Extra Claw in Cat's Pad????

18 years ago

Last Fall I took in another stray (can you say sucker??!!). She is feisty and I have been having her nails professionally trimmed. The last time I had it done at a Groomer instead of a Vet and two girls were looking at her front paw saying they had never seen anything like that before. They said it looked like an extra nail but truthfully I didn't pay much attention because no one at the Vet's office had ever mentioned it.

Now that she is more comfortable with me I have been clipping a couple nails at a time. I just saw what the girls had seen. It sort of looks like she has a second toenail coming out of the front of her pad underneath where her claw is. It isn't protruding like an actual claw but there is something there.

It is possible to have an extra claw on the same toe?

Featured Answer

renee_fl
Original Author

18 years ago

Hi Laurie

A horned paw is exactly what Kaci has. It is identical to the picture of the white paw on the link you sent. It is affecting one toe on each of her front paws right now but I suspect more may show up. I felt her pads as much as she would let me and I think the tips feel a little harder than normal. I actually cut one today. It isn't hard like a nail - I was kind of squeamish when I cut it - but it didn't bleed and Kaci didn't seem bothered by it.

Thank you again for all of your help with Kaci. She has gained three pounds since I took her in and I suspect she has not finished growing. She is still not good with my other cats and is isolated but she has improved greatly. If I didn't have an older, frail cat that I am am protective of she would probably be out with the others by now.

I bring her out on her leash and when she lunges at one of the others she goes back in her room. She stays out for longer and longer periods of time. She actually can relax with the other in the same room with her - that was impossible initially.

Kaci's five kittens are doing well. I am trying to find out if any of her offspring have horned paws. I will let you know. And thanks again for solving the mystery of her extra claw. I have not found much information on horned paws so it must not be very common.

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Comments (12)

Datdog
18 years ago
So funny you mention this. My cat has what looks like an extra set of claws on both front feet and they are actually hard. She also has a very weird tail that will bend flat down to her back if you pet her.
nycefarm_gw
18 years ago
Key West FL is full of 6 toed cats. I think Hemingway had one, & they were inbred. SIL found one in WV.
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renee_fl
Original Author
18 years ago
datdog - OMG I just checked her other front foot and she has one there also! Not only that I just bent her tail flat on her back too (she is not very pleased right now!)!! She is a fluffy black and white cat - the Vet said she appears to have a lot of Maine Coon in her.

nycefarm - She doesn't have an extra toe - she has what appears to be two claws on one pad. One is the actual claw and the other is a hard lump on the tip of her pad underneath the claw.
laurief_gw
18 years ago
What you are describing sounds like a "horned paw". It's an interesting phenomenon that I haven't seen in person ... yet. Here's a link to a page that explains it and provides some photos.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: Horned paws
Jeane Gallo
18 years ago
One of our cats had nail tissue in both front feet that caused her to limp. The vet said it was like a corn. They did surgery and cut the tissue out. It took 4-6 weeks to heal, but she is doing great now.
westonwitch
18 years ago
Thank goodness I found this thread or I would have continued thinking my cat had a problem with her feet. She has five of these extra claws on each foot... one coming out of each pad.

Thank you to those that posted the info :)
puffnweez
17 years ago
My new Stray actually has one extra pad and nail on each of its front paws almost like an extra dew claw on the inside area. It's almost like a thumb of sorts . Seems to be some kind of adaptation to being outside for climbing and burying its waste.
brutuses
17 years ago
I had a cat with this and had to routinely cut the claw to keep it from growing into the pad of his foot.
HU-283115049
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Both of my Tuxedo Kittens have 6 claws on each front foot instead of five. One has two claws on one toe. And the other one has an extra toe and claw. And they both have 5 claws on each back foot, instead of four. So they each have 22 claws instead of 18.
HU-179439692
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
my cat actually has two thumbnails in his front paws only, but they don’t come with an extra finger. Two nails grew out of one thumb. I found this post because I was searching for how that could happen lmao. this same cat, also has a hyper mobile tail, and a strange, bird like meow.
HU-661251173
6 years ago
My cat is a tuxedo that was homeless and half starved when we got him. He too has double nails, a hybrid tail, and a bird chirp meow.

I am so happy I came across this thread!