Is It Normal For Cats To Bite Their Nails – 6 Reasons Why!

Cats are famous for being self-groomers. If you have a cat, you already know how much time she spends a day cleaning herself. Your furball will keep on licking and grooming herself. However, if you see your cat excessively biting her nails, it is evident that you will have a question: Is it normal for cats to bite their nails?

It is normal for cats to bite their nails. Nail biting a part of a cats grooming process. Cats bite their nails to clean them and remove the excess dirt, debris, or litter deposited in the nails. If your cat’s nail is hanging, it will bite that to eradicate the shedding nail.

So, let’s get started on your cat’s nail biting habits, conditions in which this can be an abnormal behavior, and some commonly asked questions.

Reasons Cats Bite Their Nails

Below we discuss the main six reasons your cat might be biting her nails. While biting nails is a part of the grooming process, sometimes, it also indicates an underlying problem with your four-legged friend. Read on to know more.

Normal Grooming Process For Cats

Cats love to groom themselves. The cat’s claws are structured in many layers, and their growth is from the inside towards the outer side. As time passes, the layers of your cat’s claws can become thick and wear out. Dirt can also get deposited in the nails.

Hence, you can find your four-legged friend biting her nails to get rid of any dirt or dead skin settled in the nails.

Moreover, sometimes, if your cat’s nail chips off, you can find her biting her nails to pull off the broken nail completely. This ensures that the hanging piece of the nail does not act as a hindrance when the cat is trying to catch something.

Compulsive Behavioral Problem

If your cat is suffering from a compulsive behavioral problem, it will constantly bite its nails. This biting is hugely different from the regular grooming process, and it is abnormal and excessive.

Like humans, cats can also suffer from anxiety issues due to a variety of reasons. They can resort to excessive biting of nails since they are unable to cope with the anxiety.

Sometimes, excessive chewing can cause harm to your cat’s claws, resulting in self-harm. Few reasons why your cat might get anxious are as follows:

● Presence of a new pet at your home

● Your cat does not like being alone at home

● Changes in your home’s environment

● Anything that your cat finds irritating and cannot do anything about it

If you find a compulsive behavioral problem with your furry friend, you can follow the below steps to provide relief to your cat and restore harmony.

● If you have a new pet at your house, try separating the cat for a little while and then reintroduce the pets again

● Keep a separate litter box, water bowl, and food bowl for your cat

● Follow a proper diet routine for your cat

● Have a regular playtime for your cat

● Enhance mental stimulation by providing interactive toys to your cat

● Consult a vet and provide anti-anxiety medication to your cat

Medical Reasons

Sometimes, your cat might be suffering from an underlying disease that can cause excessive nail-biting and chewing. Below are the two primary diseases responsible for this behavior of your cat:

Ringworm

Ringworm is a common fungal infection that occurs in cats. This can cause your cat’s skin to become dry and flaky, with red patches appearing over it. Ringworms cause significant discomfort in cats and can thus lead to excessive nail-biting and chewing in your cat.

Pemphigus

An autoimmune disease, Pemphigus, is responsible for irritating your cat’s skin around the face, paws, and ears area. 

In this case, you should consult a vet at the earliest.

Brittle And Thick Nails

As cats grow older, their nails tend to become brittle and thick. Brittle nails tend to fall off often. This can be one of the possible reasons why older cats chew and bite their nails.

Apart from old age, your cat can also experience brittle and thick nails due to bacterial infections, tumors, or a high level of growth hormones. If you notice signs like your cat is in pain or has difficulty walking, you should consult a vet without delay.

Infection In Cats

Cats can easily get infected with yeast or bacteria. Outdoor playtime can be one of the reasons for these infections. Sometimes, exposure to a chemical can also have an adverse effect on your cat’s paws, ultimately affecting its nails. 

Apart from this, if you, being a cat owner, trim your cat’s nails too short, it can increase the chances of infection, as the claws are exposed without the nails.

Lack Of Scratching Posts

Cats love to scratch their nails. So, if your cat is indoors most of the time, you should ensure a setup like a cat tree or cat scratching pole to satisfy this need.

This will provide your cat with much-needed mental stimulation, and keep her calm. So, your cat will no longer need to bite her nails excessively.

Is It Bad For Cats To Bite Their Nails

It is bad for cats to bite their nails if done excessively. It can be a sign of an underlying disease or anxiety disorder. 

Excessive biting can cause self-harm in cats. 

What Does It Mean When Cats Bite Their Nails

If your cat is biting its nail usually, then this is a way in which cats groom themselves, and remove the worn-out outer layer and bring up the sharp nails underneath it.

Sometimes, cats can also bite their nails if they are irritated due to some disease like ringworm or pemphigus. 

Do Cats Trim Their Own Nails

Cats can bite and chew their nails to remove the worn-out layers from their claws. However, they cannot trim their nails properly. Most of the time, the layers do not come off completely. 

If the oldest layer is not cut off properly, it can cause issues of ingrown nails in your cat. Hence, it would help if you trimmed your cat’s nails regularly.

What Happens If A Cat’s Nail Comes Off

It is extremely painful for your cat if its nail comes off. Many times, this can also lead to your furball crying out of pain. 

Due to the high blood supply towards the base of the nail, the nail that has come off can cause bleeding for some time in your cat. The bleeding usually stops, and then it can start again.

If not covered and treated immediately, the exposed skin can become vulnerable to various infections that can lead to health issues.

Tearing of nails is more common in kittens, as their claws are very delicate, and they are super-energetic.

You must consult a veterinarian to stop the bleeding and apply a proper dressing to the affected area.

How To Stop A Cat From Biting Its Nails

Mainly, cats bite their nails to groom themselves. There is nothing you can do to stop this behavior. However, if your furball is biting its nails due to the other reasons described above, you can follow the below methods to stop her from biting nails.

Set A Proper Routine

It is always advisable to set a proper routine for your car, having fixed meal times and playtimes. This will help her to keep away from her anxieties.

Taking Care Of Multiple Pets

If you have multiple cats or pets, it is possible that your cat might want more attention or is uncomfortable with other pets, leading to stress and anxiety. This ultimately leads to excessive nail-biting.

So, you should provide your cat with some alone time to calm down and then reintroduce your pets to the cat. Moreover, you should ensure that your cat has a separate food and water bowl and a litter box.

Try Neutering Your Cat

One of the common reasons for aggressive behavior in cats is during the mating season if they are unneutered. This can lead to extreme stress in your cat, thus making her bite her nails.

Hence, you can consult a veterinarian and get your cat neutered. This will lower down her aggression.

Keep Your Cat Busy With Enough Toys

It is not always possible for us to remain with our cats. Sad, isn’t it! Be it school or work or just a normal outing; your cat is bound to spend some time at home alone.

In this case, you should make sure that you have a setup at home where your cat can play and refresh herself.

Try investing in some cat-safe toys, cat trees, and scratching posts. You can also keep simple items like a box or a paper bag to keep your cat busy. 

All these will ensure that your cat gets enough activity and reduces the stress level.

Consult Your Vet

In case of excessive nail-biting in your cat, you should consider consulting a veterinarian. He might prescribe some anti-anxiety medications for your cat, which can help her calm down.

Things To Consider

While it is normal for cats to bite their nails, you should always look out for abnormal signs that can lead to excessive nail biting.

Often, if your cat has experienced a torn-out nail, the only way to detect it is by seeing the blood droplets. It would help if you always looked out for the below signs:

● Limping

● Swelling in paws

● Pain when the injured paw is touched

● Crying