OK, so we cats bite our nails. Not because we are neurotic like humans who bite their nails. We have a good reason for doing this. We pull off the dead claw sheaths when a new claw is growing below.
Every two or three months, we shed the outer most sheath on our claws because each claw grows in layers. Underneath the old sheath, when it is shed or bitten off lies a new sharp claw.
It's natural therefore that some cats pull off the dead sheath using their teeth. The video of the ginger cat shows it doing this. Most of us get rid of the old sheath by scratching on a tree trunk, or a scratching post, or the furniture.
I prefer scratching to pulling off by my teeth. I scratch at the arm of the sofa, which is covered with a nice stout material. It pulls off the sheath effectively. I also scratch on the carpet in the spare room. It's a carpet which is tufted - all the better for a good scratch. And, of course, sometimes I use my scratch post.
Should humans worry if they see us biting our nails? Probably not. But there is one exception. Burmese cats occasionally suffer from FOPS Feline Orofacial Pain Syndrome, where the pain in the trigeminal nerve, the one that runs up the side of the face, is almost unbearable.
This may be set off, in a few cases, by nail biting. There was an association in one survey between nail biting and his horrible syndrome. So if you are a Burmese cat, make sure your human keeps your claws trimmed.
No comments:
Post a Comment