My Cat Lost All His Nails

[vanellym]

Hello.

My tomcat , who loves the outside, found an open door and got out in the very morning when my brother goes to work. I did not notice he was gone until I woke up and trust me I walked the whole day looking for him and every day after. Its weird how I didn’t find him since sometimes when I took him for walks he would wander off and I loose sight of him but I always found him quickly and with no problem, but this time it took 5 days and nobody had seen him ( and my neighbors are a lot outside).

Well , I found him now. He was under a little spot where a stray female cat I’ve been feeding hides , they were sleeping together. but he’s home now but I cannot say safe and sound.

His nails are missing !!
His front nails and his back nails. So far I’ve noticed only his right side front and back nails are missing and the rest I haven’t been able to see but I have a feeling they might. They are completely gone , like ripped off. No sign of nail.

Any theories how this can happen? Will they be able to grow back?

I will take him to the vet but as tommorow is Sunday , my vet is not open sundays and I can’t find any clinic open on sundays. So I’m hoping someone has something to help me out.

All I’ve done is take him a shower since he came from the outside but nothing else. He still eats and drinks water but so far , he has not pooped or even pee. I’m also worried his litter might go inside where the nails were suppose to be.

He’s just been sleeping since and his meow sounds also sound much different than his usual meows .

I’m scared for my baby, I don’t belive in declawing and I hate for my cat to no longer have claws :-(

Ps : sorry if there’s typos or if the thread is over the place , I’m too nervous and I just want answers.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Were his paws bloody, or did he maybe lick them clean? How was the rest of his fur? Really filthy? I'm wondering if he got sideswiped by a car? Is his face ok?

The claws may not grow back.
He probably didn't eat much for that week so his pee and poop may not be normal quantity yet.

Pick up some pellet litter or something like that, hopefully he'll use that even though he isn't used to it.
Keep feeding him as much as he'll eat and maybe also get some goat milk.

If you call your vet clinic's regular number they will often provide an after hours number in the greeting.

 

[silkenpaw]

Your kitty was probably hiding. They do that when they don’t feel well. Don’t worry about absence of poop or pee. He’s probably not eaten well for a few days, it might take a while for things to pass through his digestive tract.

I’ve had cats rip out a claw but never all of them. They’ve always grown back. I’d worry more about what the feet look like. Any abrasions or bleeding? Pus? Redness? Do they feel hot? Is he limping? Any wounds on him elsewhere? If any doubt at all, I would take him to the emergency vet to be examined.

 

[vanellym]

Hi!
Were his paws bloody, or did he maybe lick them clean? How was the rest of his fur? Really filthy? I'm wondering if he got sideswiped by a car? Is his face ok?
—-It’s mostly bloody but dried. His fur seems okay but has an outside smell and his face does have a little scar on his nose and where the whiskers start he has a little cut too. There are many outdoors cats where I live so he might have gotten on a fight.


Pick up some pellet litter or something like that, hopefully he'll use that even though he isn't used to it.
Keep feeding him as much as he'll eat and maybe also get some goat milk.
—- I have pellet shaped litter for my rabbit , would that work or should I find one specifically for cats? And I’m curious on why goat milk? Is there any benefits for the cats nails or simply for the cats overall health?

If you call your vet clinic's regular number they will often provide an after hours number in the greeting
— I will try calling them tommorow morning!!

 

[vanellym]

I’ve had cats rip out a claw but never all of them. They’ve always grown back. I’d worry more about what the feet look like. Any abrasions or bleeding? Pus? Redness? Do they feel hot? Is he limping? Any wounds on him elsewhere? If any doubt at all, I would take him to the emergency vet to be examined.[/QUOTE]
—- Just dried blood and they have an odor to them. I have a picture of his front paws but haven’t been able to take a picture of where the nails are missing and the back paws which look a bit worse. And personally I don’t see limping but my brother mention he saw the cat limp a bit.

He does a scar in his nose and a bit of a small cut by where the whiskers start . His eyes are also getting lots of eye buggers. Sadly, there is no 24/7 vet in my area.

 

[silkenpaw]

That just looks like dried blood or serum around where the claw was. The odor I worry about a bit, as it may be associated with an infection. Make sure he has no other injuries you haven’t seen yet. Keep everything as clean as you can and get the kitty to the vet on Monday. Hot compresses are good, too, if your cat will allow them. Just with water or with salt water (salty like the sea, more salty will be painful).

It sounds like maybe he was in a fight, tried running up a tree and slipped.

Make sure he is eating and drinking and that things are moving through, also that he’s acting normal aside from his paws being sore.

 

[vanellym]

That just looks like dried blood or serum around where the claw was. The odor I worry about a bit, as it may be associated with an infection. Make sure he has no other injuries you haven’t seen yet. Keep everything as clean as you can and get the kitty to the vet on Monday. Hot compresses are good, too, if your cat will allow them. Just with water or with salt water (salty like the sea, more salty will be painful).
—— I’ll try cleaning the blood but he dosent allow me to touch a lot , especially his back paws which have more dried blood between the nails and paws ,, also I don’t know if it’s related to the nails but he has lots of green / yellow eye buggers as well now.

 

[Furballsmom]

Are you able to clean his eyes?
How are things otherwise?

 

[vanellym]

Are you able to clean his eyes?
How are things otherwise?

Yes , I can clean every time I see them. So far today there hasent been much but it’s only verly 9am and he still sleeping , hes been waking up for a while but goes back to sleep quickly. I also heard him use his litter at night and he did a little meow but I can’t tell if he did it during or after using the litter. Just saw as well that he has a bit of ears mites.
He does seem pretty tired physically and emotionally in a way.

 

[Furballsmom]

He does seem pretty tired physically and emotionally in a way.

I could imagine - what a story he could tell, if he could.
That he's using the box is good, it sounds like he's really glad to be home.

 

[Willowy]

He probably had a close call with a car. When that happens, the cat will scramble to get away, and their claws will get worn down by the road pavement.

His claws should grow back (because the nail bed hasn't been removed), but they may not grow back properly. Ask the vet to tell you what to look for in case they grow back the wrong way.

 

[vanellym]

His claws should grow back (because the nail bed hasn't been removed), but they may not grow back properly. Ask the vet to tell you what to look for in case they grow back the wrong way.
—- I’m hoping the can grow back, and then I just noticed that he has one nail left! It’s very small and dirty but it’s still there. And thank you , I’ll make sure to ask the vet!

 

[golondrina]

Hello vanellym, what has been happening? How is your kitten?

 

[vanellym]

Hello vanellym, what has been happening? How is your kitten?

Hi.I took him to his vet and thankfully they said they will grow back ( and they did!) they just gave him anti biotic and ever since I no longer take him on walks or outside , I just don't think its safe, even if I'm with him. The back nails kinda have a square shape right now not the little curve like normal claws , so his jumping has changed. He recovered pretty quickly and is back to his normal self , I was even kinda happy when he scratched me after his claws came back.

Thank you for coming back to this thread and caring

 

[Furballsmom]

He recovered pretty quickly and is back to his normal self ,

This is wonderful news!!

 

[golondrina]

Thanks for replying Vanellym. Very happy with your wonderful news. Congratulations and good continuation.