Sounds like Maggie's a good candidate for the soft paws! Yup, the kitties can retract their claws, but you're right...with the colors they look more visible They do have clear nail caps, but I opted for the colors simply because it's easy to tell when one of them has been shed and I need to replace it! I hope they come out with more colors too! Initially I was hoping to get green ones to match my cat's eyes, but the blue ones look striking against my cat's white fur. The red ones I use during the holidays! LOL LOL