Overgrown Nails

[gitabooks]

My kitty, Nocturne, is around 3 years old. I raised her as a foster baby and foster-failed her due to some special needs she had. She is slightly different from other cats, not that noticeably now that she is an adult, but she is a little poor in her balance and doesn't seem the best at grooming herself (at least not taking care of her claws).
Anyways, I trim Nocturne's front nails because she doesn't naturally sharpen them on things. She sometimes uses the carpet (which I honestly don't mind) but she doesn't use anything else. Her nails get so long they start curling around and she gets caught on EVERYTHING and needs help getting free. Since I started trimming her nails I noticed she has trouble getting rid of the old sheaths. The claw gets thicker and thicker and I have to have my brother hold her while I cut away at the thick part of the claw (the part without any blood, not the tip, but the underside) and peel it off. Then I can trim them properly. She really doesn't like it, tries to bite and struggle free and it seems to cause discomfort. Is this normal when you trim a cats claws? Since they are dull, can they not remove the sheath on their own? Or is it just another odd thing about my Noxie

Pics show a claw that I am in the process of removing the sheath on, and the second shows two claws, one that shed normally and one that is getting thick (they get even thicker than that if I don't take care of them).

 

[GoldyCat]

Several of my cats have one or two of those really thick claws. I figured it was just a natural part of aging.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't know what kind of clippers you are using, but you might want to buy new pair and try them. If they are sharp enough, and the right kind of tool, they should cut through all of the claw without having to go through the extra effort you are doing. Although Feeby's claws don't seem to be overly thick to me, when I cut them the sheath breaks away/comes off during the cutting process. Now that you are cutting them, how often do you do so? Every 3-4 weeks is what I have found works best. I do see some brittleness in your pic, so if a new pair of clippers don't help any, I would show her claws to your vet and see if they see anything in particular that might be causing the problems. Brittleness and thicker claws are more common in older cats, so there could be something going on considering how young your cat is.

 

[neely]

I thought this Article about how to take care of cat claws might have some helpful tips and information for you:
How To Best Take Care Of Cat Claws – Cat Articles

 

[gitabooks]

Thank you for the replies!
I'm thinking it's probably because when I trim her claws they aren't sharp enough to catch on things and remove the old sheath. I work at a cat rescue and whenever you find the shed claws you find them caught on something (like carpet or wood). I'll just have to put a little extra work into her nails. She's always been special, so I guess she deserves some special care