Problems with polydactyl cat...

First a small introduction, this is Storm...

When I first found TCS in late summer (about 16 weeks)...


This is Storm now (about 9 months)....


She has LOTS of toes...


She is a wonderful, happy, bouncy, flouncy kitten in every way, except she has 8 extra toes/claws. Three on each front paw and 1 'dewclaw' on each hind foot. Mostly this causes no problems because each paw consists fully functioning individual toes, except for the paw that she is grabbing me with above. This paw only has 2 'toes' with a 3rd claw wedged in between. She wears Soft Paws on all her nails except that one due to logistical reasons so I can keep it trimmed fairly frequently (much more often than her other claws).

Anyhow, she also can not extend (and it takes quite a bit of work on my part to get it extended enough and in a position that I can trim it) that claw so it gets 'gunked' up as well which I gladly clean out each time I trim it. However, since she can not extend it and it does not catch on things when she sharpens her paws it is not shedding properly and it is starting to grow funny. It has become very thick and the more I trim it the more it seems to be curling in on itself, thus into her paw. I know this can not be comfortable and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Upon doing some more research it looks like this is one of the few 'problems' with having a polydactyl cat. She is due for her spay surgery soon and (while I am 100% against de-clawing I am wondering if this will become a worsening problem and cause issues through out her life) I am wondering if it would be advantageous to have that ONE claw removed if possible. It's quite hard to explain, perhaps tomorrow with DH's help I can get a better photograph of it.

I would ask your vet to look at it and see if they can figure out what is causing the curving.

I have a 2 1/2 year old polydactyl Maine Coon and she has 4 "regular" toes, 1 dewclaw, and a "thumb" on each front foot and 4 toes and one dewclaw on each back foot.
The dewclaw is in the normal place where you'd find it on a cat's front feet but since she has a 'thumb' as well which is directly above the dewclaw, the dewclaw is tucked into the space between. I call those claws her 'hidden daggers'. Since it is hidden as you mentioned with your cat it doesn't get sharpened or sloughed off. When I trim that claw I usually pull off the excess material that is built up which would normally come off when they sharpen their claws. It is also a bit difficult to get to the claw to clip it since it's in the space between her "thumb" and "fingers" there, plus being a Maine Coon she has very hairy feet which obscures it even more. However I've never had a problem with it curving or growing back around, I just keep it clipped as short as I can so it's not a problem. I keep all my cats' nails clipped down anyway, it just takes a bit more effort to get to those two hidden claws of Roxy's, and I have to remind myself they are there since they're hiding!


Also wanted to add you can find some photos/drawings of polydactyl toe configurations here:

http://www.messybeast.com/poly-cats.html
or
http://www.pawpeds.com/pawacademy/general/poly/

Definitely talk to your vet. Declawing to save furniture is one thing. Removing one claw for health reasons is something else entirely.

Please do let us know what happens. I am very interested!

Thank you both for the help Those links look very interesting Nekochan, I'm going to talk some time later today and read through them. After some work this morning I got some more photos taken. The first attachment is how it looks all the time and the 2nd and 3rd are with the claw "extended". I've noticed that it's sort of 'stuck' there does not seem to be any retracting function at all in that claw, in order to see it you have to push all the skin from around it back. I'm for sure going to be asking my vet about it.

Another quick question are cats claws at all like dogs? As in if I just cut the curl off the bottom would it start growing straighter and not continue to curve? It's hard to explain, I'm just worried that the way it feels attached to her other claw that removing it would 'compromise' the other toe. I LOVE her toes (and her big ears) and I would hate to mess with things if they aren't broken, ya know.

I don't think clipping makes them grow straighter but keeping the end nipped as short as possible may prevent it from growing back into the pad and if it is inclined to grow back into the pad, you have to watch for infections as cat claws are dirty things no matter how fastidious you and your cat are. Do talk to your vet, maybe this is one of the rare cases where declawing or maybe total amputation of that toe is called for - if it were me, I would likely go for total amputaion of the offending digit, would probably be less painful for kitty in the long run. I don't agree with declawing in general but if the health of the digit or the whole cat is jeopardised by something like this, it is a viable option.

Originally Posted by railNtrailcwgrl

Thank you both for the help

Those links look very interesting Nekochan, I'm going to talk some time later today and read through them. After some work this morning I got some more photos taken. The first attachment is how it looks all the time and the 2nd and 3rd are with the claw "extended". I've noticed that it's sort of 'stuck' there does not seem to be any retracting function at all in that claw, in order to see it you have to push all the skin from around it back. I'm for sure going to be asking my vet about it.

Click to expand...

If it is the same as my cat's, no it is not retractable.
That "hidden" claw (at least on my cat) is the dewclaw, on a regular-toed cat the dewlcaw the one claw that does not touch the ground normally and it is not retractable in a regular-toed cat either.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

If it is the same as my cat's, no it is not retractable.
That "hidden" claw (at least on my cat) is the dewclaw, on a regular-toed cat the dewclaw the one claw that does not touch the ground normally and it is not retractable in a regular-toed cat either.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this makes sense, after I was messing with it this morning I realized it was in the dew claw position it's just covered up by the other 'thumbs'. I also and a brilliant idea tonight that maybe dremeling/filing it would help some? Sort of make it a squared of shape instead of curled like a normal claw. I'm sure it'll be a sight to watch. It's hard to explain how it is growing. I'm gonna start checking it weekly and trying to watch it's progress. Maybe if I can keep an eye on it and figure out how it's growing it'll be easier to keep up with.

Can anyone tell me if cat's claws are like dog's if I keep cutting the nail shorter will the quick recede? If this is the case and I can keep that nail super short it shouldn't be bothersome, not that it is now. I can just see it progressing to that point if I don't get it figured out.

Our family cat Midori has a similar claw tucked in between her regular toes and her double 'thumbs on both front feet. The nails are odd and kind of thick like you describe but we have never had any trouble keeping them trimmed. And we do have to trim them as she cannot sharpen those herself.

Before we adopted her from the HS, I asked my coworkers at the Vet's office about potencial problems with polys and they di mention that in very rare instances the extra toes/ claws might have to be removed if they cause health issues, but for the most part there are no extra problems with keeping polys as pets.

Do talk to your Vet about this. If he does need to have those claws removed for health reasons, try not to feel bad about it.

Originally Posted by railNtrailcwgrl

Can anyone tell me if cat's claws are like dog's if I keep cutting the nail shorter will the quick recede? If this is the case and I can keep that nail super short it shouldn't be bothersome, not that it is now. I can just see it progressing to that point if I don't get it figured out.

Click to expand...

Yes, the quick should recede if you keep the nail cut short enough (close to the quick.)

The dremel idea might work. What I do is when I clip Roxy's (my polydactyl) claws, I also pull off the excess material from her 'hidden' claws. She hates it but it keeps those claws looking normal. What I mean is-- if you look at a cat's claws, the underside of them has that extra, splintery material which is what comes off when they sharpen their claws on things. Since they don't sharpen the 'hidden' claws, that extra stuff is not shedded off. So I just get under it with my nails and (carefully) pull it off before I clip her claws. It's the stuff that they normally shed anyway so it doesn't hurt them if you remove it carefully but they usually don't like the feeling.

I realize that my post is here after much time has passed on this subject, but since I have the same problem with my polydactyl cat, I thought I'd leave a post here as well.

Makes me mad at myself that I didn't have that, "in-between," toe removed from both of her front paws when she was very young. The one on her left front paw is stiff and the nail grows up toward the bottom of her paw. My vet told me that she has seen cases where the nail has grown into the paw and even completely through the paw, coming out the top side. Well, that problem now keeps me and my cat visiting the vet every month to get those toes clipped. I hate the idea of that nail digging into the bottom of her foot.

I don't know how you people manage to get your cats still enough to do things like clipping their nails, but my two cats just won't have anything of it. They love me and stuff, but they just won't let me do things to them. Guess I'm just lousy at that kind of thing, I'm not good at handling their displeasure with me. Sheesh! I also need a professional groomer for the other female cat. She's a long haired white cat and she's a regular hair factory. She'll let me brush her on her back and her sides, but not the back end. He hair is so thick that is just ties up in knots. I'm not rich enough to even own her, I guess.

So anyway, my vet said that it costs three hundred bucks to have those toes removed, so now I'm in a dilemma as for whether putting her through the surgery and my hard to afford expense at this time or just continuing to hassle my cat and myself every three months with a trip to the vet. Help! I'm lost!

I made an error in the begging of my post, I meant to say that I take my polydactyl cat to the vet every three months, not every month.