Treat a cat’s ingrown toenail

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DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I don’t know how it happened, because I check and trim my cat’s nails regularly. Today, “Sparks” cried out in pain when I checked his right paw, and that’s when, on closer inspection, I saw that one of the middle claws had grown around, down and into the pad of his paw! How did I miss it? And what can I do to fix this? – Sharon in Bennington, Vermont

DEAR SHARON: Cats are very good at hiding illness and injury. Plus, some cats have longer tufts of fur growing between their claws, and this can obscure nail problems. Add that to the routine struggle of trimming a cat’s nails while they wriggle and nip at you to try and escape, and it’s surprisingly easy to miss a claw or two.

Have a partner help you by gently holding your cat in a comfortable position while you inspect his paw more closely. Use a magnifying glass to get a better look at the ingrown claw.

If the claw has not penetrated the skin of your cat’s pad – it may be pushing against the skin – you should be able to safely trim the nail away from the pad. Use sturdy nail nippers made for cats, and trim only a small part of the nail – enough to release the pressure on the pad. Revisit the nail in two days to trim it back further, and monitor closely from now on.

However, if the claw has penetrated the skin, removing it can be painful and stressful for your cat. Make an appointment with the veterinarian, who will be able to numb the area slightly, trim the claw, and remove the part remaining in the pad while preventing infection.

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