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Urgent care is for pets who are unwell, in discomfort, are in urgent situation or are not acting like themselves and should be assessed within 24 hours.
Wellness, routine, or general care is for pets needing vaccines, preventive care, or ongoing monitoring who can safely wait at least 24 hours.
This page focuses on urgent assessment. Routine wellness exams, preventive care, and monitoring of stable conditions are provided through scheduled general wellness appointments.
Dog or Cat Broke a Nail
This can range from a superficial crack that resolves quickly to a painful, infected injury involving the nail bed or toe bone, depending on depth, contamination, and stability.
Common search terms include: broken dog nail, torn nail, ripped nail, bleeding nail, cracked toenail, claw injury, and nail avulsion in dogs and cats.
Definition
A fractured nail, nail avulsion, or nail injury refers to damage to the claw or nail structure and is a clinical sign, not a diagnosis.
Injuries may include a superficial crack, a split extending into the quick, partial detachment, or complete avulsion of the nail from the nail bed.
Because the nail is directly connected to sensitive tissue, blood vessels, and nearby bone, the visible damage does not reliably reflect severity.
These injuries occur in both dogs and cats and often happen during normal activity such as running, jumping, scratching, or catching the nail on flooring or fencing.
Who This Page Is For
• Dogs or cats with a cracked, torn, bleeding, or missing nail
• Pets limping or favoring a paw after a nail injury
• Owners seeing exposed pink or red tissue at the nail base
• Pets licking, chewing, or reacting painfully when the paw is touched
• Pets with repeated bleeding from the same nail
Who This Page Is Not For
• Pets with intact, non-painful nails that are simply overgrown
If you are unsure whether this is significant, that uncertainty itself warrants veterinary assessment.
Related Urgent Symptoms
• Limping or Lameness
• Broken Nail or Paw Injury
• Bite Wounds and Lacerations
• Swollen Paw or Toe
• Bleeding From Paw or Toe
• Open Wound on Paw
• Refusing to Bear Weight
What This Can Look Like at Home
Nail injuries may appear dramatic or deceptively mild.
• Bleeding or dried blood on the paw
• A nail hanging at an abnormal angle
• Sudden limping or hopping
• Persistent licking or chewing of the toe
• Sensitivity on hard surfaces
• Blood appearing hours after the initial injury
Why This Can Be Hard to Judge
The visible portion of the nail does not show what is happening at the nail bed or where the nail attaches internally.
Some pets may not show overt signs of illness; pain can be masked by adrenaline or short-term compensation.
Bleeding may temporarily stop even when the nail remains unstable or contaminated.
Clinical signs are often subtle or masked at home, particularly in cats.
The Improvement Trap
Temporary improvement does not equal resolution.
Bleeding may stop or limping may lessen, yet the nail can remain fractured, infected, or painful beneath the surface.
Pain and infection commonly worsen 24–72 hours later rather than immediately.
What Is Easy to Miss at Home
• A fracture extending into the nail base
• An exposed or contaminated nail bed
• Retained nail fragments
• Early infection beneath the nail
• Associated toe bone injury
• Pain that only appears with pressure or movement
These findings usually require veterinary assessment and cannot be reliably evaluated at home.
When This Can Be an Emergency
Same-day urgent care is recommended if you notice any of the following:
• Ongoing or recurrent bleeding
• A nail that is partially or fully torn off
• Visible pink or red tissue at the nail base
• Swelling, discharge, or odor from the toe
• Reluctance or refusal to bear weight
• Behavioral changes suggesting pain
• Multiple nails injured or trauma involved
Clinical signs alone cannot reliably determine severity.
Symptoms can appear similar while representing very different internal disease processes. Diagnostic testing is how veterinarians determine whether a condition is mild and self-limiting or serious and potentially life-threatening, and how they guide appropriate care.
How Veterinarians Assess This
What determines whether a nail can be trimmed, left to heal, or must be removed is based on objective findings on examination, not appearance alone.
A nail may be trimmed only when:
• The fracture is superficial
• The nail is stable and firmly attached
• The quick is not exposed
• Bleeding has stopped and does not recur
• There is minimal pain and no infection
A nail may be left to heal by second intention when:
• The damaged portion has been removed or trimmed back
• The nail bed is exposed but clean and stable
• There is no evidence of deep infection or bone involvement
• Pain can be adequately controlled
Second intention healing means the tissue heals naturally over time without surgical closure and is appropriate for many nail bed injuries.
A nail usually requires removal under sedation or anesthesia when:
• The nail is partially avulsed and unstable
• The quick or nail bed is exposed and very painful
• Bleeding is persistent
• Infection is present or suspected
• Nail fragments remain embedded
• The injury extends into the nail base
Sedation or anesthesia is used because the nail bed is highly innervated and painful manipulation cannot be humanely performed in an awake pet.
Nail injuries are often painful because the nail bed contains dense nerve endings and blood vessels.
Pain is commonly significant when the quick is exposed, the nail moves with pressure, inflammation or infection is present, or the pet bears weight on the injured toe.
Some pets may not cry or limp consistently; apparent normalcy may not reflect internal changes.
HOW MEDICATIONS HELP
Anti-inflammatories reduce pain, swelling, and tissue irritation, improving comfort and mobility.
Antibiotics are used when infection is present or strongly suspected; they do not repair the nail itself but help prevent progression while healing occurs.
Medications are supportive and do not replace mechanical stabilization or removal of unstable nail tissue when required.
WILL THE NAIL REGROW
In most cases, the nail will regrow.
Regrowth depends on whether the nail’s growth center remains intact. Partial or complete regrowth is common, usually over weeks to months.
The new nail may appear irregular initially. Permanent nail loss is uncommon but possible if the growth tissue is severely damaged.
Veterinary Differentials - Serious / Must-Rule-Out First
• Nail bed infection (paronychia) — infection involving tissue beneath the nail
Tests may include cytology, bacterial culture, bloodwork.
• Phalangeal fracture — fracture of the toe bone associated with nail trauma
Tests may include digital radiographs.
• Deep soft tissue infection — infection extending beyond the nail bed
Tests may include bloodwork, imaging.
• Retained nail fragment — remaining nail pieces causing ongoing pain
Tests may include imaging or exploration.
• Neoplastic nail disease — abnormal tissue affecting nail integrity
Tests may include biopsy, imaging.
Veterinary Differentials - Common / More Typical
• Simple nail fracture — superficial crack without deep involvement
Tests may include examination.
• Traumatic nail avulsion — partial or complete tearing of the nail
Tests may include examination, radiographs if pain persists.
• Overgrown nail injury — trauma due to excessive nail length
Tests may include examination.
• Local inflammation — pain and swelling without infection
Tests may include examination, cytology.
• Self-trauma from licking — secondary irritation following injury
Tests may include examination.
Safety, Psychology, & Peace of Mind
Nail injuries can worsen quickly if left unassessed, especially when pain limits normal movement or infection develops.
Assessment replaces guesswork with clarity and allows appropriate pain control and healing. Early care often shortens recovery and reduces complications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a broken nail an emergency?
A broken nail can range from mild to serious, depending on the depth of injury and involvement of the nail bed. Because outward appearance or bleeding does not reliably indicate internal pain or infection risk, a broken nail is treated as urgent. Same-day urgent care is recommended, especially if there is bleeding, limping, exposed tissue, or ongoing pain.
My pet seems normal now — can this still be serious?
Yes. Pets often hide illness, and a broken nail may temporarily stop bleeding or seem less painful even while the underlying injury persists. Apparent normal behavior does not reliably reflect internal stability, particularly when the nail bed or quick is involved, which is why veterinary assessment is appropriate even if your pet seems okay.
What if it only happened once / seems mild?
Even a single episode of a broken nail can be clinically meaningful. Temporary improvement does not equal resolution, as pain, infection, or instability can worsen hours to days later. Early assessment helps determine whether the broken nail is self-limiting or likely to progress.
Why are tests needed if we already see the broken nail?
Clinical signs alone cannot determine severity or depth of injury. Bloodwork is often recommended because pets can have underlying or asymptomatic conditions that are not outwardly visible but may affect how safely pain control, anti-inflammatory medications, or antibiotics can be used. Testing replaces guesswork with clarity and helps guide appropriate, individualized care.
What should I do right now?
Do not rely on watchful waiting. A broken nail warrants veterinary assessment, particularly if there is bleeding, limping, pain, swelling, or repeated licking of the paw. Same-day urgent care helps reduce risk, control pain, and determine next steps.