Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Los Angeles California Wildlife Rehabilitation Real Estate

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Showing posts with label paws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paws. Show all posts

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Overgrown Embedded Roller Blade Claws in Cats, Felines by Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates

overgrown claws, embedded claws, rollerblade claws, nails, cat, feline,mary cummins, animal advocates, veterinarian, paws, dew claw, claws, claw, nail
overgrown claws, embedded claws, rollerblade claws, nails, cat, feline,mary cummins, animal advocates, veterinarian, paws, dew claw, claws, claw, nail, how to trim
Cats claws or nails grow continually during their lives just like our finger and toe nails. We trim our nails with nail clippers or files. Cats in the wild will scratch on trees to keep their nails in check. Indoor cats will scratch on rugs, cat trees or the sofa to keep their nails in check. 

Our nails grow continually in a single layered nail. Cats nails grow differently with multiple layers and sheaths. The outer layer or sheath is generally shed when they scratch on cat trees. You will find nail sheaths stuck on the cat tree or around the base. They look like the below photo, like splintered bits of nails or may even look like an entire nail. 

If cats are older, sick, disabled, have arthritis, they sometimes stop using cat trees. The sheaths are not removed and build it. As the nail continues to grow the full nail will curl around and embed into the paws or legs if it's a dew claw. Dew claws are the most likely to be overgrown. The front claws grow faster and longer than the rear claws. Front claws are more likely to be overgrown. Below are photos of embedded claws, nails. First three are front dew claws. All of these cats were very old and not scratching on anything because of their age.

overgrown claws, embedded claws, rollerblade claws, nails, cat, feline,mary cummins, animal advocates, veterinarian, paws, dew claw, claws, claw, nail

overgrown claws, embedded claws, rollerblade claws, nails, cat, feline,mary cummins, animal advocates, veterinarian, paws, dew claw, claws, claw, nail

overgrown claws, embedded claws, rollerblade claws, nails, cat, feline,mary cummins, animal advocates, veterinarian, paws, dew claw, claws, claw, nail



If your cat has embedded claws, see a veterinarian. If you are a veterinarian or vet technician, you can trim them yourself. First time I saw this I took the cat to the vet. He forgot to trim them. I realized this when I got him and he told me to trim them myself which I did. Still, we are not veterinarians and are not giving veterinary advice. If your cat was declawed and claws regrew under the skin and maybe poke out a little, see a cat declaw repair, claw specialist veterinarian only. Never try to trim or remove those as they must be removed by surgery after xrays. It's not just the claw growing under there but the leftover amputated bone, nail and nail cells. There's generally also lots of infection and scar tissue which must also be removed. Contact thepawproject.com for declaw repair specialists.

Make sure you never trim into the quick which is the pink area which is the blood supply to the nail bed. It will cause pain, bleeding and your cat will never allow you to trim their nails again. We trim an area away from the nail bed and away from the quick closer to where the natural nail tip end would be. We also trim within 1/8 " from where the nail is entering the paw pad or skin. See photo below. Remove that little section which generally falls off. Then we slowly remove the embedded section gently in a curved motion similar to the opposite direction in which it grew into the paw. If it doesn't come out super easy, if it bleeds, if it hurts the cat, let an experienced cat claw vet do it. It should just fall out. 



After you've removed the embedded part go back and trim the nail to the proper length making sure you don't clip the quick. If you can't see the quick because of sheath overgrowth making it too thick, you can use tweezers to gently pull off the dead outer layers of nail sheaths. Below are photos of some removed embedded and overgrown nails. The top ones were more deeply embedded. They just fell out of the paw when the first section, arc was removed. The force of the nail is what's keeping them in the skin. They did not bleed at all.


In order to prevent embedded claws trim your older cats nails once a month or so. At least check the nails once a month. Always provide cat scratching trees, mats, toys. 






Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.


Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The lady and her tiger by Pat Derby - Book review by Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates

Pat Derby, The lady and her tiger, PAWS, Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates, California
A year before Pat Derby passed away Patty Shenker gave me a copy of Pat's book "A lady and her tiger." I misplaced it but found it yesterday and finally read it. It's a very good read about what animal training was like pre 1970.

Back in the day animal trainers made animals perform out of fear and fright. They considered the animals as merely something to be used to make money. They did not provide them with the best enclosures, nutrition or care. When they were no longer useful they sold them for canned hunts, to become taxidermy mounts or merely euthanized them. They did not treat them the way we do our beloved pets.

Pat Derby felt that animals should be given the best nutrition, care, enclosures and enrichment. She believed that it is better to raise them with love and encourage them to do certain behaviors for food and praise as rewards. She did not believe in declawing, defanging, forcing an animal to work, frightening an animal to act or negative reinforcement. Over time other animal trainers came to see the light though some such as Have Trunk Will Travel still use bull hooks, hot sticks and negative training techniques.

The book "A lady and her tiger" takes you through Pat's upbringing in England to her becoming an animal trainer in California. She shares her experience working with different animals and animal training companies. She calls it as she sees it and admits early on she was not the most enlightened person when it came to animal training in her early years. Today of course her sanctuary Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) cares for ex-exhibit animals in a sanctuary environment.

Pat Derby, The lady and her tiger, PAWS, Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates, California

Pat Derby, The lady and her tiger, PAWS, Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates, California

Pat Derby, The lady and her tiger, PAWS, Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates, California
Patricia Bysshe Shelley Derby  (June 7, 1942 - February 15, 2013) was a British-born American animal trainer for American television series, commercials during the 1960s and 1970s and later became a crusader for animal rights. Father was Charles Boswell Shelley (1897-1954) a Cambridge professor, Mother Mary (1900-1977), older brother Derek (1920-1947), husband Theodore Ralph Ball Derby (1934 - 1976) and partner Edward Stewart.

Hardcover: 284 pages
Publisher: Dutton; 1st edition (1976)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525142754
ISBN-13: 978-0525142751

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit