I am considering declawing my cat

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey guys. Been away a while. Crazy busy, long story, hope everyone is well. Figured I’d jump back in with a nice, uncontroversial topic.

I am considering declawing my cat.

I absolutely do not want to hear or argue about the physiology of declawing cats. I’m aware. It’s why I am, as a rule, against declawing cats.

But this cat is a problem. His claws have only ever been successfully cut while he was unconscious. Tonight, four people, one of whom has over forty years of experience at handling animals, utterly failed at containing this cat and cutting his claws.

Some background: we found him VERY young (four-fiveish weeks) and feral. He adores me, likes a few other people, and hides in the closet when anyone he isn’t very familiar with and fond of comes around. He’s often aggressive toward my other cats (neither of whom are aggressive toward him) and insanely food aggressive (and again, I’m familiar with cat training techniques, he’s immune).

His claws are overgrown, since he won’t let them be cut (and I’m not gonna lie or make excuses here, I can’t afford to take him to the vet every month or so to have his claws cut, even had they have ever succeeded while he was conscious, which they haven’t. Also, I’m not terribly comfortable with knocking a cat out to cut his claws, that has inherent risks of its own.).

He regularly gets stuck in things (furniture, clothes, blankets, window screens etc.) and he gets scared and when I try to release him he screeches and scratches and bites as though he’s never seen me before in his life. Ten seconds later, he wants snuggles and I have to clean up all my blood first.

That said, when he’s not terrified, he (as previously mentioned) adores me. Pretty much all this cat wants from life is food and to be near me. And he’s a toucher. Some of you know what I mean. He’s always got paws on me. He particularly loves to touch my face and my hair. When he approaches me, the first thing he does is headbutt me and the second is to reach for my face. In the morning he wakes me up by “stroking” my face. This would be adorable, except that his claws are all overgrown, and in trying to be affectionate he scratches the hell out of me.

That might be the single biggest issue. I can’t just lock him out, since I have three cats and all of them howl like they’re being killed when they’re locked out of my room. Also, I LIKE having them in there, and I can’t lock the other two in and him out. At this point, aside from all the other injuries and inconveniences, declawing him is probably the difference between waking up pissed off every day and the alterative. I’m tired of waking up pissed off every day.

I am absolutely confident that I can keep this cat indoors (I’m careful, and he’s frankly never shown any interest in going outdoors). If anyone has an alternative idea, I’m all ears. That said, skip the Softpaws suggestion. Tried it. Had to knock him out, and they lasted less than a week because he frantically chewed at them and clawed at everything in his path to get them off.

I’m at my wit’s end. What do y’all think? And thanks for listening, anyway.

2

You’re going to be very hard pressed to find a vet that will de-claw a grown cat.

3

Just posting to share your dilemma and sorry but no good ideas. I used to clip my Siamese claws quietly and gently. Now I have a Maine Coon…well lets just say we have yet to come to an understanding.

Mind you my cats live indoors/outdoors and have trees and whatever to trim their claws on so its not a big deal. A coir mat is excellent for a strong cat who just has to rip something up.

De-clawing is not something I have come across but perhaps it can be carried out safely with a minimum of distress? Pretty much unheard of in NZ.

4

I posited the question to a local cat-only vet.
They had no problem taking a 3 year old spayed female. I didn’t mention that she is mostly Maine Coon and weighs 13 pounds.

There are 3 methods of de-clawing:

Guillotine - looks like an over-sized claw trimmer - the large male vet was using visible force to not only close the blade, but to remove the claw and flesh. the sides of the resulting hole were pinched together and a drop of glue applied. This was, plain and simple, brutal - I can’t imagine a cat being able to walk within at least a week.

Laser - a tiny surgical laser burns through the flesh and bone. Big plus: self cauterizing. Down - 4th degree burn (the bone is burned).

Scalpel - an incision is made around around the knuckle and the tendon is surgically severed. No burn, no violence.

Do kitty the favor of finding a doc which uses a scalpel - as the only method. You don’t want kitty to be the first patient for a new (to the vet) procedure.
I was quoted $100.

Kitty allows me to trim her nails, but I cannot break her of using the couch and carpet to re-sharpen them. I deliberately bought cheap furniture just to see what she would do.

I got her a an estate sale - her first owner died when she was about 1. I transitioned her from indoor-outdoor to indoor.

It’s a hard decision, but if she still doesn’t clean up her act, I’ll break all my vows about de-clawing and have her fronts done.

5

There are several different declawing techniques - so make sure you and your vet discuss all of them and the risks and benefits of each before you decide which to do.

I’m not a proponent of declawing as a default or reflexive procedure to be done on all kittens, but I do think there’s a time and a place for it, and this sounds like maybe it’s that time and place. Does it hurt the cat? Yes. But so does the stress of 4 strangers holding you down and mauling your feet to trim your nails. So does the yelping, bleeding, avoidance and anger of your human…and that’s pain that doesn’t go away in a couple of weeks like the surgical pain of declawing.

If adult male cats were in great demand at shelters, I’d say, no, find him another home that can deal with his quirk. But realistically, he’s far more likely to be put down than to be rehomed. I don’t think declawing is a fate, literally, worse than death.

6

If you’re in a populated enough area, see if you can find a feline-only practice that uses laser technique for declawing. It’s the fastest recovery time, and fewer post-op complications. I would expect a clinic that has invested in laser equipment to be a more progressive place and also be better about pain management. Ask them about that - pain management - and if they say they use a fentanyl patch, that’s spot-on. Be prepared to present a similarly lengthy argument for having it done, but honestly if you sound as well thought out about it to them, they’ll go ahead with it. If it’s the difference between a cat staying in his home or going to a shelter or being euthanized, it’s a no-brainer.

I often try to point out to people the long-term issues after explaining what it really entails. With you, you clearly already know about the procedure and that part of it. Afterwards, I tell people they may see more hiding, and also biting as a first option when they realize their claws are gone - but it sounds like those are already issues, so no idea whether he will be worse about it, better, or just the same.

There can be litter box issues - make sure to use a “softer” litter. They’ll recommend Yesterday’s News or something similar that won’t stick to healing wounds while he’s healing, but sometimes switching back to just plain clay litter (for those who use it) can be problematic. If you already use a clumping, corn, wheat, or walnut litter, he may be just fine once he heals. If you don’t have an extra room where he can be isolated post-op, you may want to keep him in a large dog kennel for a couple of weeks, or just switch the whole house to the alternate litter - it’s just a pain because it has to be maintained daily.

How are his back feet? Are they just as much of an issue? I see cats with 4-paw declaws do worse - balance issues are bad enough with the fronts, but when back are done, too, it can be a real problem if he’s the jumping/climbing up onto furniture and cabinets type. If you think just the fronts will solve the issues, definitely leave the back feet be. He will have a bit of an adjustment period, and if he’s a jumper/climber - even just the edge of the tub or windowsills, stuff like that - expect falls and falling to be a problem until he figures out how his toes work again.

7

That tendonectomy will not solve the problem of a claw growing too long - it simply makes it impossible for the cat to extend them. They are still there, and still growing.

8

I hate declawing. Hate hate hate it. If you’ve got a young cat/kitten, they can (and should!) learn to put up with being handled and restrained and having their feet and mouths messed with. This is much easier and safer for all if it’s taught when the when beast is small, but I’ve done it with full sized cats too. Once they’re grown it depends a lot on their background and general temperament.

Unfortunately that window is long past, and I think that for everyone’s safety and sanity you are right to declaw. Definitely spend the bucks and go the ‘real’ surgery route (scalpel amputation vs clippers).

Good luck, I hope you don’t get too much flak.

9

I’m worried I may have to declaw my little bugger too. He keeps trying to scratch the sleep build up out of his eyes. In the process of doing so, he scratches up his tear ducts, leaving them all red and infected. (a lot of times bleeding)

10

Shakes, that’s really unusual. Does he have allergies by any chance? Or does he have extra toes? I’ve never seen a cat scratch his own face to the point of blood - that’s why the claws retract. Can you trim his claws shorter?

11

He’s a big cat. He wont let me clip his nails. (They don’t get over grown like the OP’s though.)

I still haven’t been to the vet. I’m hoping there’s something she can give me to reduce the sleep build up. When I’m home, I always pick it out myself, but I can’t control what he does when I’m at work.

12

Every vet I’ve had will declaw a grown cat if there is a good reason - like he is injuring himself, people or other animals.

13

Since you’re looking for advice/opinions, move to IMHO (from MPSIMS).

14

Would a scratching post help wear them down?

I’ve lived with cats most of my life, and I’ve never experienced issues with claws - maybe I’m just lucky, but it’s probably because my cats have all been outdoors cats so have plenty of opportunity to scratch trees and things.

15

I charged into the thread ready to talk you out of it, but it sounds like you’ve done pretty much everything. And it’s the right decision if not-declawing means you will surrender him.

Out of curiosity, I’m wondering what it costs to get his nails trimmed *with *the knockout juice? I need to have my cat’s nails trimmed about once every month, month and a half or so. My vet only charges $12. But then my cat is a pretty cool cucumber. I’m sure it’s more expensive when anesthesia is involved.

16

I doubt that. I had no problems finding one last week. In fact, I called 3 to check on pricing, and all 3 (my cat’s regular vet and 2 random ones from the phone book) all perform the procedure.

Yes, I’m declawing all 3 of my cats before they move into my new house.

17

Only if the cat is a poor anesthetic risk for some reason. Most will try to talk you out of doing it on an adult cat if the only reason is “we bought new furniture” but will still do it anyway. Quality of life issues for patient and/or owner? They can’t get you scheduled soon enough. Quality of life issues for the vet staff because a simple pedicure is a 4-person ordeal that involves screeching and howling that agitates the other patients and owners in the building and carries a high risk of someone getting hurt? They REALLY can’t get you scheduled soon enough.

18

I’ve noticed recently that my senior meezer’s nails are overgrown. I managed to clip some of them when she wasn’t paying attention, but by no means the real clipping they need. She’s a notoriously difficult cat and I’ve had to use acepromazine to dope her up to take her to her (very rare) vet visits. I’m thinking about asking my vet for some ace so I can clip her nails.

StG

19

We took in a stray cat who was at least one year old. We have a doggie door and Kitty would bring in birds, mice, bunnies, and other creatures. She’d usually only kill the mice so we’d have bird sflying around and bunnies hopping about. Even though not dead, the critters would often be seriously injured.

So we had the front claws removed when Kitty was at least 2 years old. This greatly slowed down, but didn’t completely stop, the number of wild animals killed or injured. We were worried about her being outside with other cats and dogs and not being able to defend herself without the front claws. Kitty is now over 15 years old, so that wasn’t a problem.

20

Please please people, when your cats are kittens, ‘torture’ them. Pick them up, hold them til they stop wriggling and then put them down. Play with their toes and claws, trim those claws. Stick your finger in their mouth, hold their heads, play with their lips. DO STUFF to your cats while they’re small and controllable - you’ll be so much happier when the cat is grown and gets sick or injured. (And so will your vet)

Truly, they lead luxurious lives. They can learn to put up with Stupid Human Tricks. My guys figure that if they don’t fuss, I get bored and go away quicker.