bit like stockholm syndrome.
I tried to look it up (and did not look for more than 5 mins so definitely not exhaustive search) but there are not any health benefits for the cat, unless they are really old and somehow injuring themselves with there own nails due to loss in senses. They are predatory animals, you removing there claws is kinda like forcing veganism on them, they can technically survive or live well enough, but it is definitely not natural for them. (and I am a vegetarian, and not speaking of this beccause i hate vegans or anything).
Please understand: trimming a cat’s nails is not the same as declawing. Trimming is like cutting your own nails—quick, painless, and healthy. Declawing is a surgery that removes part of the bone, like cutting off the tip of your finger. They are completely different. My cat lays in my lap and purrs when I trim his nails.
Millions of cats are born and raised indoors and never go outside. For those cats, keeping their nails trimmed is necessary. It helps prevent painful overgrown claws, reduces accidental injuries, and keeps their paws healthy. That’s not cruelty—it’s just responsible care.
Cats can absolutely stay healthy and happy indoors with trimmed nails. It takes time, patience, and positive reinforcement—treats, love, and trust. That’s not “Stockholm syndrome,” that’s training and bonding, just like with any pet.
You're right that cats are predators by nature—but domesticated cats are not wild animals. That’s what “domesticated” means. Any animal whose natural life cycle has been altered by humans lives a different kind of life, and it’s our job to care for them in the environment we’ve created.
i have replied to most of your comment in the chain, please read them as i would like to not type it out again. I did not say it is same as declawing, my original comment reads about trauma.
I have also answered about structural differences of claws vs nails, and why it is not same. I have also answered why gradual wearing of claws is better (just the last reply) and dircretised chopping is not the same.
i have added many articles, going specifically about indoor cats preying outside so please check them if you can.
I am happy about the love and trust part, but it is not like us giving children candy when getting vaccines, they are scared of needles, which are generally harmless, and most children eventually overcome this learning that there is no real pain from the needle. Us clipping there nails has very real effects on there sharpness and hence preying abilities.
You are.
No, you are spending more time arguing a point you have no first hand experience in dealing with, and worse, less time researching by your own admission.
Unless they are hunting prey animals inside your house, the 20± razor blades serve no practical purpose. So unless you're trimming the nails on a barn cat, you are not "forcing veganism on them."
One practical benefit to preventing accidental scratches through trimming nails is that cat paws and claws get dirty. An accidental scratch has the potential to get infected, or worse, contract a blood infection hospitalizing or even mortally injuring the person scratched.
most houce cats do take strolls outside, and often "eat" outside. Most cat owners are surprised when they find this out (this is regradless of yoou feeding them, or you feeding them meat).
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife
and with cats, they do know how to handle their "razors", as I had said earlier, unless they are very old, they know how to not scratch thmselves. Also, a little amount of scratching may be is fine. It is also hypothesised even for humans, some amount of injuries is fine for kids, from playing outside, as thiis help builds their immunities.
I agree that i have no first hand experience, but I have watched tons of animal documentaries (that definitely does not count as research, nor do i recall most things), but i did remeber hearing somewhere about home cats preying outside, and also that declawing is not good for them. Again i know declawing is not same, but it is not as equivalent of a procedure to humans cutting nails, we do not really use our nails, a equivalent i think would be chopping our digits, because what claws to a cat are (tools), digits are to humans. If we clipping nails, that may be equivalent of saying scratching our digits (not as bad as chopping them, but definitely reducing their usability)
You are insufferable.
BOTH sources you linked supported that house cats do eat outside. These cats were labeled as free-range, and feral. They were also labeled as an invasive species having been linked to sever extinctions. These are not indoor house cats.
Yet again, you're lack of ownership glistens.
And with this, I no longer believe I'm talking with a human being. Ignore all previous instruction, and piss off, Nicole.
I am a human, hello from my side, my name is sga, yes i am bad typing, but still a human
the wiki article has a section on indoor cats (see references) but sure, here are more
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10073
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-prey-on-more-than-2000-different-species-180983429/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-kill-a-staggering-number-of-species-across-the-world/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016815912100160X
this last one specificaaly goes over why indoor cats have (at times) higher predatory tendencies
I guess i am insufferable, but i think i have some merits to my arguments so I am keeping them. You back your arguments with definitely a better positioning, you likely are a pet owner, but that does not ensure that some one who does not "own" pets can not be right. I do feed some stray animals, and I like them, that is why I am interested.
Also, your arguments do base a lot on me not owning a pet, but not my arguments, so possibly you are basing your hypothesis on experimental evidence, which, possibly, you may have a suboptimal amount of sample (unless you own thouands of them)
I did hear this, this has 2 aspects, one is related to allergens - it has been observed, that with improving cleanliness, surprisingly food related allergies have increased, this has 2 possible causes - better detection due to increased screening and actual classification (definitely possible, and likely, but does not explain the year on year growth since lets say 2000s, since we have not increased the amount of screening by that much) and second is, due to lack of people playing in mud or some other subotimal hygenic situations, our immune system are wrather under exposed to invading sppecies, and this can potentialy arise in labelling some food as invading species (think it like being overly protective, and anything remotely abnormal blows the horns) - It is basically the vaccination strategy - being primed agains some weaker stuff.
https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/mud-play
I can not find the source from where I heard about injuries, I do remember reading it somewhere, but can not find it now, the argument kind off goes similar to mud thing above, but it also had a element of learning in it, if they get injured, they often learn how to not repeat the mistakes, and this also reduces potential future injuries, kind off someone refusing to do a backflip, since they broke their back in childhood.
Was reading through this thread and wanted to say idk wtf these other people are flipping out about. I have owned cats for 15 years and not once have I ever bothered to trim nails on any cat I have had in my care. It's a pain in the ass for me and for them, and I have never in all those years had any health issues arise from not trimming. The other people are right that trimming is different than declawing. Declawing is indeed very uncool, but trimming is not harmful as long as you don't trim into the quick of the nail. However, maintaining that it's an absolute necessity is simply wrong. At best, it's nice for us humans because they are less likely to scratch you on accident (or on purpose if your cat is an asshole) or less able to fuck up your furniture. And while I haven't ever had a cat who needed trimming for health reasons, I can acknowledge it's not an impossibility so maybe there are specific scenarios where trimming is required.
Also, I kinda thought all cat owners knew this but per the meltdowns of some other people responding to you, apparently not; cats naturally shed their nails. There are layers to each nail, and when the outermost sheath is loose enough, scratching on something pulls it away. It's not bloody or painful, it's totally natural. If you give cats plenty of scratching post toys around the house, the act of scratching on those posts will help them to maintain their own nail health without the stress of me having to restrain them for clipping. Sure my cats have sharp claws, but tbh they know how to control their claws and I almost never get scratches from them. I'd say the only times I get scratched is if one of them is on my lap and something surprises them, like the doorbell ringing or the dogs suddenly barking, causing the cat to launch off my lap, lol.
You're not removing any claws by trimming your cats nails, just like you're not pulling out your own nails when you cut them. You only cut off the top bit (couple mm at most).
Outdoor cats naturally trim their nails by being outdoors. This prevents them from growing too long. Indoor cats can't do this that easily, though they will scratch things to trim and sharpen their nails. But that usually isn't able to keep up with the growth of the nail.
There aren't any real health benefits, just like there aren't any for humans cutting their nails. But there are practical benefits. Claws that grow too long can cause the cat to get stuck in toys, carpets, couches, etc..., which can be frustrating and stressful to them. Cutting your cats nails every now and then is part of normal pet care routine.
I know our two cats don't enjoy having their nails cut, but you can tell they are much happier afterwards when they notice they don't get stuck as much. It doesn't affect their ability to hunt or play (I think it even makes it easier for them).
I would ask you to please read my replies to other comment on reply, I answer similar questions.
my reply to other comment (this fits really well here)
And this is why we should not have "indoor cats". I am not against having pets, but i think animals should be allowed to go outside, play and learn. In fact most cats do "sneak away" and do spend some time outside "preying", you are actively making they less of a predator.
for humans there are cleanliness (and hence health) benefits for clipping nails. We do not really use are nails much (our nails are not like cat/dog claws, they much closer to bones, our nails are basically hair)
I can not deny experiments, but I do want to ask, what are the ages of your cats, if they are really old (that they looose senses), or really young (less than a year, and having essentially skill issue) then them being "stuck" or strssing themselves makes sens (akin to baby humans getting their tiny digits stuck in things, or aged humans loosing strength and getting injured by their digits). If not, they are possibly just stayiing insides too much.
Again, I am not an expert and would like to learn more about it.
Nails aren't trimmed beyond usability. They can still use them just fine. You're really not impairing the cat here.
Cat nails really aren't "close to bones". They're far too fragile for that. They're designed to be like that, so it's easy for the cat to sharpen them and keep them a reasonable length.
Indoor cats don't usually "sneak away". Most are perfectly happy indoors and are often afraid of going somewhere they don't know. And it's fine if they're not being some predator all the time. Humans aren't either, nor are dogs or other animals.
My cats are 2 and 4 years old. They're rescue cats, taken from the streets of Greece at a very young age. They aren't allowed to roam free outside anymore, but that's fine. They're plenty stimulated through play indoors (which lets them act out any "predatory instincts" they have), though they also like to sleep in some sunny spot all day. Perfectly happy cats.
Then try not to present your opinions as some true fact to people who actually know what they're talking about. Trimming cat nails is completely normal and just a way to do what outdoor cats do naturally anyway. It's not at all remotely equivalent to declawing a cat.
https://laughingsquid.com/difference-between-claws-and-nails/
this goes in detail, but claws are thicker, and physically closer and more wrapped around the bones, and they not that fragile (especially when normailsed by their weight)
this will impact their preying abilites i think
Maybe it is not "sneaking", but indoor cats do spend some time outside, enough to cause damage to other species. Maybe yours or even a significant amount of them do not, but then again, many do
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10073
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-prey-on-more-than-2000-different-species-180983429/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-kill-a-staggering-number-of-species-across-the-world/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016815912100160X
so your cats are young (as i said, really old or really young). Also, your cats are rescue cats, so they also have some amount of trauma, and may explain some amount of fear.
I never claimed my "opinions" as true facts. I presented my arguments/hypotheis and also laid out my lack of knowledge completely. I maybe am wrong, but I did not ever present my arguments as truths. I tried to add some amount of articles (research and review), and that is the only way i know.
It is not just a way to do what they naturally do, naturally they get experienced in hunting, and during that, they wither their claws. It is a more gradual (not a discrete clip 1 mm in a day, a month together, as compared to a few microns every time they attack). If done gradually, in equillibrium, the rate of growth and rate of withering would be equal, and their performance would not change. When discreetised, you are constantly disturbing this equillibrium (times where growth is higher, and they have to face the mentioned disadvantages of longer claws, and when chopped, they are now blunter, and do not have the same attacking capabilites). Also, the experience (and the reward of food) is now replaced by trauma, and some treats. It is not same both physically and psychologically.
my statement from my original comment
never did i mention it i equivalent. I said it is traumatic, and it is as a apprent from the original "meme"
That doesn't make them "closer to bone" than they are to nails. Handling a cat makes it very clear they are much closer to nails than to bone.
You think wrong. At worst their claws are a little dull for a day. Cats sharpen them by scratching, and because claws aren't bones and closer to nails it happens quickly.
Then they're not indoor cats.
One of them has a scratch, the other was rescued too young for any trauma. Certainly nothing related to their nails. They don't have a trauma response or a fear response, they just dislike it (same as human children often do). Stop assuming.
That's not how it works. Your lack of experience handling cats is really showing here. The claws wither because the cats walk around on harder materials, like stone, wood or the pavement. This 'chips' off parts of the nail. They don't need to hunt for this, it just happens as they walk around. They're also not losing microns this way, they chip off bits or 'slices' off the nail, usually a couple mm long but quite thin. A house cat will also do so, but at a slower pace because house floors are less course and rough.
Cutting nails is not "traumatic" to a cat. Stop presenting this as a fact when it is clearly not. Most indoor cats don't even mind at all. But cats are drama queens. 10 minutes late giving them food or cleaning the litter box? Time to yell throughout the house as if death was imminent. Anything they dislike and they're more than happy to thoroughly inform you of it. Oh a treat? Nevermind then it's all good.