Claw dilemma

[kntrygrl256]

With everything that has been going on lately I haven't clipped my cats claws like I should have and when I went to clip Luci's I noticed several of her claws on her front paws have curled and had almost grown into her paws. My daughter told me that the last time she clipped them they were like that and it looks like that the way they grow. She suggest I take her to the vet but I DO NOT want ANY of her claws removed.

My DD thinks that may be the best way although is against declaw also, she's just looking at what's best for Luci.

Luci strictly indoors but I do not believe in declawing PERIOD and I think it's cruel.

Have any of your cats had claws that grew curled into the pads? If so what did you do and is it something I can correct.

To make this worse is she has those beautiful toe/paw tufts and I really hate to have to trim them but I will do whatever it take as long as she don't loose her claws.

 

[jcat]

There's a cat at the shelter whose back claws are like that. He keeps his front ones in good shape using scratching posts and pads, but doesn't seem to "chew" his back claws like most cats. We just clip them every other week.

Mogli's claws are huge and look like talons. I clip the tips of the front ones every week and of the back ones about once a month.

 

[weebeasties]

We usually clip our cats nails about once every 5 weeks but as Buster gets older (he's 22) he uses his scratchers less and less. We need to clip his nails much more often. If we don't they will curl right into the pad. It happened once and we were able to clip the nail and remove the tip that was stuck in his pad. I can't tell you how horribly guilty we felt for letting that happen. So about 6 months ago we found that we had waited too long and it had happened AGAIN! This time it was worse and we were hurting him trying to clip it so we took him to the vet. She clipped it no problem said his pad was fine -just a small hole where the tip of his claw had punctured it but no infection or anything, Thank goodness!  We are VERY AGAINST DECLAW but asked the vet if she thought we should do it for that one toe because it seems that one claw is growing more quickly than the others and whenever we clip the nails on that paw he squirms and complains and we know it hurts. (arthritis maybe?) She told us no. The small amount of discomfort he is in when we clip the nail is nothing to the ongoing pain the declawing of that one toe would cause. So now every Monday is mani-pedi day for Buster where we check his nails and if any are starting to get long we clip before it can curl!

 

[Willowy]

Yep, if you keep up with weekly claw trimming there shouldn't be a problem. Some cats are OK without having their claws trimmed, but with some cats you really need to keep on the ball!

 

[kntrygrl256]

Thanks. I am totally against declawing but I didn't want to take a chance. She is terrible to clip. It takes two people to hold and clip her. She hardly uses the scratching post or anything. She don't even use her claws when playing which is why I don't think about clipping her as often as I do the others because they use their claws and when they are long they get hung in everything, INCLUDING ME!!!

Luci is such a quiet girl we hardly know she's there. When we are playing and I've tried to make her angry and even at her worse she never uses her claws. When she accidently does she stops immediately and licks the spot she got. Same with biting. She will but never hard. If she does it's the same as clawing, she stops and licks. I guess to say she's sorry.

I will just have to make sure no matter what I include her when I trim the other cats.

 

[Kieka]

Have you tried different types of scratching posts? Maybe she doesn't like the carpeted ones and would prefer a cardboard one. My cats are indoor/outdoor and go running up trees throughout the day so that keeps them trimmed mostly. But we have a scratching post next to the couch (otherwise they use the couch to scratch indoors). Link though doesn't like the indoor post he prefers to use the random logs we have scattered about the yard and Rocket likes to stretch and run her claws along rocks along with the post when she comes in. We like to joke that we have Lincoln Logs and Rocket Rocks scattered about. Point is, maybe she'd like a different material better. 

 

[kntrygrl256]

 
Have you tried different types of scratching posts? Maybe she doesn't like the carpeted ones and would prefer a cardboard one. My cats are indoor/outdoor and go running up trees throughout the day so that keeps them trimmed mostly. But we have a scratching post next to the couch (otherwise they use the couch to scratch indoors). Link though doesn't like the indoor post he prefers to use the random logs we have scattered about the yard and Rocket likes to stretch and run her claws along rocks along with the post when she comes in. We like to joke that we have Lincoln Logs and Rocket Rocks scattered about. Point is, maybe she'd like a different material better. 

I'll try some new stuff. She don't scratch much at all which is why her nail grow so much. I have been keeping an eye on them and clip them when I can. She is the worlds worse when it comes to clipping. I don't like to hold her down but sometimes it will take both of us to wrap her and hold her in order to clip them. I try to clip a couple while she's laying down sleeping and can get them usually  before she wakes up good. LOL

 

[oldgloryrags88]

I don't know how much this will help you, but one of my rabbit does has claws that curl. I trim them extra short and that hasn't happened again. How often do you clip her claws?

 

[kntrygrl256]

I don't know how much this will help you, but one of my rabbit does has claws that curl. I trim them extra short and that hasn't happened again. How often do you clip her claws?

I now check them weekly. I trimmed them last night very short. She only has a couple that will curl. It had been a couple weeks since they were last trimmed and it was already long and curling. She don't use the scratching post or really scratch anything so they don't get wore down like the other cats do. I only have to trim them once a month and that is only to take the points off.