Cats claws

With the recent ban on declawing enacted by the state of California, I thought it was high time to look at cats claws in more depth! 

First off, a cats claws is made of keratin, just like your fingernails and toenails! Your hair, and a cat's fur and whiskers are also made of keratin. There are 2 parts to a cat's claw, the first is the "quick" - it is the mound shaped living tissue that runs through the center of the claw. This contains blood vessels and nerves. This is where the saying "cut to the quick" comes from. The quick is sensitive, so when trimming a cats claws, you always need to be careful not to cut too deep so that you don't cut the quick!

Then, the outer sheath of the claw is the keratin part. It grows in layers around the quick. According to catbandit.com, the keratin of a cat's nails is much harder than the keratin of your fingernails, which makes it so sharp and strong! 

If you've seen a claw lying around your house, you might wonder - do cats shed their claws? And the answer is that the outside layer, or claw sheath, of a cats claw will shed. According to cats.com, the outer layer of a cats claw eventually loses it's blood supply and eventually falls away, leaving behind a sharper claw underneath. The normal claw shedding cycle is approximately every 2 to 3 months. This helps keep your cat's claws healthy!

But, why do cats have claws in the first place? And, why do they retract? Catster.com lists some of the uses of a cats retractable claw. The first is for hunting. A cat can walk quietly on their paws with the claws retracted without their claws making noise, then push them out when it's time to strike! Once they pounce, their strong, sharp claws help them hold onto their prey. No wonder they call them murder mittens! Cats also love to climb, and their claws help with that too! Cats also use their claws as self defense. 

So, how does a cat retract their claws? Or maybe the better question is how do cats protract their claws - because, when a cat is relaxed, their claws are retracted, so that is their normal state. Then cats can extend them instantly when needed. Cats.com provides this image that explains how the ligaments, tendons and bones connect to allow a cat to push their claws in or out. 

There claw is attached to the bone, then there are 2 tendons that work to extend or retract the claw depending on which one is flexed or relaxed. The elastic ligament helps the cat keep the claw extended or retracted, even when moving around. 

So, now that we see the claw is attached to the bone, you can see why declawing is being banned! in order to declaw a cat, that last bone in the paw is surgically removed! That would be like cutting off your fingertips or the ends of your toes! Besides the pain of having the ends of their digits removed, this can cause balance changes and also takes away their ability to do all those things that cats do with their claws, like hunt, climb and defend themselves. Having claws is one of the things that makes a cat, a cat! 

Cover photo by Chris King on Unsplash