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My cat's nail split and the quick is exposed. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Savannah Cat | Male | neutered | 4 years and 1 month old | 14 lbs

Cats nail is split in half leaving the quick completely exposed

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on August 16th, 2019

The nail will eventually regrow with time. At this stage it is essential to remove/cut the nail (a picture of it would be essential to give you more specific advices about how to to do it) and keep the area underneath (nail bed) disinfected (you can use an hibiscrub solution).

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on January 3rd, 2020

    Ouch! You can try trimming the nail back to the quik (exposed part) to avoid it being snagged on anything else and breaking further, and then keep it clean and dry (and keep Missi from licking it). if it begins to bleed, splits further, looks infected or is very painful, you may need to bring Missi to your vet to have it trimmed back more under anesthesia and pain meds and antibiotics given to help it heal.

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Ok so Missi broke her nail/claw somehow (I don’t know how she did it). It’s not bleeding. But I’m unsure what to do since it looks like the inside of her nail looks likes it exposed. What should I do ?
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My dog's nail from his back left foot started bleeding 3 days ago. My husband took him to the vet immediately and it looks like they clipped his nail but i just noticed today that his wick is about a quarter inch exposed. It appears to be drying out.
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