so my kitten (cat) is almost 2 years old. she is the cutest, best baby in the whole world. Recently, shes been scratching a little bit, carpet, sofa, bar stools in the kitchen
we are moving into a brand new condo in a few months and FH is dead set on getting her declawed. He 'doesnt want to spend x amount of money only for her to destroy it'. Im torn, I agree but at the same time, I hate the thought of her in pain ... honestly, shes like my child, it hurts to think that she will be in pain ...
has anyone had a cat declawed? what should i expect?
FH made the appointment for her surgery for next tuesday ... fortunately I wont be there when she comes home, I wont be home from a business trip until Sunday (thank god I wont have to see her in pain)
yelley77
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
I had Oliver declawed and he was fine. he has his back ones, we just had the front ones removed. I felt bad at first, but when I saw how quickly he recovered, i felt better about it.
You'll have to buy a special litter for 2 weeks, but after that, they are back to normal. Just keep their running, jumping and licking of paws to a minimum!!
TJ22908
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
I never had a cat declawed but I had my dog fixed and she wasn't hurting at all she was her happy self when she got home
soon2bmrsconnolly
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
my FBILs g/f works in an animal clinic. She actually just said to me last night that declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting off the tip of a human finger- up to the first knuckle!!!
Not to freak you out or anything. I completely understand where your FH is coming from. I have four cats that are unraveling my carpeting and clawing my brand new couches....
But after hearing that I decided I can't do it...
KarinAmanda
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
sigh, i guess ill just have to comfort her as best as possible... do they give them anything for pain?
luna bride x
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Posted by soon2bmrsconnolly
my FBILs g/f works in an animal clinic. She actually just said to me last night that declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting off the tip of a human finger- up to the first knuckle!!!
Not to freak you out or anything. I completely understand where your FH is coming from. I have four cats that are unraveling my carpeting and clawing my brand new couches....
But after hearing that I decided I can't do it...
same here. my fiance and i wanted a cat but i said i would only get one if we can have it declawed.. then i heard this whole speech on it and i was like oh my god never mind. someone else told me it was like ripping your whole finger nail off one by one.
luna bride x
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Posted by KarinAmanda
sigh, i guess ill just have to comfort her as best as possible... do they give them anything for pain?
i'm sure they do.. i can't see them letting the poor thing be in pain after something like that. good luck! and don't worry i'm sure your baby will be fine and back to normal in no time!
missliss
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Posted by soon2bmrsconnolly
my FBILs g/f works in an animal clinic. She actually just said to me last night that declawing a cat is the equivalent of cutting off the tip of a human finger- up to the first knuckle!!!
But after hearing that I decided I can't do it...
Exactly, I'm totally not judging as you guys have to do what's right for you, but I am 100% anti-declawing. I did tons of research on it when we got our kitten 3 years ago since she was tearing everything up....but having your cat claw at things is part of owning a cat. That said, there are def. ways to 'train' it to teach it not to claw your furniture and shred things, that's what we did....it took time and energy and patience but it worked. Please try and give those a try before you do it. Also, god forbid your cat gets out, it's claws are its only defense, without its front claws it's a sitting duck against predators.
Future Mulligan
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
well, my FH has a cat at his parents house...he was declawed as a kitten because he was ruining all the furniture....they did his two front paws - he recovered fine but now he despises the vet he can be a little nasty and they swear it has something to do with his de-clawing but i think its just his personality - well catonality or whatever you call it
i thought they only did it to kittens though? b/c of the whole creulty thing
mandag
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
You know...I've always had cats, and they've all been declawed.
I've heard the argument about cutting off the finger, etc., but to me - if declawing your cat will allow you both to live happily together for the cat's entire life, it is absolutely worth it.
My cats have all been absolutely fine (5 diff cats, now), their personalities have been the same, and yes they give them pain meds. My latest cat was declawed 3 years ago and she got a pain patch that consistently releases meds so she doesn't ever have to feel pain.
I really think that the most humane way to treat an animal is the way that you will be happiest together!
HTH!
beachbum05
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
I'm personally anti-declawing. Could you use soft paws? We've used them on our cats and he doesn't mind them...
Future Mulligan
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Posted by mandag
You know...I've always had cats, and they've all been declawed.
I've heard the argument about cutting off the finger, etc., but to me - if declawing your cat will allow you both to live happily together for the cat's entire life, it is absolutely worth it.
My cats have all been absolutely fine (5 diff cats, now), their personalities have been the same, and yes they give them pain meds. My latest cat was declawed 3 years ago and she got a pain patch that consistently releases meds so she doesn't ever have to feel pain.
I really think that the most humane way to treat an animal is the way that you will be happiest together!
HTH!
i agree - if i had a cat i would de-claw it - id be upset about it, but i would still do it....
KarinAmanda
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
thanks for the information girls ... ill keep you posted >'o'<
BellaChandella
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
I worked at a vet's office.
I've seen it actually done and I hate it!
But after they wake up from the anthesia and they take off the little gauze pads they seemed to be fine.
Butterfly123
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Look into the little covers that go over the nails. Im against declawing too but I wont judge anyone for getting it done.
KarinAmanda
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
how long does the recovery take usually? like are they walking that same day? do they have little bandages on their feet?
mRm2008
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Don't feel sad. We had our little fella declawed and neutered at the same day. We didn't want him having to go thru anesthesia twice. He did very well, although didn't know whether his butt or his feet hurt worse
He was sore for the first few days. They gave us pain meds and told us to give him two a day. What happened is that he would feel sooooo good he would jump on and off things. You could see him cringe when his little feet hit the ground. We backed him down to one pain pill and it seemed to keep him from thinking he was 'super KITTY' and jumping and running TOO much. He was almost back to normal in 10 days. The hardest part on him was the paper shreds in his littler pan, he HATED THEM!
mRm2008
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
Posted by KarinAmanda
how long does the recovery take usually? like are they walking that same day? do they have little bandages on their feet?
Our vet used a glue to seal where the claws were. That way no bandages to chew and no matter how he licked he wasn't going to get germs into the wounds. Our vet kept him overnight and he was home the next day!
mandag
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
They kept my cat over night at the vet's...she was fully recovered in about a week, walking around pretty normally in about 3 days...
teenigrrl
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Re: nwr ... sad about having to declaw
declawing my baby was the hardest thing i ever did. she was 6 at the time, and when i lived alone, i had all old stuff so i let her scratch everything she wanted to. well, once i moved in FH, she scratched everything, ruined the leather couches, so we decided to declaw her. i cried so much when we brought her in, but in the end, it has worked out. it took her about a month to go back completely to her old self, but she's the exact same cat. she still tries to scratch stuff, it's like she doesn't even know she has no more claws. we did the laser surgery, which is recommended, esp for older cats (2 and over). if you have any questions, let me know.
