Why Does My Cat Bite Her Nails?
If you’ve been around your cat long enough, you might notice that your cat is biting her nails. This might lead you to wonder whether this is normal or not.
So why does my cat bite her nails? There are various reasons for cats to do this. Biting nails isn’t necessarily an abnormal one, as they can be just grooming themselves. However, other reasons for cats to bite on their nails excessively might be an indicator of various behavioral issues as well as underlying health conditions.
Read on, if you want to know more about this behavior, how to find out whether it’s normal or not as well as what you can do to help. So without further ado, let’s dive in!
By keeping a close eye and checking for accompanying symptoms, you’ll be able to figure out which one is the culprit.
Cat Attitudes is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Why Do Cats Bite Their Nails?
Almost all cats will chew, pull, and bite on their nails to a certain extent. However, there are various reasons for cats to do this. One of these reasons is fine while the other two are supposed to be an indicator that your cat is having a problem.
Here’s a brief overview of each one of these reasons, so you can have a better understanding of them:
1. Normal Grooming
The first reason for your cat to bite her nails is just normal grooming. This one is the most common reason and is usually a natural behavior that you shouldn’t worry about.
When the cat is grooming itself, sometimes it uses its paw pads to remove litter, dirt, and small debris from its body.
These particles will then accumulate on their nails and get their paw pad stuck, so they have to bite on them to remove these bits.
Additionally, even if the nails are clean, the nails keep growing several layers. So, the older parts of the nail start to catch on to things and become frayed and worn. To keep their claws sharp, cats might start biting their nails.
While most cats will do this, a lot of them prefer to do it in a private place and a few don’t mind doing it in front of their human companions and other cats. So, if your cat is grooming itself in front of you, take it as a token of their trust!
2. Behavioral Issues
In some situations, you might find the cat chewing excessively on their nails although they’re already short. This behavior is known as overgrooming and is considered abnormal and an obvious sign that your cat is suffering from stress.
In addition to overgrooming, you might also notice very noticeable patterns that are associated with stress and anxiety in cats, such as:
- Hair pulling
- Pica
- Wool sucking
- Excessive vocalisation
- Unusual aggression
- Urinary incontinence (doing the business outside the litter tray)
- Hiding in an extremely small space
- Loss of appetite
- Sudden lack of activity
These issues might happen for a variety of reasons, such as depression, lack of attention, not having enough playtime, problems and feuds with other pets in the house, and more.
It’s critical to keep a vigilant eye on your cat and check for such behaviors and any other unusual behaviors that show up with excessive nail biting.
3. Due to Underlying Medical Conditions
Besides grooming, there are various bacterial or fungal infections as well as injuries that might drive the cat to pick at its paws and bite them to the nails. These conditions include:
Pemphigus: a genetic autoimmune disease that is extremely common in cats. It attacks the skin and irritates the paws, face, and behind the ears of a cat.
Ringworm: They cause skin irritation in various parts of the cat’s body, including its paws
In addition to diseases, exposing the paws to harsh chemicals might also cause irritation that drives the cat to chew on the nails.
Moreover, aging, hormonal disturbance, and specific medications can all cause the nails to become too hard or too fragile, both of which push your cat to chew excessively on them.
How to Tell Which Kind of Nail Biting Is Your Cat Doing?
As you can see, the differences between the reasons for this behavior are vast. So it’s pretty easy to tell which one of them is your cat’s. However, here are some extra points to help you figure out the problem.
Schedule an Appointment with the Cat’s Vet
The most certain method to confirm the cause of your cat’s problem is by consulting your cat’s vet.
Not only will they diagnose the problem in no time, but they’ll also suggest the best way to handle the situation and whether you need to give your cat a certain medication to help them with the problem, such as antidepressants, anxiolytics, nail and hair enhancing formulas, or hormone therapy.
Check the Frequency
By keeping an eye on how much your cat bites her nails, you can tell if there’s an uptick in the number of times your cat grooms itself in a given time.
Inspect the Nails
If you spot your cat biting her or his nails, you may wait to either inspect the nails that your cat has bitten or check their paw pads and inspect their nails.
If their nails are of a healthy length and the remnant nails are frayed and worn, it’s most likely a normal grooming session.
What You Can Do To Help
Maintain a Healthy Grooming Routine
Cats are pretty hygienic creatures, so they’re usually adept at keeping their nails sharp by chewing.
If you prevent your cat from biting its nails, the nails might start to grow too long, which can lead to some issues, such as walking difficulties and lesions on the paw pads.
A good solution here is to maintain a healthy grooming routine for your cat. This should be a specific day every one or two months when you cut your cat’s nails, so they won’t have to bite on them anymore.
Get Them a Scratching Post
Another alternative to cutting their nails is getting your cat a scratch post. This post has simple carpeting that naturally files down their nails continuously so they don’t grow long.
This is also a great solution for cats suffering from stress that causes behavioral issues such as compulsive nail biting.
Reduce the Cat’s Stress
Since stress is one of the main factors that drive cats to develop this habit, fixing the problem from its source is always the ultimate solution.
Try to keep the cat’s day as smooth and predictable as possible by setting a fixed schedule for food, playtime, and sleep. This will help the cat to feel safer and more secure.
This will help you find the main source of distress throughout the cat’s day. Additionally, there are various methods that you can implement to help them feel less stressed.
For example, you can use pheromone diffusers such as Relaxivet, Feliway, and Comfort Zone to produce calming scents in the air that will help the cat stay calm.
Provide Mental Stimulation
For a stressed cat, giving them enough playtime every day might be all they need to overcome anxiety and stress.
Additionally, you can invest in various cat toys as well as cat trees, which are perfect examples of mental stimulation items in cats.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. A complete guide with everything you need to know about cats nail biting and why they do it.
As you can see, there are various reasons for your cat to bite her or his nails. These can be normal like grooming or abnormal due to medical conditions or stress.