Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Some background - I have a 5 and a half month old kitten (breed unknown - hes an active thin nuetered short hair). I also have a 16 month old son. Spaz, the cat uses his claws while playing (Yes, playing. He loves chasing my son and swatting at him) and my son has lots of scratches.

Usually the scratches don't bother my son, but Spaz drew blood yesterday. So I went today and bought "Soft Claws" for him and while trimming his nails in preperation for the "Soft Claws" I found an oddity!

On the first toe (Think our pointer finger) on the right paw there is what looks like a nail (cat nail) slightly coming from the pad! We've had him approximately 3 months, had him neutered only a few weeks ago. Now this 'nail' doesn't seem to bother him at all. Would it be possible that he may have started to form a 6th toe and thats where it stopped growing?

I'm thinking I should take him to the vet, but its not bothering him, its not red, swollen or inflamed so I'm not sure if its really a necessity.

Anyone ever run across something like this before? Should I take him to the vet? I can get a picture if I need to.

Thanks,
Heather

Hi Heather,

It would be very helpful if you can post a picture. It's probably nothing to be concerned about but hard to say for sure.

PHKitkat

I did the best I could to get a good shot.

Here are 3 pictures I just took - they're hosted on my photobucket account.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/JustMistHere/100_1679.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/JustMistHere/100_1680.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/JustMistHere/100_1681.jpg

I don't know if you can see it all that well, but if you can see the actual claw, right below it on the pink of the pad you may see an extra small little claw. I'm sorry they aren't that clear I tried my best.

I'm going to dig out my webcam as soon as I can find it and see if I can get anything clearer with it.

Hi,

I don't know why, but I have been unable to access the site to see the pictures. I have tried on different days at different times.

Do you think you can post a picture right here?

PHKitkat

NOt a problem, I'm hope I do this right.

Heather

Hi Heather,

Kind of hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like an extra toe to me. These toes can be smaller than the others.

PHKitkat