Thread: lost a claw.....what to do?

Hi, Ive never seen this happen in a cat before but on clipping Dexters claws last night,
On his back left foot, he has lost a whole claw! There is just a fleshy stubb left which
Does not seem to be bleeding but is obviously sore. He keeps licking it. Hes walking on it fine at tje
Moment. I looked online and it seems most say that unless it becomes o.nfected it should
Heal and the claw will eventually grow back. I.dont want to call the vet as they always say bring
Him in, then they charge me even though they.say it'll be fine! I will.always take my animals to the vets
If they are poorly, but things like this I kinda think they wont be able to do anything ( unless he needs ABs)
Do any of you have experience if lost claws as I would really appreciate any advice : )

We did find the claw later at the base of their activity tree. Guess he got it caught in one of the posts whilst scratching.
His claws were not too.long as I do them regularly : )

Thanks in advance for any comments : )

I would take him to the vets regardless for some pain relief meds. It must be very painful, can you imagine how much it would hurt having one of your toenails ripped out. Plus he has to walk on it etc etc.

Thanks MickB I know what your saying, as that was my immediate thought but he really doesnt seem to be bothered by it. He was out chasing flys and moths as usual last night and if hes not happy hes a pretty vocal lad and is normally quick to complain : ) I am watching him closely.....hes eating normally. The only time I see it bother him is if he goes to have a scratch using that paw, he stops and licks it. Im not even sure when he did it and apart from finding the claw, ive found no evidence that it bled heavily. I will keep a close eye on him and probably get him seen tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice : )

Just be really careful that it does not get infected. Any sign of pain or swelling and it could escalate. I had a cat years ago with an infected toe and we struggled to save it with a long course of ABs - fortunately it healed but it nearly was a case of chopping it off :(
It's a difficult area to keep clean, after all!

Ok thanks! Will get it checked to be on the safe side : )

Good old fashioned remedy if he will let you do it is old fashioned saline immersion,teaspoon of salt to a pint of water in a margarine tub & shove his foot in it...! As with all our felines some you can some you can't we did succeed with one of ours when he decided to hang a claw up & do a good job on it.If he is not lame or looking over sore on it you may be ok,many the time we have had animals come in for something different & the boss has pointed out a lost claw & the owners are unaware other than sometimes saying they had seen a few spots of blood but didn't know where from. Watch closely when his new nail comes through sometimes they can seem to grow at a funny angle to begin with & you might just need to clip the point off if it looks as if it is going more upwards or sideways rather than down....x