Cat ripped nail off for the second time.

So, this past summer my cat, Wash, completely ripped his nail off.  We didn't even notice until we saw some blood - he wasn't messing with it or limping or anything.  We took him to the vet and they had to declaw that toe, and when we took him it was already getting a bit infected.  Now, it seems that he did it again.  I do see him pull at his nails like cats normally do, but it seems like he is using way too much force.  He doesn't do it often but I try to distract him and stop him if I catch it.  We called the vet and sent him pictures tonight, and we are probably going to wait until Monday to take him in unless it starts to look bad or anything changes.  Wash is sill acting normal and running around like crazy, but I am worried.  

The vet suggested possibly declawing him since this is the second time and if he keeps doing it, it is going to cost a lot.  I am just a college student so money is a bit of an issue, but all I care about is what is best for him.  The thought of declawing him is pretty devastating, but going to the vet is always very stressful to him and I worry about him going under anesthesia and I would hate to put him through this multiple times.  When we were at the vet before he was so terrified and shaking so much, it hurts to see him like that.

I don't know what I am really asking.  I am just worried and have to feel like I am doing something.  Has anyone experienced this or have any input?

Thanks!

Do you mean that Wash is chewing on his claws and ripping them off with his teeth? Or is it possible that the claw was caught in something and was accidentally ripped off? My cat has had that happen a couple times. Never in a million years would I have thought declawing was the way to deal with it. Not sure I understand your vet's rationale. In my cat's situation, I just soaked the toe in Epsom salts and put a combo of colloidal silver and liquid alcohol-free St. John's Wort on it a couple times a day. The claw grew back and he was perfectly fine. If Wash really is pulling his claws off, perhaps there's something weird going on with them, like a fungal infection or some sort of allergy? 

Last time it was completely ripped off and they had to remove it.  The vet that did it (not our normal one) said that they would normally create a clean cut to help it grow back but since it was completely ripped off they had to just remove the whole thing.  I didn't look at it too much - it upsets me - but it looked like the quick is completely exposed.

It is possible it got caught on something, but his nails are not that long - we cut them pretty regularly.  It is his back foot - the same foot as before - and I've never seen him get his back foot caught in anything.  He does throw a fit when we cut his nails though - he is normally pretty chill but he cries so much when we do it.  I figured it was just him being difficult - he is still young and doesn't like to be forced into sitting still - but maybe something is wrong.  It looks normal and as far as I can tell he is very healthy.