I have an old cat named Friendly that is getting to be a little crazy in her old age. She has this strange thing going on where it's as if she can't retract her claws. This is usually displayed when she wants some affection and doesn't feel she's getting it, but I discovered another instance lately. She has a "cat bed" that is a little square with a covered wagon-like hood over it, made of fabric, filled with cushioning, and lined with a sheep's skin/wool kind of liner. She loves to get into this little bed and does what my wife calls "pushy toes" where they knead with their front paws. I think this is a throwback to milking motions and is probably an indication of extreme contentment.
Recently, I started finding the little cat bed further and further away from her little corner by the heater vent where we keep it. I figure she's getting her claws stuck in it and dragging it across the floor before it comes loose.
I've often thought claws were cool. This totally violent and powerful feature that can go "snick" and disappear behind soft pads. You have to imagine what it would be like to have claws. There must be some kind of muscle where you think "claws out" and they stick out, and you think "claws in" and they come back in. I've never operated my own set of claws personally, but cats make it look pretty simple and natural. So how do you forget to be able to retract them? Is that a form of cat PTSD?
I was describing this to my wife and I realized something else about sinking your claws into something and not being able to let go. It's a lot like certain people when they get on an uncomfortable subject. We usually take a countertop corner, pencil or towel to dislodge our cat Friendly when she gets her claws into something and won't let go. I wish it was that easy in conversation.
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