It’s very important to establish a positive experience when it comes to trimming your cats nails. You should trim all of their nails every week. More than likely, unless you are really fast and experienced, it will take you 2-3 days to get all nails trimmed. You want to get your kitty used to the feeling of you touching their paws by petting them and ‘playing’ with them, separating the toe pads with gentle massage during cuddle and nap times. Then once your kitten is used to you doing this, you want to discreetly and quickly trim the nail. If you time it right during a good sleep, they won’t even notice and you may be able to finish them all. They may start to stir, if so you can pause, continue to pet normally (or not) and let them fall back into a deep sleep before continuing. If they fully wake up, just wait to finish until next nap time. Offer them some yummy raw treats to create the absolute most positive experience for them! 

You want to be very careful, making sure you don’t trim past their quick. Only trim down the white tips of their nail, you can see through the nail and there’s a blood vessel – that’s called the quick which you want to stay far away from. IF you do happen to trim the quick, have your bottle of styptic powder (which stops bleeding) right next to you – essential to have. Open it up and dip the nail in, or grab a finger full portion and stuff it on there, applying gentle pressure to really get the powder into the area. Paper towels will be handy to have right next to you before starting too, because if this happens, it will be bloody. You must make sure the bleeding has stopped, apply more powder a second time if necessary, and if the bleeding is not stopping or was a really bad deep cut, seek emergency care immediately. Put your cat in their carrier with a towel, get in the car and start driving to your emergency clinic. Have another person with you if possible, who can sit with kitty helping apply pressure to stop the bleeding. 

The best nail trimmers you should use are the small animal nail trimmers. They look like small scissors, with rounded tips, and a small curved blade. Do NOT use any type of human trimmers, dog clippers, mechanical trimmers or dremels, or really anything other than these “small animal” nail scissors. There are many trimmers marketed to cat owners that are not safe or appropriate. These small nail scissors are the most gentle, can get right in there for precise cutting, and are easy to hold. They have a quick clean cut which is important, because you dont want the nail to fray, breaking apart, which can lead to bleeding or infection. You want a nice sharp clean quick cut. Familiarize yourself with this process. Take deep breaths before hand, go slow. Its better to get one or two properly than to try and rush it, your cat can feel your energy and stress – you don’t want to make this a stressful, bad or painful experience for them. 

I like to groom them with my hands a bit first, rubbing their chin, cheeks, working my way all the way down to their paws, as if im cleaning them like mama. Its very important you do their nails weekly, it gets them used to it, gets you used to it, becomes no big deal, and having short nails is more healthy and comfortable for them. And you! A Bengal Cats nails are thicker and sharper than a standard domestic cat due to their Asian Leopard Cat DNA. Having too long of nails traps bacteria when they use their litterboxes, and they can get so long that they grow into their paw pads which will require surgery. 

You really want to be the one to trim your cats nails. You have the strongest bond with them (it strengthens your bond, too) and they are most comfortable in their home environment. Taking your cat to the vet for nail trims should be absolute last resort. Vets have to take precautionary measures to prevent cat bites and attacks during nail trims. They hold the cat down and often “net” the cat, trapping it in a net before holding it down. It’s extremely extremely stressful for your cat. Bad things can happen to your cat and to the employees. They are on a time crunch and the whole thing is not in the best interest of your cats experience. Theres also lots of germs at the vet office, so going there should only be when they are sick and need to be seen for healing. 

One of the top things you should do as a prospective Bengal Cat owner, is fully accept the responsibility of trimming your cats nails, and become very very comfortable with the process! Treats are fantastic to use if your cat wakes up after the process. Give lots of love, and offer some wholesome raw food treat goodness! The more positive associations you can make, the better!!