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

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

I can belive that, we wouldnt have known about it if I hadnt gone to clip his nails.
I think he'll let me put his paw in saline, so i'll try that first.I know Mickb said he should go
get pain relief but he really dosnt seem to bothered by it
and I dont wanna give him medication if its not necessary.Although if someone else had posted this
I also would have said take them to the vets, but you know your own cats behaviour and whats normal
For them. The first sign if discomfort or visible infection he'll be straight there.

Thanks jckkerrison : )

An update on Dexters paw. We took him to the vet to get it checked and goodness it was a good job we did as he'd done a proper job of it!
He'd lost the claw, most of the nail bed and some skin...poor chap. The vet said although its common this was quite bad : ( ......so, hes had an
Antibiotic injection, hes on pain relief and im bathing it twice daily in hibiscrub solution. Poor little man, but hes been so good you wouldnt know
There was anything wrong. Even when I bath it, he just cuddles in and purrs..
I feel bad for leaving it a couple if days before I took him but hopefully it will be ok : )

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions...really like having this forum to be able to ask questions etc : )

Bruce says he is sorry to hear that Dexter done an "extra proper job" on his paw & he is just pleased that he done a clean job of pulling his claw out of the nail bed as he hates going to the vets & having to have his temperature taken,way below a MC's dignity but he sends get well purrs & cuddles to Dexter.....xxx
I am sure he will be fine,like with us you take stock of things & sometimes you go to the doctors straight away & sometimes you wait a while & see,I am surprised he didn't show more discomfort though as it obviously wasn't a clean pulled claw but no doubt he is enjoying the extra "mummy" time....x

Thanks Bruce : ) Yes hes certainly liking the extra attention, not to mention the treats after every paw bathing lol! X