Splitting claws?

Everyone knows what hangnails are like, right?

My cat's sort of having a problem with her claws that's like having hangnails. I think maybe I trimmed her claws a bit uncleanly a while ago and her clawtips haven't grown back properly. In any case, two of her left-paw claws have been splitting. As in if I wanted to, I could probably pull a few layers off the sides of her claw, like shedding skin off a snake. I didn't do it, because I was afraid it might hurt her (and she's not big on having her paws touched in the first place) but I wanted to know if this is normal and eventually they'll grow out, or if I ought to go to the vet to have her checked out? Her other claws are just fine- nice and shiny and smooth.

They'll probably be fine. You might try and trim off any really bad scragglies, but normal claw shedding should take care of it. If she was really good you could file it with a nail file or emery board, but I doubt that's likely

Sounds like it's time for a new nail trimmer. I'm a groomer and I go through them like hotcakes.

How old a cat is this? I personally would take her to the vet. I have heard of cats have claw defects that get infeected or were the claw has to be removed. The younger cats seem to have more problems then older ones. -kd

Cats shed the outer layers of their claws. When you trim the nails you can often cause the nail to *appear* to split but it was just ready to shed. If you have a scratching post they use frequently, or anything they scratch a lot, you will see the area covered with these flaked layers of claws. This is very normal and nothing to be concerned about. My cat chews her nails until all the layers are off. My other 2 cats just let the claws shed naturally. Clipping the claws encourages this shedding of the outer-layer.

My baby Antigone had one of these, I just clipped off the split part so she didn't catch it on anything