# polydactyl: ingrown claw



## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I noticed my neighbor's cat Theo limping and took a closer look. Theo is a polydactyl, with two very large extra toes on his inner 'ankles.'
It was easy to see that due to the odd position of his extra toe his claw curved right into the pad. The only way I can describe it is that the claw went to the side instead of pointing down. 

I clipped it and he was very good about it. Seems to be OK now. Is this common? Thinking about it, there is no way for Theo to trim that claw himself by sharpening on something.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Greenport, I am sure Theo is very grateful for your pedicure...such a simple fix. Thank you for taking such good care of Theo. What disturbs me is how common this whole neighbor neglecting the animal theme has been lately. What is wrong with these people?


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

Hmm, not sure. I'd give them the heads up though and inform them it might be a good idea if not to watch for it always, to bring em in and have the superfluous claws declawed.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

OK, this is from Wikipedia:

"Caring for a polydactyl cat
Some polydactyl kittens initially have more difficulty in learning to walk than normal animals. However in some cases polydactyly appears to improve the dexterity of the animal. For example, a common variation with six toes on the front paws, with two opposing digits on each (comparable in use to human thumbs), enables the cat to learn and perform feats of manual dexterity generally not observed in non-polydactyl cats, such as opening latches or catching objects with a single paw.
Cats usually "file down" their nails, thereby removing the outer layer. *However, some of the claws of polydactyl cats are in awkward positions, so they are not able to trim them down by scratching. If proper trimming is not done, then these claws could grow into the cat's flesh and cause infection."*

Those last two sentences are clearly what I observed. 

And what I learned besides: Theo has the feline version of an opposable thumb!

Anyone else have polydactyl cats? Interesting to note they are most common here on the East coast.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Five of my cats are polydactyl. The two females who are poly only in the front feet have thumbs, while the three males who are poly in both front and rear feet have an extra pad on each front foot to accommodate the extra toes. The yes, their extra claws can grow in all sorts of goofy directions. The small, extra claws tucked way up between two toes can be particularly difficult to clip because they don't extend like normal claws.


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