Indoor cats claws. I feel awful

[Stuart]

Thanks guys

Tell me about it. My 3 piece suite has seen some times. Ive given up hope of getting a new one because it will get ruined.

I Have been lucky with my settee's, It seemed that every time mine was getting in a state of diss-repair, there would be a close
relative or friend who'd just bought a new one and was gettin rid of thier old, & the only one I paid for from a friends, friend only
cost me £40

On the otherhand, not so lucky with carpets, bought a couple of cheap ones £300 - £400 but they didn't last long 
So the last carpet i bought cost me over £1000, and while looking I asked the the sales person " I Have 2 Cats!! What like is this
Carpet to stand the Clucking of Claws. the reply I got was " Excellent !! It's a cut Carpet (no loops in the pile) and should stand-up
Fairly well.
Well its the last time I believe a Carpet seller, bobbled bits everywhere (Thanks to Hamish ) although I must
admit, He never got through to the underlay like the last 2

DEW Claw that's it !!! I Thought i was wrong  

[cheekee_munkee]

I have supplies left from an old patient I used to see as a community nurse that cant be used again. Just in case people think I am stealing from the NHS.

[Bazsmum]

Just heard that Pickford has this problem too   http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=7912.0

[CurlyCatz]

Cleaning the wound with chlorohexadine will be fine, if its not improving alot in 24-48 hrs then i'd advise vet visit as antibiotics are often needed.

As for your nhs supplies i am guessing you take from what would be otherwise "waste" we used to have a nurse deliver a heap of stuff to us once a year in exchange for a discount on her boosters    she said that all the gauze swab packs, suture material etc etc once opened you had to throw in waste even if it hadnt been used    We used to re package and autoclave 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Philip, if she doesnt' like them being touched, weekly checks will be fine, they dont grow that quickly.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

That reminds me,
We had a cat in the cattery and straight away we noticed  there was a terrible smell of infection/puss on him (those who have smelt it know what i'm talking about)
When we inspected the cat his claws had grown so long they had Bent round and embedded themselves in his pad and a nasty infection had set in.

Obviously we got him treated and when the owner came back (good owners i must add) they were mortified as they hadnt noticed

[cheekee_munkee]

Aww thats lovely.

So far Bertie seems to bethe only one that likes that, but I will try with the othes.

Maddy isnt a lap cat and its her perogative when she choses to allow close contact so it will have to be daily checks for her lol.

[Beccles]

All 3 of mine, even the grumpy old git really love having their toes/inbetween their pads tickled, so I can keep an eye on their claws fairly easily - they are also indoor cats. Make it into part of your evening snuggling routine, then you're safe for life.

[cheekee_munkee]

Its amazing how cats just put up with it. If that had been me I would have been crying in agony.

I'm now obsessed with claw checking now 

[blackcat]

No. They are quite natural. However sometimes they are fairly loosely attached or poke out and can lead to injury. If that is the case they can be surgically removed. If not, they should just stay there (shadow has all his). If you just keep an eye on them they are not problem, I just very occasionally take to them with the nail clippers (mine ). They are essentially the nail of the thumb or big toe, but the evolution of the dog;s foot, like that of the cat and horse, means they are running on four fingers, not five. In horses it appears as the 'chestnut' on the inside of the leg... Here endeth the lesson ...

[Bazsmum]

Is it true that in dogs the back dew claws are a deformity?

[Millys Mum]

Well done for spotting it 
They are called dew claws, the same as dogs.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I had that with one of my oldies, she didn't show any signs of distress, and I just noticed by sitting on the floor one day that two of hers had grown in. My neighbour sorted the claws out, and I dipped her feet into something like salt water. Since then, I have been obsessed with claws, and they are all checked on a regular basis, and claw clipping is one of the first things that gets done to cats coming here!!

[Ela]

Chlorhexidine

Doesn't that also come under the brand name HiBiSCRUB and  a few others of course?

One of the perks of being a senior staff nurse who's trained in wound care is I have supplies lol.

Not paid for with NHS funds I hope.

[cheekee_munkee]

Thanks guys

Tell me about it. My 3 piece suite has seen some times. Ive given up hope of getting a new one because it will get ruined.

My other cats have always pulled at dodgy claws with their teeth. It can look pretty savage in how hard it looks like they are pulling. I generally find old discarded claws in the deep pile carpet. Maddy and the others are so fastidious about their hygiene it never occurred to me that this would happen.

I know it could have been a lot worse and I'm glad I could do something about it. I'm pretty sure if I had gone to an out of hours vet with this. I would have parted with a lot of cash. 

I have cleaned the wound with chlorhexidine on sterile gauze. One of the perks of being a senior staff nurse who's trained in wound care is I have supplies lol. My only worry is infection due to contamination. As my cats use litter trays, she will at some point place that paw in a litter tray and I'm worried the wound might get contaminated and infected due to that.

I guess its a case of regular observation of the wound and watching for signs of infection.

I think you are right that its called the hock claw. I cant get over how close it was to causing a nasty wound. I also cant get over how Maddy showed no signs of pain. Not like my human patients. Cats are so dignified with illness and pain. Something I'm in awe over.

At least I know I will definitely be checking my lots claws much more often. Especially as Maddy showed no signs of there being a problem.

[rollins]

Just to reiterate what Stuart has said, don't feel too bad about the situation.  As you mentioned, Maddy showed no symptoms, and just be thankful that you spotted it before it got really nasty.  It just goes to show that after 20 years, our cats can still teach us things - both good and bad.

[Stuart]

Hi Cheeky, I think the claw you mention is called the Hock Claw"but i could be wrong"
one of my mates came round to my grandmothers a few years ago to trim her parakeets claws, and he asked
for a cup of lukewarm salty water to be on hand, I asked him why?? and he said it was for cleaning the clipped
ends of the claws and to stop infection.
I was just wondering if Maddy would benefit from this too !!
My two were also indoor babes as I have 7 settee's and 4 carpet's under my belt to proove it
and I still have 2 good as new scratching posts
I don't remember them chewing thier hock claw's but I dare say they did.
And I wouldn't beat yourself up about not noticing it, Like you I also have never heard of this b4

Hope Maddy is feeling Better

Misty n Stuart

[cheekee_munkee]

My poor Maddy. My 7yr old rescued ragdoll.

I cant believe I didnt notice earlier, but When I had her on my lap tummy facing up, I noticed on one of her front paws that the back claw (the one on its own further back) had overgrown to the point where it had started getting embedded into her paw. I think for some reason she hadnt been able to rasp away the old claw by the usual method of a scratching post and so it curled round and embedded itself.

I have managed to cut the old claw material away and release the new claw inside but its left a small sore wound which bled a bit and she was in pain when i touched it.

Im so shocked. She showed no signs of distress with the paw, wasnt limping or pulling at it constantly like you would expect so I didnt notice. She was using the scrathing posts as usual. She doesnt like to be handled for long so I didnt see it.

I feel awful that I didnt spot this sooner. All my cats are indoor so I am writing this to all others who have indoor cats to please check their cats paws and claws regularly. I never expected this in a million years. Something so simple that can become very painful if left unchecked. I do have to say though that I have had indoor cats for nearly 20 years and this hasnt happened before.

Maybe if I can stop this happening to another cat, I can use that as pennance.