The cat's caregiver asks the question in the title and adds:
"Should I leave like this or do something? He can walk fine and it only seems to hurt if you touch it, I didn't see any blood or complaining"
My response is as follows (it continues below the picture - what would your response be?):
"As the cat's claw is embedded into bone and that bone is the distal phalange of the foreleg and hindleg toe, it would seem to me that the claw has broken at its base where it enters into the bone.
Cat claw is bent sideways, what should I do? This is a screenshot from a video provided by the user whose username is: u/Kistar2. |
It will be sore because there are nerve endings and blood vessels which pass into the base of the claw.
As the others have said, cats are stoic. They don't show pain generally but your cat does indicate that it is tender to the touch.
It would appear that he or she has landed badly after jumping down, jumping up or perhaps clawing their way up something and the claw has been damaged in a way which I think requires a veterinarian to check out.
That's my assessment. I could be wrong. I am not a veterinarian but I have spent 15 years studying domestic cats including their anatomy including the cat's claw as I am interested in a ban on declawing. Good luck."