Having had a cat for several years, we understand how having the appropriate tools may assist both you and your cat in managing anxiety. The best cat nail clippers were selected after we tested over ten different models. The Shiny Pet nail clippers, with their extra-sharp blades and lightweight, user-friendly design, expedited the process.
The nearly infallible conical blade of our runner-up, Zen Clipper cat nail clippers, provided us with peace of mind by carefully trimming off just the right amount of cat nails without getting to the sensitive areas (the quick). For left- and right-handed parents who require an LED light for increased visibility, we discovered that the Pawsibility pet nail clippers were ideal if you’re more at ease with plier-style designs.
Regular nail clipping is necessary to prevent nail damage and prevent our furry friends from scratching us. Outdoor cats’ claws usually wear down as they walk outside and climb trees, but indoor cats’ claws do not wear down as much even if they use cat tree or cat scratcher frequently.
Important features to consider Best Cat Nail Clippers
Type
There is a wide range of cat nail cutters available, including grinders, guillotine types, pliers, and scissors. Except for grinders, clippers often have two handles, and some even have springs to lessen the effort required to open and close the blade. Read more
It’s easier to manage a wriggly cat without injuring them when you use pliers or scissors if your cat detests having its claws clipped. Unless you know your cat is comfortable with noise and vibrations during the claw-cutting process, we would advise against using grinders as most cats are a little nervous about having their nails clipped.
Safety/ locking mechanism
It can be unsettling to cut your cat’s nails, but having a safety feature or locking mechanism would make it easier. To avoid cutting too much of the nail, the safety guard is a plate on the back of the nail clippers. Its efficacy is contingent upon your cat’s nail length, though. The protection could stop working once the claws are very short.
When not in use, a locking mechanism keeps the clippers closed, protecting both people and cats from cutting themselves on the sharp blades.
Blade material/ build quality
A dull blade can still be harmful. Use nail clippers that are long-lasting and extremely sharp so they can be sharpened again later. Using dull blades on your cat’s nails could damage them rather than properly cut them. Because stainless steel blades are durable and non-corrosive, we suggest using them.
The clipper body’s construction quality also contributes to an improved experience for both you and your feline. Some less expensive nail clippers are uncomfortable to use because they are constructed of cheap plastic with sharp edges. Some brands, however, include handles made of rubber or silicone for a more pleasant grip.
Budget
You can find any kind of clipper that suits your and your cat’s needs for under $10 to over $30, depending on the type you buy. The majority of electric grinders were more expensive than manual scissors or pliers, with the majority of clippers costing between $10 and $15 on average.
How do we select & test?
We intended to experiment with various nail clippers, including grinders, guillotines, pliers, and scissors. There are four primary categories of cutters. Within each type, we tested elements including safety guards, LED light bulbs, slanted blades, and various grip ergonomics. Finally, we looked at a few different price points. We examined nail clippers that ranged in price from around $10 to over $30 to determine if they were good values. Read more
For two months, we experimented with ten different cat nail cutters on our cat, Gob. It usually takes two people to cut his claws since he is too cautious and afraid, but with some of these various nail clippers, it was possible to have a better and less stressful experience. (Don’t worry, we made up for his assistance by spoiling him with lots of playing with the nicest cat toys!) We took notice of certain sizes and types, safety concerns, the product’s overall quality, and the blade.
1. Shiny Pet – Pet Nail Clippers
Our best pick is the Shiny Pet nail clippers because of their lightweight, scissor-style design and ease of use. Whether your cat is picky or not, these are well-made and feature an angled blade that helps get the ideal angle for cat nails. Read more
The small finger holes on the Shiny Pet nail clipper are the only drawback we could find; they might be too small for larger hands, but they were perfect for fingers that are small to medium in size. The rubber coating on the handles makes them supple and pleasant to grip. The blades were incredibly keen, making it simple and quick to cut through claws.
These clippers are not equipped with a safety guard, however, we have observed on occasion that these guards can make the clippers bulkier or reduce the amount of the cat’s nail that can be seen clearly when cutting. When trimming our cat’s nails, the angled tip is thin and provides excellent sight, which facilitates speedy cuts and a contented feline.
2. Pet Republique – Best Cat Nail Clippers
Cat owners looking for a scissor-style cat nail trimmer that is easy to use and affordable might consider the Pet Republique nail clippers. These have a similar shape to the Shiny Pet nail clippers, with the exception that the tip is flat rather than angled. Read more
Comfy rubber ridges inside the handles provide a good hold on the tiny tool while you’re brushing your cat. This is a pretty little tool, similar to other scissor designs, therefore it might not be pleasant to use when precisely trimming claws if you have larger hands. However, if you’re looking for something cheap, the nail clippers from Pet Republique can be useful. They even allow you to test them and return them if they don’t work out thanks to their 90-day money-back guarantee.
3. Pawsibility – Pet Nail Clippers
The Pawsibility nail clippers are our top choice for plier-style nail clippers. What we love most about them is that, in addition to having a light for better visibility, the sharp blades easily cut the claws of all animals, including dogs and cats. The light can be recharged using a micro USB that is included with the tool. There’s also a removable container that catches all the clippings, so there’s no mess left behind. If you want to file your cat’s nails after cutting them, there’s a hidden nail file inside the handle that can be folded out. Read more
Both left- and right-handed pet owners may use these pliers, and you can open or close them with just one hand. For a better grip, we wish the handles were made of a different substance, such as silicone or rubber. It’s more costly than other of the nail clippers we evaluated, coming in at about $25, but we believe the quality and extra functions make the nail clipper pliers worthwhile.
4. Zen Clipper – Pet Nail Clippers
Our runner-up, the Zen Clipper, astonished us with how well they performed. The Zen Clipper has a conical blade or a hole that slices from all sides in place of two open blades facing one other. Because of this design, our cat won’t have her nails crushed while grooming, which I’ve observed to be uncomfortable and ruin the whole grooming process. Read more
Similar to the Shiny Pet, these thin scissors appear more appropriate for fingers that are small to medium in size, and they might be too little for larger hands. Parents who are left- or right-handed can also use these scissors.
Make sure the scissor size you choose fits your cat when making a purchase. For cats, Zen Clipper recommends a size small with a 2.5 mm hole, and Gob fits that recommendation nicely. You may wish to switch to a xx-small 1.5 mm nail clipper if you have a kitten. The thing that we adore the most is that we are no longer afraid to overcut our cat’s nails, which is a continual worry for cat parents.
5. Resco – Deluxe Nail Clippers
The Resco Deluxe nail clipper is a basic grooming instrument that resembles a guillotine. Since its founding in the 1970s, Resco has produced all of its clippers domestically. These clippers are sturdy in the hand, include rubberized grips for a comfortable grip, and have a single, sharp blade that cuts upwards to trim claws. Read more
Resco also produces interchangeable blades, which are simple to replace by disassembling the tool. One problem we found with guillotine clippers was that you had to face your cat and their paws to trim the nails from the front of the paw.
If your cat is not fond of grooming, you may need two people to use this type of clipper; otherwise, it’s awkward to position your cat’s paws to cut the nails properly from the front.
6. Casfuy – Professional Nail Grinder
Comparable to the GHG nail grinder, the Casfuy Professional is an electric grooming gadget that is powered by a USB connector. Usually, grooming involves using grinders to help smooth out claws. But we discovered that a lot of these grinders were made with larger animals, like dogs, in mind. We like that it has two-speed settings and a detachable safety feature right out of the box. Read more
Unfortunately, the speed levels were too strong for most cats’ comfort, just like most grinders. Because cat claws are short and you require the cat to remain motionless for a sufficient amount of time, we found that the clipping process takes longer and is riskier. Due to the higher price, we wouldn’t recommend this grinder unless you know your cat is comfortable with strong vibrations and longer grooming time.
7. GHG – Professional Nail Grinder and trimmer (not recommended)
A pair of plier clippers and a grinder are included with the GHG Professional nail grinder and trimmer set. The grinder has a light to aid with sight during grooming, but it needs to be charged via USB when it is delivered. Like the Gonicc nail clippers we tested, the trimmer was a little too big for most cats to handle. Read more
According to the directions included with these instruments, you should use the clippers to trim your pet’s nails and the grinder to smooth them out. Sadly, most cats dislike extra steps, thus it was difficult to complete these two stages while grooming. For the most part, we discovered that using a grinder wasn’t necessary because cats can assist in smoothing out their nails with scratching posts or pads.
Even on its lowest setting (there are three speeds), the grinder is very strong. We don’t suggest this tool because we find it to be too strong for most cats.
8. Millers Forge – Steel Nail Clipper 743C (not recommended)
It was most similar to pliers, the Millers Forge steel nail clippers. The rubber handles provide a pleasant grip, and the single spring in the middle helps with the ergonomics of trimming your cat’s claws.
The safety guard was very loose, and the blades didn’t cut as cleanly as the other options, so we weren’t thrilled with this clipper. There was no way to tighten the guard since it kept falling. We wouldn’t suggest these clippers because of the problematic guard and dull blades, which prolonged the grooming process.
9. Gonicc – Dog & Cat Pets Nail Clipper (not recommended)
Our initial grooming purchase was a Gonicc nail clipper, which we have been using for a few years. We are retiring it in favor of nail clippers with smaller, sharper blades that are more manageable after testing many varieties. Despite being advertised as a cat nail clipper, we don’t advise using it because the safety guard and blades are too big for a cat’s nails.
If we had followed the instructions, we would have sliced through our cat’s sensitive tissue because there was an excessive amount of space between the safety guard and the nails. It was more difficult to see what we were cutting since the blades were excessively large and blunt, and we frequently tore off chunks of the cat’s nails.
10. Allstar Innovations – PetiCare Nail Clipper (not recommended)
With a nail catcher and a light to assist you in viewing your cat’s claws, the Allstar Innovations PetiCare nail clipper is a grooming gadget designed in the shape of a guillotine. The stiff plastic shell that this clipper was packaged in made it tough for us to remove the first problem we encountered with it.
We discovered that the blades weren’t as sharp when grooming our cat, which led to the nail breaking off or being crushed. Although there was a nail catcher included with this gadget, most of the time the nails fell through it. Although there are many illumination settings based on how you hold the nail clipper, we don’t think the $20 price tag was justified given the uneven cuts.
Best Cat Nail Clippers FAQ
Can I use nail clippers for people on my cat?
As long as they are sharp, human nail clippers can be used on cats, according to Dr. Bonk. Because cat nails are thicker than human nails and little nail clippers may not be large enough to manage them, you should use a larger size on larger cats or for longer nails. Nail clippers that resemble scissors can also be used to cut excessive nails that have curled into a circle.
Can cat nail clippers be sharpened?
When clipping cat nails, it’s crucial to have a sharp cutting surface to avoid crushing the nails instead of cutting them. Instead of a neat cut, dull clippers will make the nail fray and split. However, the sharpening ability of the clippers will rely on the type of clipper you select, the tools you have at home, and how comfortable you are using them.
A lot of cat nail clippers (like Resco, above) are made with replaceable or sharpenable cutting surfaces. You can pay a modest amount to have a professional sharpen household scissors or kitchen knives, or if you’re comfortable and competent, you can sharpen them yourself at home.
When your cat’s nail clippers start to go dull, there are tons of in-depth videos on the internet that may help you sharpen them. If this is your first time trying to sharpen them yourself, proceed with caution since you could hurt yourself if you don’t take the necessary safety measures.
Can you use a nail grinder on a cat?
“For certain dogs who are willing, nail grinders are excellent instruments for nail clipping. Finding a cat who will consent to it, though, can be difficult, advises Dr. Bonk. Even a relaxed cat can find the noise and vibration too much to take. Moreover, you’ll need to exercise particular caution because nail grinders quickly clip nails. Since cat nails aren’t as robust as dog nails, they can quickly get overly short.
We propose the Casfuy Upgraded Professional Rechargeable Electric Pet Nail Trimmer if you are one of the rare people who can safely use a grinder and your cat is tolerant.
Why Trust The Spruce Pets?
The author of this essay, Lorraine Wilde, has lived with at least two cats for the past 35 years, some of whom have special needs. Her two cats made it into their early 20s, living long, happy lives. During that period, she has also owned a dog, and for decades. She has trimmed the nails of both cats and dogs every few months.
Lorraine assessed the kind and caliber of each product, client feedback, R&D expenditures, and corporate morals while investigating these brands.
In addition, Lorraine has a master’s degree in environmental science and a bachelor’s degree in biology. She firmly believes that to save their pets and the environment, people may make educated, health-conscious decisions.
Dr. Chyrle Bonk, a veterinarian, finished her studies at Oregon State University in 2010. Since then, she has been working at Clearwater Valley Veterinary Clinic in Orofino, Idaho, where she takes care of different kinds of animals. Besides helping animals, she writes for veterinary magazines and websites like Hepper.com. Dr. Bonk also owns a small group of cattle. When she’s not busy with these activities, you can find her in the Idaho wilderness with her husband and two kids.