nail injury

Poor clumsy little Sebastian.... He was playing a little too rambunctiously on his cat tree and fell off! He must have tried to catch himself with his claws and in the process ripped part of a nail off. I noticed blood on his paw and when I cleaned it off I saw that part of his quick is exposed! Poor baby. He's acting totally normal now, though not surprisingly he doesn't want me to touch it.
How long until his nail grows back?
Should I do anything to prevent it getting infected? Though I think if I tried to put alcohol on it, he would NOT be happy.

make a paste of flour and water, and dab it on with a q tip. you need to cover the opening so air can't get in and cause infection. You can try a styptic pencil too, if you want to go out and buy one.

Poor Sebastian! You could try calling your vet and asking them what to do.

Ritz lost a nail too (and lost the battle among her paw, a plastic bag and a carton of eggs). I watched her and the nail closely, scaled down the play times, monitored her other behavior (eating okay?), made sure her paw didn't smell or swell, and within five to six days she was back to normal. And tried to remember that like humans, it takes several days for the body to heal.
Note however that a month later, she still doesn't like plastic bags on top of sofas or countertops. She hides when she hears me coming in with a load of groceries.
PS: I did find the nail, and kept it as a momento. Though I'd rather have found one of her whiskers.