My 17 week old male Maine Coon Kitten.

[tobergill]

Hi everybody,last time I was on here was enquiring about Kitten food.......Thats all sorted.
My querry.......Nail/claw clipping......He is an indoor cat.
He is as fit as a butchers dog,eats well,plays a lot uses scratching post a lot.............
Do I have to have his claws clipped......They are very sharp.
He is an indoor cat.
Why do you have to have them clipped.at all.
My breeder said she clipped every week.
Had informal chat with vet in the street.....told him about doing it every week........He shrugged his shoulders and said No not at all.
Comments PLEASE............No time wasters.
Thank you,
James aka Tobergill.

[lankeela]

Let your cat live a normal cat life and go out and you won't have to bother about clipping nails. I had two Persians, one black and one Chinchilla, came to us as spoilt 'indoor' cats which the owner could then not cope with, both had matted coats and upset tummies, we let them out straight away and they lived a normal life on ordinary cat food and lived to a good age.

[Nosha123]

The only time I ever had to clip one of my cats claws was when she was so old she couldnt retract them properly.
If he can be an outdoor cat (ir you dont live in a flat or on a busy main road) - then it is worth it!
A scratching post is what they use to SHARPEN claws.. but its good he uses that instead of your furniture.

I really wouldnt worry to much.. their claws are very very sharp. Esp as kittens... If you play fight with him you will have to invest in some thick gloves or else accept the wounds of him being quicker than you!!! ;-)

I regularly have scratches on my hands from playing with Harvey Pickle Pants! little bugger!

[woozer]

There are very few reasons to clip a cats claws - I have two Norwegian Forest Cats, one has very prominent claws which get stuck in things, so occasionally I just nip off the ends of her claws. It makes life easier for her. The other ones claws seem well set back in his paws so I dont bother clipping. They have several scratch pads including a large post on a very heavy base (Norwegians are very big cats nearly as big as Maine Coons) with hessian rope wound around it - they love using these and it helps with their claws.
If you are showing your cat you will be asked to clip its claws to safeguard the judges and their assistants, but you only need to nip off the ends.
I prefer to keep my cats as indoor cats and feel no need to explain why- they go outside for walks on leads and are perfectly content, if they were not happy we would have issues with food, litter trays and fighting. I chose the breed because like Maine Coons they are generally content to be indoors - I would not dream of preaching to anyone about this issue, we all live in different environments and hopefully do what is best for our animals in our own individual settings.
Those lazer light cat toys are absolutely brilliant for exercising them in the home - do try one if you havent already.