system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do cats get their claws stuck in clothes etc and nearly rip it to shreds trying to free themselves, when they could just retract their claws?
gpt
Cat claws aren't like Wolverine's. They don't slide into their skin or anything. They are really just tilted back so they become surrounded by the soft parts of a cat's paw. This will not detach fabric that they are stuck to. In fact, to retract them, the paw itself must be brought further back towards the cat's body, which is exactly what they already can't do if they're stuck in some fabric.

Moving the paw around to dislodge it (possibly ripping the fabric in the process) is the instinctual and generally effective behavior. It just isn't convenient for us.