TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › double nail?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

double nail?

post #1 of 12
12/20/10 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
hi, i was just wondering if anyone else had come across this with a cat. I have a siamese manx kitty that is guesstimated to be between 1-3 years. one of her "thumbs" has two nails growing out of it, that are fused together. it doesn't seem to bother her at all, but it is a bit of a pain to try and clip. I will try to get a pic of it when i get off work today, but thought I would ask and see how common this is for a kitty.
Reply
post #2 of 12
12/20/10 at 11:27am
That is strange, I can't even picture what that would look liike. Sorry I can't be of any help, I'm just pushing for those pictures lol
Reply
post #3 of 12
12/20/10 at 1:03pm
I will wait for a picture, but I think I might know what you mean. My Parker has really weird claws too..
Reply
post #4 of 12
12/20/10 at 1:18pm
Sounds like polydactylism with an incomplete separation of the phalanges.
Reply
post #5 of 12
12/20/10 at 1:20pm
I was looking it up a bit on google and found this website about Horned Paws, which sounds like it culd be a candidate for what your cat has.

http://www.messybeast.com/horned-paws.htm
Reply
post #6 of 12
12/20/10 at 3:58pm
Our family cat Midori has these on both front feet. Down in the crack between her regular paws and her 'double thumbs' on each side is a funky claw that is thicker than normal. I swear it is two fused together. They don't seem to bother her, but she can't retract/extend them like normal claws so she also can't sharpen them. We were warned by a vet that they could potencially grow around and into the paw so best to keep them trimmed.
Reply
post #7 of 12
12/20/10 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 
okay, here is the long awaited pic, hope it is clear enough for you guys to see what i'm talking about:

Reply
post #8 of 12
12/20/10 at 7:07pm
Yep, looks like two fused together to me. Best keep them trimmed. I'd invest in a real good quality, sharp mail trimmer. Hopefully you have a calm patient kitty!

Other than that a vet's recommend on what to do if it becomes a problem digit is in order.

I've heard that in these cases if the claw causes problems because it can't be sharpened or trimmed and it grows into the paw and or becomes infected, it might become one of those instances where a single-digit surgical declawing is medically neccessary.
Reply
post #9 of 12
12/22/10 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
the clippers I have right now make it very hard to get around both "claws", so I was thinking of buying one of those pedipaws and just filing the nail down. has anyone here had any experiences with that pedipaws thing? I do keep an eye on it to make sure it is kept short, but it's difficult because she's a squirmy kitty!
Reply
post #10 of 12
12/22/10 at 5:15pm
I heard many animals are afraid of them and they just don't work that well but I can't really speak from experience. What about a big toenail clipper for just that one problem nail? they are nice and wide, anyway.
Reply
post #11 of 12
12/22/10 at 5:23pm
Those pedipaws aren't ideal for cats because it files down the nails, but cat claws grow in layers, so it ends up chipping away some of those layers in the process.
Reply
post #12 of 12
12/22/10 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
Ah. Maybe I will try the nail clipper thing then. Thanks!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cat Health
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › double nail?