Cat Declawed (a little rant)

Crazy for Collies · 08-15-2008, 09:01 PM

Well I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but my mom got our family's cat, Carmi, declawed yesterday. I was strongly opposed to this, and told her but it was 3 votes to declaw her against one... anyways we got her back today. She seems to be fine, she has pain medication (morphine) but all she's doing is sleeping which is not normal at all for her. Her paws are also swollen- but she's not acting like she's in pain.

ALL THIS MAKES ME SO SAD! Ok- phew- i've let it out now... lol, do you guys think she's in any kind of pain though?

Patt · 08-15-2008, 09:14 PM

It's painful for awhile, it's good she has pain meds. Did they keep her in the hospital for a few days? Are you using shredded paper for the litter box? If it's been a few days since surgery, her paws should not be swollen, please contact your vet.

LoveBrits18 · 08-16-2008, 05:04 PM

There are many different techniques used by veterinarians to declaw cats. Do you know if sutures or glue was used? Is she on antibiotics?

If the swelling persists, I'd take her into the vet, as Patt said. If they charge you for the visit, I'll be shocked.

In my experience, vets who only take the "half" of the last "finger" bone during a declaw, and then suture, have patients that experience more pain than the vets who take the entire bone.

Criosphynx · 08-16-2008, 08:21 PM

what waits to be seen is if she'll continue to use her litter box after this....

how sad...i hope shes ok.

Willowy · 08-16-2008, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveBrits18

In my experience, vets who only take the "half" of the last "finger" bone during a declaw, and then suture, have patients that experience more pain than the vets who take the entire bone.

I was under the impression that the entire first joint HAD to be removed, or the claw would grow back (but not correctly, very painful)? I knew a cat whose claws tried to grow back......she needed several more surgeries, and by the time they were done with her, she had no bones in her feet at all

. It was very weird to feel her feet.

Your poor kitty. I hope she doesn't develop a biting habit or stop using the litterbox. So many de-clawed cats do. In my experience (observing cats belonging to other people), I'd say about 1/3 manage to get through the process without serious problems, but of course that means 2/3 do develop problems. Hopefully she's one of the lucky 1/3.

She's not in pain as long as she has the morphine. Once she's off of that there might be problems. I hope she's got a good supply of it. How old is she? How much does she weigh?

Just out of curiosity, why did your family decide to de-claw her?

LoveBrits18 · 08-17-2008, 09:23 AM

Nope, technically it doesn't HAVE to be..but it seems ridiculous that any vet would use the technique in which half the bone is left. I currently work with a vet who removes the entire bone, and his declaws never have a problem. They are up walking around without pain a day later.

I have also worked with a vet who only removed outer half of the bone...and I would say at least 75% of her patients came back with pain/ limping/ swelling, etc.

We had several cases in which the cat came back and when you looked directly at his/her paws, you saw the bone hanging out. She was also in the habit of actually taking part of the foot pad as well, and the animal had to undergo 2 more surgeries, by another doctor, to correct it.

I believe declawing, much like ear cropping, is NOT the worst thing in the world, as long as you can find a TRULY COMPETANT vet to do it for you.

Patt · 08-17-2008, 12:37 PM

How is Cami doing?

Crazy for Collies · 08-17-2008, 04:20 PM

The swelling has gone down a lot- her paws look practically back to normal

. She's used her litterbox everytime since she's got back so far... so I don't think we'll be having a problem with that.

She's approximately two and a half years old... we got her from the humane society so we don't know for sure. Right now she's a little fat... like super fat actually (we've been focusing on putting the dog on a diet, but once Angel's the right weight, it's Carmi's turn).

They decided to declaw her for a couple of reasons 1- she was tearing up our carpet, and we had provided plenty of scratching posts. She used them, but she also used the carpet. 2- She jumps up on the bird cage and hangs on with her claws and everyone (including me) was worried because we apparently have a very stupid bird who goes right over to the hanging cat on his cage. 3- our leather chairs have seen better days...

Still- i told my mom if we worked with her... but she wouldn't listen

Patt · 08-17-2008, 04:27 PM

Thanks for the update, it's good to hear she's doing okay. I'm sure she will continue to be just fine. Birds can be a big problem, LOL in the past we had to hang the bird cage from the ceiling.

Crazy for Collies · 08-17-2008, 04:35 PM

Lol, after Carmi had knocked our smaller cage off the table a couple of times we had to buy a huge conure size cage for our little parakeet- lol. Kiwi (the bird) is in heaven now though.

Willowy · 08-17-2008, 09:50 PM

I'm glad to hear she may adapt reasonably well. It's harder when they're fat, that's why I asked how much she weighs. More weight on the toes + now toes are removed = possible complications etc.

I hope your family will be understanding if she does develop behavioral problems, and will not just get rid of her if she starts peeing in strange places or begins biting people. This is to be expected.

Cats do not show pain. They can be half dead and they still won't show it. So do try to keep her on pain meds for as long as possible.

She might get very upset the next time she tries to hang on the bird cage but then falls off. This is usually what starts them on the road to de-claw related aggression. I knew one cat who did not seem affected by his de-clawing....until he lost his balance on the back of the sofa, tried to hang on but couldn't, and fell off. He was quite mean from that time forward. If you can, try to keep her off of the bird cage for as long as possible.

I hope she is a 100% indoor cat. It's very dangerous outside for a cat who can no longer defend herself or climb trees. All of the de-clawed cats I know are allowed outdoors, and so many have been killed that it's just a tragedy. Coyotes and free-roaming dogs love de-clawed cats, they're like TV dinners----easy to catch and they can't fight back.

I've seen far more cats PTS because of de-claw related behavioral problems than those who have had scratching problems. I do think it's the worst thing a person can legally do to a cat, and I wish it was illegal in the U.S. like it is in the U.K. and most other countries in Europe. I don't think it's anything like ear cropping, because de-clawing truly affects how the cat lives his/her everyday life, besides being incredibly dangerous if the cat ever gets outside. At least ear cropping does not render the dog helpless forever.

Twinney · 08-17-2008, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willowy

I'm glad to hear she may adapt reasonably well. It's harder when they're fat, that's why I asked how much she weighs. More weight on the toes + now toes are removed = possible complications etc.

I hope your family will be understanding if she does develop behavioral problems, and will not just get rid of her if she starts peeing in strange places or begins biting people. This is to be expected.

Cats do not show pain. They can be half dead and they still won't show it. So do try to keep her on pain meds for as long as possible.

She might get very upset the next time she tries to hang on the bird cage but then falls off. This is usually what starts them on the road to de-claw related aggression. I knew one cat who did not seem affected by his de-clawing....until he lost his balance on the back of the sofa, tried to hang on but couldn't, and fell off. He was quite mean from that time forward. If you can, try to keep her off of the bird cage for as long as possible.

I hope she is a 100% indoor cat. It's very dangerous outside for a cat who can no longer defend herself or climb trees. All of the de-clawed cats I know are allowed outdoors, and so many have been killed that it's just a tragedy. Coyotes and free-roaming dogs love de-clawed cats, they're like TV dinners----easy to catch and they can't fight back.

I've seen far more cats PTS because of de-claw related behavioral problems than those who have had scratching problems. I do think it's the worst thing a person can legally do to a cat, and I wish it was illegal in the U.S. like it is in the U.K. and most other countries in Europe. I don't think it's anything like ear cropping, because de-clawing truly affects how the cat lives his/her everyday life, besides being incredibly dangerous if the cat ever gets outside. At least ear cropping does not render the dog helpless forever.

We personally won't declaw another cat in this house because our last declawed cat strangled that way. Our last dog chewed the rope that tied the cat up outside (the 2 were fantastic friends) The cat walked off, got on a shed, the rope got tangled, the cat couldn't do anything... And so, I'm totally with Willowy on declawing. My sister got rid of her cat (Who was PTS at the shelter) because he started biting after being declawed.

Amber_Girl · 08-18-2008, 11:06 AM

Yeah she'll be in severe pain for a while, and she'll have to learn to walk again. That's why I hate declawing. It cuts off their knuckles..

Bellasmom · 08-28-2008, 03:48 AM

My older cat was declawed 3 years ago and never had a single problem. She could walk fine from the time she came home, used the litter box and had no differant behavior. My 2 kittens are going in next week to be declawed as they will not use scratching posts and love to use my furniture. They are all 100% indoor cats.

lovemygreys · 08-28-2008, 08:01 AM

I'd rather see a cat declawed than in dead in a trash can at the shelter.

Pretty much every indoor cat I've ever known has been declawed and I've not known any to develop behavior problems. I don't buy into that argument for a second. Honestly, I'd never own a clawed cat in my home. Our three were adopted because they were still clawed, but they live in our kennel building where pretty much everything they have access to is fair game.

Katzyn · 08-28-2008, 10:08 AM

I think it's horrible that people care more about their furniture than their cat. Furniture can be replaced. Furniture doesn't get mentally or physically scarred, and doesn't hurt.

Declawing is horrible, and unfair. If you love your cat why would anyone do such a thing, just to save -furniture-? It's as bad as debarking. Anyone who declaws a cat is only thinking about themselves, IMO. They certainly aren't thinking about the cat. After all, the cat is only doing exactly what a cat is supposed to do.

It's funny; on this forum, you hear people saying "it's doing what a dog should do, you just need to train it to do what you think it should be doing, rather than doing this distructive behaviour (such as barking or digging)". Why is it any different for cats? Cats are harder to train, but if you love your cat, wouldn't you do anything possible to keep it happy and heathly? I certainly wouldn't call disfiguring it "happy and healthy". I'd call it "disfiguring it for my own happiness so it'll stop tearing up the furniture". Most people here would be appalled if someone with a digging dog declawed their dog, why is it different for cats? They both couldn't walk right, they both would be in extreme pain from the operation. They both would have a possibility of being mentally scarred.

Sorry, I'm very passionate about this, and I wish more people would actually take care of their animals, instead of take the easy way out and declaw their cats. Like I've said so many times, if you can't deal with the scratching, don't get the cat. All of my cats are well behaved, because we trained them, and they hardly scratch anything other than what they are allowed to scratch. My kitten's stubborn, but if I keep his nail clipped, he can't do much damage to the rug he loves. I'd love to try SoftPaws on him, if I could remember to pick them up when I go to work...But even if that didn't work, I'd never even consider declawing him, because I love him, and I know he's just being a cat. I don't think it would be fair of me to disfigure him just to suit my selfish wants.

Bellasmom · 08-28-2008, 10:21 AM

You can have your opinion nad state it too but dont presume that I dont love my cat or care about it. If it wasnt for me they would have ended up some of the hundred thousnds of cats killed per year at the animal shelter. Yes, I like my furniture too. I dont have the money to replace it when it get scraped up.
Come down off your pedistool just a little and dont act so Holier than Thou!

lovemygreys · 08-28-2008, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katzyn

Sorry, I'm very passionate about this, and I wish more people would actually take care of their animals, instead of take the easy way out and declaw their cats. Like I've said so many times, if you can't deal with the scratching, don't get the cat. All of my cats are well behaved, because we trained them, and they hardly scratch anything other than what they are allowed to scratch. My kitten's stubborn, but if I keep his nail clipped, he can't do much damage to the rug he loves. I'd love to try SoftPaws on him, if I could remember to pick them up when I go to work...But even if that didn't work, I'd never even consider declawing him, because I love him, and I know he's just being a cat. I don't think it would be fair of me to disfigure him just to suit my selfish wants.

We routinely remove the reproductive organs of our pets. In females, that's a major and invasive abdominal surgery. Some could argue that having an intact pet is completely manageable but spay/neuter is, essentially, disfiguring the pet for our own convenience of not having to deal with sexually interested and intact animals.

I had a kitten declawed many years ago when I was in college. The cat was walking fine the next day. Perhaps it depends on the skill of the veterinarian. It was neither disfigured nor does it seem to care one way or the other to this day. Still behaves like any clawed cat I've ever known.

Once again, I'd rather see a cat declawed than dead in a garbage can at the shelter. Can furniture be replaced? Sure...but it's very expensive and not something most homes can do on a regular basis because the cat wants to scratch it up. Our cats are trained to use the scratching post and they never scratch on things other than those...in our presence. As soon as we leave, all bets are off. And face it, cats are not as easy to train as dogs. Generally speaking, they are designed to be independent creatures. Dogs, are not.

Declawing is not selfish, most of the time it's a practical solution to a problem. If it keeps the cat in it's home, then I don't see what the problem is.

Katzyn · 08-28-2008, 10:49 AM

I'm acting "holier than thou" because I said I wouldn't disfigure my animals for my personal benefit? Wow.

And we spay/neuter for the benefit of the animal and the population of animals, not for ourselves. Two different issues.

Bellasmom · 08-28-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katzyn

I'm acting "holier than thou" because I said I wouldn't disfigure my animals for my personal benefit? Wow.

No I think you are acting that way because in your own words you presume I am a horrible person and I dont care about my cats.

"I think it's horrible that people care more about their furniture than their cat. Furniture can be replaced. Furniture doesn't get mentally or physically scarred, and doesn't hurt.

Declawing is horrible, and unfair. If you love your cat why would anyone do such a thing,"