Semi-urgent... Soft Paw possibly into pad

buzbyjlc10

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I've been using the soft paws on Ollie for years now with no trouble but I just noticed a problem now...

He was holding up his paw at dinner tonight in a way that wasn't just his usual begging so I just crouched over him to have a look and it appears that one cap has refused to fall off - I've never had that problem before... It's kinda curled under his pad with the natural nail growth and I think as of right now, it's simply pushing hard against that pad. I did manage to use his scissor style nail clippers to get like halfway through the cap/nail from the front... I'm not sure if he'll bite at it and maybe get it off himself or not, I'm keeping an eye on him... I just don't want to play with it too much or hurt him. He wasn't putting up a huge fight but did cry and pull away, it's obviously bothering him some (it would bother me too!!!) I usually keep a great look on his feet making sure the caps aren't hanging on for too long and snipping his back toes so I don't know how this one slipped my eye - I feel like a horrible mama now!

Any advice on how I might help him? I'd REALLY like to avoid the vet, as I've recently lost my job due to the recession, but of course if it ends up being my only option I will take him.
 

strange_wings

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You could try calling your vet to ask for advice. You may be able to use a polish/glue remover (type used to remove acrylic nails) to soften the glue but you would have to be careful to only get it on the claw and throughly wash his foot after as it could make him sick - Please run this suggestion by your vet first. Soaking his foot in warm water may help loosen the glue, too, but I'm not sure since that type of glue is not water based.

If you can't handle your cat and keep him calm enough to allows this, don't even try it.
 
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buzbyjlc10

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I definitely don't wanna use nail polish remover - if there's a slight cut, it will hurt him a lot (known from personal experience haha) he's relatively calm for the situation, but he still doesn't really want me messing with it... what's kinda scaring me is him pulling while I'm gently trying to cut, if he jerks quickly while I've got the clippers on his nail, it could cause a huge problem... the toe next to this one was getting long too so I clipped that as much as I could... all of his other nails are fine and the caps have fallen off as usual

I'm SURE this is gonna come off as a really stupid question and I'm positive I know the answer to this, but I also don't think it hurts to ask... I have tranquilizers for him for when we travel, would it be worth giving him one in an attempt to calm him so I can work with him a little more? I'm thinking y'all will probably say that's a bad idea
 

monaxlisa

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Not sure about the tranquilizers, if you want to try that maybe you could just give him half a pill? I think soaking in warm water might be a good idea, or wrapping his foot with a warm wash cloth? If it's still on tomorrow I'd give the vet a call just to see if they have any suggestions. If you can wiggle the cap at all it might break up the glue a bit..
 
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buzbyjlc10

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I might try warm water... I was able to cut like halfway through so there is a break in the seal... I can't really tell how badly the cap is pushed up against/possibly into the pad... I wish I had some kind of numbing agent other than ambesol at my disposal cuz I'm sure just me touching it hurts him


He was licking at it some but is now just curled up next to me... ugh, I wish he would just bite it off himself... I feel so bad that I let this happen
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Originally Posted by MonaxLisa

Aww, poor kitty
Well Im glad it's all taken care of now.
How'd you get him to a vet at so late, did you take him to an emergency vet?
My vet has weekday hours until 9pm... they're very accommodating - if he didn't need to see a doc/get meds it would've been free of charge... he didn't get to see "our" doctor, but at least the doc on call wasn't the one out of the practice that I just don't like and do not trust in the least (I used to work at the place, the man is pure evil)... I was calm and all but kept saying how I felt so bad that this was my fault and I've been using these things for years and never let it get like this and they were just like "Accidents happen, it's ok"

They didn't even put us in a room (offered to, but I saw no need to dirty one an hour before they closed) just took him in the back and I waited out front... he was back there for a little just fine, then I heard SCREAMING haha and I was like "yup, that's my son lol" the screaming doesn't bother me at all, I know he's not like being murdered haha what's great is the screaming came well after the actual removal of the caps and was all because of the antiseptic wash!
I'm sure that stung a little lol

He's on Baytril for 10 days (I requested it cuz Clavamox gives him the runs big time and he must have antibiotics with a cut cuz he's FIV+) and liquid metacam for pain... he's a champ with meds, so that's no biggie... cost me $146 though
only $45 of that was to actually see the doc, the rest was meds... my mom's pitching $100 though thankfully since she's the one that insists he wear the caps and we live with her right now

He seems just fine now... walking on it ok but hesitant to jump up on things, I put some kibble on the floor (he eats on my dresser) and after he ate, I lifted him into the bed with me... I'm sure he'll be feeling better in the morning... seems happier already though, just looked sad before we went off to the vet
 

strange_wings

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Wow, I didn't think it would be such a big ordeal. But it's good that it's over with. Did they have to cut to the quick a little, and that's what the antibiotics are needed for?
Did they mention if this sort of thing happens often?

Silly question. Does he actually show signs of illness associated with FIV or is he just positive? I have two that would test positive if tested for it and one who wouldn't because he wasn't given that vaccination.
 

auntie crazy

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I'm so glad they were able to take care of this so soon! That's wonderful. Hopefully in a day or two, Ollie will be back to his spunky self.
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Wow, I didn't think it would be such a big ordeal. But it's good that it's over with. Did they have to cut to the quick a little, and that's what the antibiotics are needed for?
Did they mention if this sort of thing happens often?

Silly question. Does he actually show signs of illness associated with FIV or is he just positive? I have two that would test positive if tested for it and one who wouldn't because he wasn't given that vaccination.
I haven't inspected the foot since the vet... I figure enough people have messed with it and it must be throbbing... I believe though the quick is fine and it's the pad that was cut (not bleeding now though)... I don't think they see a lot of people that use Soft Paws - they're a vet and unfortunately most (not the doc I see though) push declawing since it's money for them... the tech that took him back was impressed at my application of them, their groomers apply them sometimes for people... I don't think it happens often, it's the first time it's happened to me - they always fall off just fine, so I'm confused

As for the FIV... he tests positive, but he was a street kitty that I rescued - he could actually have it or he could've been owned and vaccinated, we just don't know so we treat him as positive to be safe. I found him up at school and he was still in tact and had a large wound on his ear (there's a chunk out of it, I love it!)... so he very well could actually have it since vets in that area do not vaccinate in-tact kitties... HOWEVER, it's an all-college town and lots of people bring their cats with the strange idea they can have them in the dorms, then dump them when they find out they can't... so I definitely think he was previously owned (especially since he was coming right up to me all the time) but who knows what state he came from and what their rules on FIV vaccinations and alteration surgeries are... he's a solid 15 pounds (where he should be) and shows no outward signs of illness... no need for regular meds or anything, but if he gets the sniffles or a cut like this, I make sure he gets meds in case his immune system is in fact compromised
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Originally Posted by Katzyn

I guess I'll have to keep a close eye on our kitties with SPs on...
I usually do, I don't know why I was slacking

If you start to see the nails getting long and the cap hasn't fallen off, just clip the tip of the cap like you would trim the nail... I find the rest of the cap falls off regularly shortly after
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

I usually do, I don't know why I was slacking

If you start to see the nails getting long and the cap hasn't fallen off, just clip the tip of the cap like you would trim the nail... I find the rest of the cap falls off regularly shortly after
i've had to do that a couple of times to Cable. the others don't seem to have the same problem - i think they must chew them off. Cable must leave hers alone more [probably 'cause she's so proud of her hot pink nails!
].
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Oliver's acting just fine today! Even late last night he was scratching on his denim covered horizontal scratching pads... used the litter box, jumping up and down, play attacking... it's like nothing ever happened... there's just a small scab on his one toe pad where the cap had rubbed... so far no side effects from his meds either
 
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