Recently I noticed one of our herd has one forepaw on which the claws seem to be permanently extended. It doesn’t seem to affect his gait, but he does seem to be reluctant to let us handle the paw or look at it.
How does something like this happen, and what’s going on anatomically? Are the tendons that control those claws shot, and he’ll have to have that paw declawed? Or is it better to do nothing? If he’s OK with the claws out, it doesn’t seem right to put him through the trauma of declawing.
Anybody have something like this happen to their cat?
How old is the cat? Sometimes arthritis does this.
Your vet should e able to figure it out in any case. Maybe someone stepped on his toes and there’s too mcuh swelling to get his nails it. Good be a lot of things because cats try to hide injuries.
Let us know what the vet said. A follow-up would be appreciated.
I used to know a cat like that. He’d sometimes trip over when walking on carpet or go head over heels when jumping of a couch after he’d been kneading it.
He is fairly old, about 11 1/2 years, but if hyperthyroidism is supposed to make cats thin as it does humans, there’s no way on earth he could have that.
I’m taking him in in a few days, but I hate to do it because the vet told us to avoid placing him in stressful situations.
Yeah, that always kills me. That’s what our vet tells us, especially due to their feline herpes getting aggravated due to stress. Nothing stresses them more than being put in the carrier and taken there. Yet she insists we come in at least annually for shots and exam. Vicious circle.
Some vets have house call service. Check your yellow pages. Our vet does it, and it was a godsend when we had a carsick dog that needed regular blood tests for awhile. It cost a bit more, but it was really worth it.
