The shell’s outside surface has numerous distinct growth lines. It is greenish-yellowish-yellow to greenish brown, with regular fine green rays. The inside of the shell is white.

The white cat's paw pearly mussel has a small to medium-sized shell that is squarish with rounded edges. The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females differ in appearance. The shell of the male has a narrow, shallow central depression or groove and the shell of the female has a slightly swollen postventral expansion. Males can grow to 55 mm with females being considerably smaller.

Reproduction requires a stable, undisturbed habitat and a sufficient population of fish hosts to complete the mussel's larval development. When the male discharges sperm into the current, females downstream siphon in the sperm in order to fertilize their eggs, which they store in their gill pouches until the larvae hatch. When the larvae are mature, the females lure fish in with a modified section of their mantle tissue. When a fish strikes at the lure, the female expels her larvae. Larvae that manage to attach themselves to the gills of a host fish grow into juvenile mussels, at which point they detach from the host fish and settle into the streambed, ready for life as an adult mussel.

The white cat’s paw pearly mussel has a complicated life history that is tightly linked to freshwater fishes. Fertilized eggs develop into larvae, called glochidia, in an area of the female mussel known as the marsupium. Glochidia, when released from the female, must come in contact with a passing fish and attach to the gills, fins, or body of that fish. During this parasitic stage, the mussel glochidia are relatively harmless to their fish host. The mussel-host fish relationship helps disperse a basically immobile creature (the mussel), within and between aquatic systems. White cat’s paws are thought to be "host specific" in that their glochidia can only survive on a specific species of fish. If a glochidium attaches to a fish that is not a suitable host species, it will not survive. After several weeks, the glochidia free themselves from the host, drift to the bottom and begin their lives as juvenile mussels.

The lifespan of the white cat’s paw is not known but it is likely to be similar to other species in the genus Epioblasma, which may live up to 25 years. Epioblasma species typically reach sexual maturity at around age 3.

White cat’s paw pearly mussels spend most of their life in a small area of the stream bed. They are typically completely or partially buried in the substrate.  They are relatively sedentary though they do have the ability to move around with the use of their muscular foot.  Mussels insert their "foot" into the sand or gravel and pull themselves forward, inching their way along the bottom.

White cat’s paw pearly mussels spend most of their life in a small area of the stream bed. They are typically completely or partially buried in the substrate. They are relatively sedentary though they do have the ability to move around with the use of their muscular foot.  Mussels insert their "foot" into the sand or gravel and pull themselves forward, inching their way along the bottom.