Why are my cat's nails dark, black, or look like dried blood?

Some cats will get this around their nail bed. It's a buildup of skin cells, dust and dirt. If he will let you, you can clean the nail by soaking his foot in warm water and using a soft brush to remove the gunk. If the nail bed is reddened and inflamed, it's a good idea to get him seen by your vet as he may need antibiotics to help him clear it up.

This presentation may be compatible with a infection and the weird smell may come from the presence of pus. A picture would be extremely helpful to confirm it. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would recommend taking Tiny to a local vet to have the nail beds examined closer. It is possible for cats to get flea dirt or even fungal disease around there nail bed. Your vet might need to take a sample and look under a microscope to determine the cause and help provide proper treatment. I hope that helps

Most cats have clear/white claws but occasionally they can be darker. This can be from natural pigment or a response to inflammation or infection. If you see brown waxy discharge around the nail that is turning the nail brown, this can be a sign of an infection. If this is the case, a veterinarian should evaluate her to see if there is an infection.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an infection of the nail beds. However, this can be seen with a number of conditions even cancer being one of the possibilities. I recommend that you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check more specifically what may be wrong so that therapy can be recommended accordingly. Best of luck!

Hello. This could be a behavioral issue, or a behavioral issue plus paronychia ( skin infection around the nail/claws ). Even though you do not see anything unusual, a veterinarian can examine the skin, do a skin impression to see if there is a population of bacteria or yeast organisms present around the nail beds. An appropriate treatment can then be started. Often, this could also be an indication, & the only evidence of, an allergy. Allergies can come from the food or the environment & can be challenging to distinguish in cats with mild symptoms. So it is very helpful to get professional help with this. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an infection such as one caused by a fungus though it could be bacterial and it is just not possible to know just based on a description. Usually these infections are not transmitted to humans unless it is ringworm and it does not sound like that so I would not be too concerned about that. I highly recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck!