For the sake of safety (my cat’s and the sitter’s lol), I never ask my sitters to trim my cat’s nails. If an experienced sitter who was a cat owner volunteers and wants to do it, I would be ok with it. However, I feel I’m crossing boundaries by asking a sitter to do it. I always trim my cat’s nails the day I leave.
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Thank you for this discussion! I’ve just bought a pair of clippers, like the ones illustrated above but had been putting it off. All the info and experiences shared here had made me feel bold enough to have a go, with the assistance of my partner… and a towel
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@Romana we had indoor 3 cats, and I regularly clipped their nails. It was never a difficult task, and they were accustomed to it throughout their lives. Once you get the hang of it, the entire procedure is quite quick.
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A friend just sent me a link to this product. This looks like a good idea.
Cat Grooming Hammock with Safety Belt for Nail Clipping
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Granted this is an old thread, but here’s an opinion: Nail trimming, especially of the front claws isn’t “something normally done by a professional.” Well it is, in the sense that if the pet parent never does it, it can be done by someone at the vet’s office. However, it should be done once every couple of weeks by pet parents although most cat parents don’t adhere to that kind of schedule because most cats aren’t thrilled about it.
I think petparents going on short vacations – under four weeks – can certainly make sure their cats have trimmed nails before the catsitter comes and the sitter shouldn’t have to do it. Just like the sitter on a short sit should not have to change and wash out litter boxes. I wouldn’t ask a sitter to do this because I just want to make sure my cats and my sitters are both safe and both have a good time while I’m gone. My cats trust me, but even with me they get squirmmy and could accidently scratch trying to get away, or bite if annoyed enough.
However, if I were going on a longer than 4 week trip, and looking for someone to do what I do in my home for my cats during that time, I would look for someone with experience clipping cat nails and ask them to give it try AFTER they’d been in my home at least 4 weeks. It is part of basic cat maintenance and people sitting cats longterm should be willing to do it.
I don’t do long sits, so I’ll never trim any cats’ claws, even if asked to. If it’s a short sit — say one or two weeks — I’d think it’s nervy for a host to ask for what they should do before leaving or have done by a professional if they can’t or don’t want to.
Since this is an old thread, perhaps I already told this story:
My parents had a feisty calico. I got her in a quiet moment to trim her claws. Dad came home. I said, “good news! I managed to trim two of Pepper’s claws.” Dad: “That’s one more than I might have expected.”
I miss his dry sense of humor. 
Good topic to bring up again. With sits over a month, this can be a problem. As a sitter, if I’ve spent a week winning a cat’s trust I don’t want to lose it by trying to handle their paws and clip their nails. A homeowner showed me how her cat allowed her to handle her paws, but when she was gone and I tried it, the cat hissed and threatened to bite. In the past, with my own cat, I used the towel method, but I had more trust built up with my own cat.
But I’m not sure what the solution is then for those longterm sits. As a catparent, I see it as comes with the territory – like washing a litter box. Not a pleasant task but not one you must “leave to a professional.” If the sit was two months or longer, AND the sitter felt they couldn’t do it, and the homeowner felt it had to be done, then the sitter would probably need to take the cat to a groomer or vet practice to get it done, but that also involves HO paying, and the sitter taking the time and effort to get the cat to an appointment. As a sitter, I view it as something you either can do or you don’t take the sit, no different than having to give sub cutaneous fluids, or pill a cat. It might not be for everyone.
Do all cat owners routinely clip their cats’ claws? I’ve only had a dog and we don’t cut his nails, because they’re black and you can’t see the quick and can easily hurt him, so we take him to get them done. I know we’re not alone, because groomers offer the service. We do trim his fur, though. Even though we do that, we wouldn’t ask a sitter to.
Not sure what all cat owners do. I know that I used to clip my magnificient departed cat’s nails regularly because he was easy, but my other guys are tougher so I got out of the habit until I was reminded more than once by my vet that especially as they get older this should be done frequently as they can actually get bent, and get stuck on things – even if the cats use scratching posts. It’s also slightly easier on the furniture. So I’ve now taken it up again about once every 3 weeks and certainly before sitters come in. As a sitter, I wouldn’t do it on a short sit for reasons stated, but if it was requested as part of my responsibilities on a long sit I wouldn’t balk. I would probably ask for some tips (no pun intended) from the cat parent about how they approach their particular cats.
Also I don’t clip the back paws which grow more slowly and aren’t as sharp. Cat’s nails are much thinner than dog’s nails and because of the way you can push the nail out, it’s not difficult to avoid the quick.
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I assume it’s more common for cats that only stay insides. Our cats are not insides-only cats, and they need their claws sharp to climb trees, so we do not normally clip them.
Yes I feel the same. Someone I sit for regularly asks me to clip with the trimmer pictured. But also said only if the cats are compliant and demonstrated how she does it. I was perfectly happy to do it.
It’s a normal practice for indoor cats, not harmful, and helps to stop them scratching the furniture.
Unless they have properly conditioned the cat for nail clipping to the point where it’s a complete non-event, it’s a no for me.
I would rather tell them to schedule a grooming appointment and ask them how you are to get the cat there.
The most I have asked HO for regarding my dog (short single coat) is, similar to the house, keep him in the condition I gave him to you, I.e. if he needs a bath or hose down after a muddy outing, great. If there’s a lot of shedding happening, brush him. But my dog also has a “tub” command and is completely unfussed about grooming. Luckily he wears down his nails from walking but if not, I wouldn’t want anyone but me or someone who knows what they’re doing clipping them anyway as many of his nails are black.
Anything past that which would require extra skills, I would not expect a sitter to do.
Hi @RadarInc
I’ve looked after over 40 cats on THS and worked for numerous charity shelters for cats and have never cut a cat’s nails. In fact many of the shelters didn’t want the nails cut as they provided scratching posts so cats could keep the nails trimmed themselves (I know some owners do like to trim nails though).
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Being bitten, with the possibility of infection, would be my concern as a sitter. Hard to predict how a cat would behave, having their paws handled that way by a stranger.
From a host POV, I’d consider that risk and whether the pet might no longer qualify for THS sitting if that happened, because THS terms don’t allow pets who’ve attacked anyone.
If I had a cat as a host, I’d rather have them go to a groomer than take such a risk.
And if I were the petparent and you tried and this was the result and you didn’t want to try again, I’d respect that and either let it go – maybe with some warning like please make sure the slipcover is secured on the couch, maybe by buying more scratching posts. I might set up a grooming appointment if you were willing to take the cat to it.
The reason I restarted and commented was because of so many comments implying this is a job for “professionals” and not a normal part of cat care. Certainly in the US petparents are encouraged to do this as a normal part of cat care by vets, and cat behavior experts like Jackson Galaxy. I get that they are cats and how they react to someone they trust who’s worked out a communication system with them versus a stranger are two very different things, but I was surprised by some comments implying this was a task for “professionals” and shouldn’t be asked of a sitter or that pet parents were being cheeky by asking if a sitter could do this. A sitter on a short sit could say, “no”. That would be my answer under most circumstances. Given that this as a task requires some skill in restraining the cat to keep from getting bit or scratched, I could see why a sitter might refuse. A sitter on a long sit might need to work out a plan with the homeowner if this was mentioned in responsibilities and they weren’t comfortable taking this on themselves. As a sitter, in neither case would I make assumptions that this was somehow the homeowner trying to pull a fast one on the me and somehow take advantage of me as a sitter.
Many months have passed, and I have done many sits since I asked this question. Not once has anyone asked, insinuated, or even mentioned nail trimming. (Although, on a couple of occasions, the pet owner left the pets in bad need of trimming. 
)
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Hello, I know this thread is a little old but I thought i should also add my thoughts.I think it would not be a good idea to ask sitters to clip cats’ nails .It would be a good idea to leave clipping of cats nails to professionals
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