Sensitive Flaky Claws?

Hey all,

I have a habit of checking my kitties top to bottom about once a week. Today while I was checking one of my cats, Atari's, paws I noticed that her claws are not smooth like they should be, they seem rough and flaky. I tried to gently touch the lose flaky claw sheath and she got very upset and threatened to bite me which is a behavior she has never exhibited before, it must have caused her pain. Does anybody know if this is something serious, or even what it might be?

As some background information; she is one of two indoor-only cats. She is spayed and up to date on all of her shots. The vet said she was a perfect weight. She has never had a litter of kittens and has been with me since she was six months. She is currently just a little over four years old. The two cats only go outside on a harness with a leash. They have three scratching trees in the house that they both use regularly. They're being fed wet cat food, Friskies brand, and get a can a day. Their litter is a clumping litter I get from Costco and they've been using it for more than a year.

Hmm, not sure what's going on. She could have injured it somehow. Can you try to take picture? Are all of the claws like that, or only a few? On one paw or more?

She has three like that on her front right, two on her front left, and she threatened to bite me for touching her back paws which has never been a problem before this week. I'll see if I can get any quality photos but my only camera is my cell phone.

Also I've checked my other cat and she has all smooth and shiny claws. She's two years younger but I don`t thing that would make a difference?

EDIT: She's also been licking and chewing her paws all day long.

Okay so it's still pretty hard to see but with the first two they seem nice and smooth and proper, but the third one looks like her Quick is growing out of her claw? And the final one is blurry but all that foggy white stuff around the base is extra flaky nail pieces. I could probably pick them off they're so loose and flaky, but it seems to be causing Atari some pain or distress.

I really can't tell what's going on, but since she is exhibiting pain symptoms, I would get her checked out by a vet.

That's what I am going to do. I'm just wondering if anybody happened to know whats up with her.