claw does not retract, nail bed looks bigger( infected or debris?)

kirikara

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hi everyone,
our vet is off right now and their office just had covid scare, so after emailing and not getting much reassurance, i turn to you.

our cat has one back claw that was very long and does not seem to retract. arguably i waited a bit longer than usual to trim their claw but all others are ok.
this one seem to have either solified gunk all around the base of the nail bed or very inflammed tissue.
i was able to trim said claw today but i am worried its infected. kitty is on heavy dose of attopica so I would rather triple check.
see attached pic. am i dreaming an inflammation? is this just debris that could maybe be losened with warm water?
someone suggested peroxide but i dont want to hurt her or use a product that could be toxic for her.
 

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mrsgreenjeens

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Does it seem to bother her? If so, then it's probably inflammation. If not, then it may be gunk. Hard to tell from the picture. It looks more like gunk to me, but, again, hard to tell from the picture. If she'll allow it, I would try to soak it in some warm water and see if you can loosen it up. If it's gunk it should show up in the water pretty quickly I would think.

I don't think waiting too long to trim the claw caused this unless it was curled back into the toe bean, which I doubt could even happen with a back claw, could it? I just checked one of my guys' back feet since he is laying right here, and doesn't seem like his could ever do that.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Clean with warm water. That should remove debris. If there is infection, you'll need to see a vet, but in the meantime, you can treat with PLAIN neosporin, no added painkiller, etc.
 
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kirikara

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thanks guys, i soaked her paw in warm water and it didnt go away. vet is closed over the weekend but i will be calling first thing am. definitely looks like inflammed tissue to me
 

nyty

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I hope she's okay, my cat also has one nail that's not retractable and it's always thick(getting thicker as she ages) and tricky to trim. I hope your vet took knew how to treat her and she's well.
 
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kirikara

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hi everyone,
just wanted to give an update in case someobe else has this issue. took kitty to the vet. vet confirmed an infection of the nail bed and the build up was green pus. (i didnt notice it much fyi, it looked blackish to me). vet did antibiotics injectiob but mentionned it could also be a rare tumor that appears in the nail bed. we will be monitoring and doing chest xrays if it doesnt get better.
she suggested cleaning up the are very gently with water and a bit of soap. but not using any disinfectant due to risk of ingestion.
 
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