Cat’s claws split when cut

[Minta85]

My beautiful Burmese boy’s claws split when we clip them. He’s two years old and healthy, and is fed on dry food. Could this be due to his diet, or to a health issue? Would really like to resolve this as it must be uncomfortable for him.

Why do you cut them?

Are you sure it's the actual claws splitting, and not the sheaths that are due to be shed anyway that are splitting? I remember the first time I found a shed sheath from one of mine - thought they had ripped a claw off until I looked really closely!

FaceLikeAPairOfTits indoor cats don't wear their claws down as well as outdoor cats do, so they need to be trimmed regularly. Scratching doesn't wear them down, just sharpens them.

It’s the actual claws that are splitting. He does shed his sheaths around the house too.

Use an extremely sharp nail clipper and only take the tips. Cats' claws do crunch horribly when clipped unless done as above.

Both of my Persians do that. They have very thick hard claws though.

Cheddar needs her claws doing regularly as she makes biscuits all the line and it really hurts! She almost got my eye this morning!

What tool are you using to clip them? How much are you taking off at a time?

Should I be clipping my little guy’s claws then?

I didn’t know it was necessary.

Ive never cut my cat’s claws. Didn’t know it was necessary!

It's not really necessary. Most cats maintain their claws very well and cats with access to the outdoors potentially need their claws.

Outdoor cats shouldn’t need claws cutting.

It's very dependent on the individual cat and their living circumstances. As said above, outdoor cats very rarely need trimming younger cats especially. Indoor cats don't get the chance to wear them down as much as they don't have the same abrasive surfaces. As a pp said, most cats maintain their claws very well - I know mine love to give themselves a good noisy pedicure just during a quiet bit on TV - but as they get older they are less flexible so back claws can be a bit neglected.

And then you get cats who don't maintain very well "just because", e.g. my Boycat who tries hard but is just pants at things like that. Plus he seems to forget to fully retract his rear claws so he clicks round the hard flooring like he's wearing stiletto shoes if I don't keep them trimmed a bit.