I keep finding claw fragments in places where my cat usually goes. Is this normal?
2007-07-26 12:48:35 · 11 answers · asked by rokkon 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
Cats do shed their claws with a certain regularity, but if you're finding claws often, there may be a problem. Get it checked by your vet. And by the way, I've had two elderly cats (one only 10 years old) consistently misdiagnosed by vets, despite my instistence that "something is wrong". If you feel something is wrong, hang in there, get in the vet's face, take the cat to a veterinary teaching hospital. Both of my cats died because vets dragged their feet in believing me and doing thorough checkups.
2007-07-26 12:56:00 · answer #1 · answered by katbyrd41 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just like your nails will break off cats will lose fragments of their nails as well. They are not losing the entire claw. Obviously the claws are still there. Since the tips of the claws are dead they eventually fall off and new ones grow in place, just like hair. Sometimes you may see a giant claw fragment that almost looks like an entire claw but it's not. Hey, sometimes your big toenails probably break off.
2007-07-26 20:56:51 · answer #2 · answered by greyfluffykitty 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's completely normal. Those are the reason they scratch their claws on things, to remove the dead part of the sheath on the sides. It's bad when they're stuck vertically in the rug and you get one in your bare foot, but usually the sheaths stay where the cat was scratching.
Next time you clip toenails on your cats, take a close look at the bottom where the groove is. If you see a thick nail there and take your fingernail and pry gently at the groove, you can get one of the flakes to come off. There's one to each side, as the nail grows, it sheds these.
Nothing unusual about it.
2007-07-26 20:10:36 · answer #3 · answered by Elaine M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your cat is shedding the outside layer of the claw, which is completely normal. All cats do this, not just elderly ones.
2007-07-26 19:58:59 · answer #4 · answered by Vic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At times the cats will shed the outer part of the claw.
2007-07-26 19:54:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you are probably seeing are the outer coating of your cat's back claws. For the front claws, they scratch to sharpen them, and wear off the outer coating. For the rear paws, they will chew on the claws to loosen the outer coating. Since they do not swallow the coating, you will find it about the place. They do this throughout their entire life.
And yes, they will shed their whiskers, but that is less obvious to find.
2007-07-26 19:54:04 · answer #6 · answered by cat lover 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That doesn't sound normal. Check the paws. Are you sure the claw fragments are from the cat and not from its prey?
2007-07-26 19:53:04 · answer #7 · answered by Pascha 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope. My 16-year-old cat still has nice sharp claws.
Like everyone else said, your kitty is biting his/her claws to loosen the outer layer. It's layers of the claw.
2007-07-27 00:25:30 · answer #8 · answered by VeggieTart -- Let's Go Caps! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cats will loose a shaft that covers the outside of their claw its not the whole claw
2007-07-26 19:53:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry no, I've had cats all my life and that don't happen. But what some cats do is bite them off. My Diamond do that sometimes, for grooming.
2007-07-26 19:58:24 · answer #10 · answered by sexy kitten 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋