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-   -   Cat nail/claw problem (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=84028)

juanliu333 May 23rd, 2013 01:31 PM

Cat nail/claw problem
 
3 Attachment(s)
I remembered that my cat's nails were once cut too short at the shelter to a point where blood came out before I adopt her. I brought her home a month after that incident and that was 3 years ago. I notice some black debris in the inner rim of the claws, but I thought it's dirt. I always brush her nails during her monthly bath, but the debris never go away. I found that those are not only debris from the litter box, but also brown-dry-blood like build ups. Those buildups pushed the quick back to half of the width of the nail and the quick is a little red. It's on all of her front and back claws. Some of the nails are widely split because of this. Not until recently I realized this may be a problem after I saw a video of healthy cat nails. (Pictures of my cat's claw is attached)

She is a total in door cat. 3 years old. Takes shots from vet every year. Overall healthy. I feed her high quality cat food and home made meet. Trim her nails carefully every week. Never wound her. The nails are like that for 3 years and it doesn't seem bordering her except that she licks and pulls her claws occasionally. She uses her claws to play and jump without a problem.

I put All-Purpose Veterinary soothing Ointment(0.3% Hydroxyquinoline, Sulfate containing petrolatum, lanolin, cetyl alcohol) on her nails, but she licked it immediately. I don't know if it is safe.
I'll take her to vet for sure if necessary. But she's alway affect greatly from vet visit, so firstly I'm trying to find out how serious this is if it is a problem, and see if I can cure it at home. I searched everywhere but found very little information. Some articles suggested condition like this may be bacteria or fungus/yeast infection, but no one shows what it really look like. If anyone have seen similar conditions or knowledgeable about this matter please help. Thanks! :cat::cat::fingerscr

14+kitties May 23rd, 2013 02:07 PM

Your cat's claws are normal. Cats regularly shed their old claws to reveal strong, sharp ones underneath. What you are thinking is dirt is likely the claw's quick. Also normal. If you trim your cat's claws every week you can trim it right back to just before the dark part. In fact doing that would make it unnecessary to trim the claws that often. When your cat chews on his claws he is trying to facilitate the removal of the claw.
I'd be more interested in why you feel it's necessary to give an indoor only cat a bath every month. You will dry out his/her skin over the long run by doing so. Cats do a great job of keeping themselves clean. Baths are not needed. If, by chance, you are doing it to cut down on allergy suffering by people in the house you would find it much more effective to wipe the cat down every night with a damp, not wet, washcloth. That would remove most of the saliva which, for the most part, is the allergy causing factor.

marko May 24th, 2013 09:57 AM

14+ is bang on and gives good extra info. The claw looks normal to me and i voted in the poll. :D

Hazmat June 5th, 2013 11:28 AM

Claw looks fine to me. I think you are confusing dirt with coloring. Some cats have clear nails, some have solid black nails, and most have some combination of both. Your cat has mostly clear nails with just a little black coloring.

Longblades June 6th, 2013 09:09 AM

Well, since this has been resurrected and I missed it the first time - Your cat's claws are absolutely normal. The dark you see within the nail is quick, the blood vessel. And the dark you see under the nail is dirt from her scratching in dirt to cover her bathroom spot or maybe tree bark from sharpening her nails.

You WILL see bits of nail shredding off. As she sharpens her hooks the old nail is peeled off.

The quick WILL recede if nails are cut a bit shorter each time or too short.

I hope your Vet did not sell you that stuff you were putting on her nails. If so, time for a new Vet.

I don't need to cut any of my cats' claws. They do a good job of keeping them short on their scratching posts. Sometimes you have to experiment to find a post they will use. Some cats like the post vertical, some like it horizontal and on the floor. Some like carpet with carpet side out and some like carpet with the jute backing side out. We have the tops of cedar fence posts that nearly all our cats like, the cedar is soft enough for them to dig into it.


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