Why is my cat declawing herself? Help!

My eight year old grey tabby, Jewel, began ripping out her back claws one by one with her teeth about a month ago. She has done this to all but two of her back claws, leaving only bloody scabs in place of the claws that she has ripped out. This is obviously painful because she screams whenever her back paws are touched. Does anyone know if this sort of self-mutulation is normal behavoir for cats? I just don't understand why she is doing this to herself.

welcome

You really need to take her to a vet to diagnose a problem.

it could be bordom, it could be depression, ot could be a mdeical condition but you'll never know for sure until you take her to a vet.

phone them up for a quick chat and they will probably ask you to bring her in.

if you dont take action soon they could get infected and you'll end up with a large vet bill.

I honestly do not think this is normal. PLease take in to see a vet.

Yes, like everyone else said, please take her to a vet ASAP.

I took her to the vet this afternoon, and it is not normal for a cat to ripped out their claws. In fact, the vet said he has never seen a cat do something like this. Not comforting to say the least. He said it could be a fungal infection or possibly something worse. Since it is Friday, he asked me to bring Jewel back on Thursday for a biopsy (under sedation). I'll keep you posted on the results.

Has she ever shown any type of neurotic behavior oor odds things in the past? Glad to hear she has been to the vet

No it is not normal and this cat has to be in some incredible pain. Please let us know what they find out, did he give you anything to calm her down so she quits doing this? Did he also tell you not to use litter while her feet are bleeding like that, and instead go to something else like the green litter or shredded newspaper to minimize any risk of infection?

but the ink will make the bleeding part worse...
sad...

Is it the clumping kind?

This stuff turns to cement if the cats paws are wet and requires some pretty drastic measures to remove after that. I switched to the Pine pellet kind 3 years ago and am very happy with it for many reasons.

Before I switched one of my cat had started chewing on his claws and even seemed like he was trying to pull them out at the roots. They got irritated and even a few were bleeding.

My vet recommended I change litters. He also cleaned, medicated and bandaged my cats paws. The bandages were off within a day but at least they'd stopped bleeding before he went back into the box.

Directions on the new litter said to sprinkle some over old litter, etc. I didn't, I just set another box with the new litter next to a less than clean box of the old litter. My cat chose the clean pine pellet box without ever looking back.

I also think this may be a grooming instinct gone bad syndrome. I've read a bit on this site about obsessive compulsive disorder in cats. I think if I were you, I'd also try the Feliway thing although I have not tried it.

I hope this helps.

I used to have a bunny and have quite a bit of Care Fresh pet bedding that I've used for my cats after they've been spayed. It's very gentle and soft and easy to clean. It absorbs well. You might try some for your cat, maybe it will help her with the pain at least while she's going to the bathroom. It isn't very expensive. I know that doesn't help with the claws problem, but it might provide a little more comfort.

ouch that sounds painful... I'd get her to the vet soon. I hope she's ok!!