De-clawed. The case for need

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Aaaccckkk.

Ok. Before I’m crucified at the cross and burned. And dragged through the streets.

IT WAS NOT A CAT! NOT

Bayliss the beloved has a toe-nail on his left front paw. (Good thing he a righty)

It’s a different color than rest of his nails. It cracks and splits in to two halves. Infection gets in the pad and causes him lots of pain and worry. It makes me cry to know he’s suffering.
We’ve tried lots of things. The Vet even tried gluing the halves together. I figured out how to do that. It succeeded for a few times. And it got infected. The Vet said stop my kitchen table vet practice. Oops.

So this past week he’s had a limp. I was watching. I didn’t want the pad peanut infected again. It’s so hard to get healed.

His toenail was split all the way up into his toe. It bled one time.
I called the Vet. He said it’s got to come out.

We mourned it overnight. Yesterday it was removed while I was at dialysis. I wanted it at a different time. The Vet said “Oh, no. We don’t need you here, go, go, don’t worry, just go” While pushing me out the door and patting my shoulder. And Ivy pulling me by the hand.

He did just fine. Of course.

Got him home and comfortable in his closet bed.

This morning I didn’t let him walk out with me on my long walk. He didn’t like that. I tell you what. (The ground is wet from rain)

This afternoon he chewed off the small bandage. So I got a look. He has 3 stitches. Seems it wouldn’t quit bleeding.

Now he’s trying to get them out.

And using his nose to push buttons, he said “Ouch, outside” 2 times. I’m not sure what he means. So I just keep pushing treats and pets
and no chew when I see him going toward the toe.

Other than that he seems fine.

Me? I’m not so sure I’m fine.

2

Anyone who would object to having a claw removed under those circumstances would have to be a doctrinaire fanatic.

People in every culture, I suppose, chose a small number of topics about which to be self-righteous, inflexible zealots. “De-clawing” is one of those topics for our culture.

I should have added: hope your guy’s foot heals up quickly. It’s so hard when a pet is in pain, because you can’t explain to them that the pain will gradually go away!

3

He came to me with apparent elective amputations. His tail. His dewclaws. His boyish parts. Maybe his ears.
So I didn’t want to have to put him through more.

The fact that a person can electively decide to do this to animals is sad.

My rescue cat had to have stuff amputated, it pained me beyond belief.

But, needs must.

(I always spay and neuter, Bob Barker)

4

Well, the argument against it, for cats, anyway, is that it’s like amputating the first joint of their toes. If the first joint of one of my toes was constantly infected, the doctors had tried many treatments but couldn’t fix it, and it remained extremely painful, I’d probably agree to get rid of it too.

The reason cat declawing is so bad is that people do it to protect their furniture. That’s not a good reason for amputating the first joint of all of their toes.

5

I hate to disrupt the martyrdom here, but has anyone ever suggested that a claw should not be removed for genuine medical reasons on a vet’s advice?

6

I was just being overly explanatory. Covering my bases. I guess.

There really are people who argue about spay and neuter being cruel to the animal.

I just read an article on it.

7

I had a whole long answer typed but it’s all been said already.

Sometimes you do what you gotta do; and you needed to do this.

8

I’m in agreement with this. Granted, cats and other animals cannot of course give informed consent, but that’s a part and parcel of sharing our lives with the silly things. It breaks my heart sometimes when a pet is ill, in pain, or otherwise suffering but doesn’t understand why or how, or worse, that the additional pain being applied by humans (owner or vet) is to make the situation better.

So you have all my support @Beckdawrek.

9

I forgot to include this before – he needs the cone of shame, no joke. I was all sympathetic to my wounded cat when he was mopey about having to wear a cone. So I got him a softer one. Ten minutes after I put it on him I found him on the bed, ripping the stitches out of his tail.

10

Fret not. Once he heals he will be fine. Claw problems cause pain, as you know. You did what you needed to do to fix that. And then you both can move on.

I used to have a dog with an immune disease called symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (say that three times fast). It hurt. Damaged claws bleed A LOT. Fortunately medical treatment got it under control but it took time and was not fun in the interim.

You’ll get through it together.

11

I agree.

A medically necessary procedure is fine. Amputations happen for many reasons. To humans too.

This was not done to make life easier for the owner but to make life better for the pet.

A styptic pencil/powder is a good thing to have around. I think it lasts forever and is cheap (if not forever…a long time). Helps stop bleeding.

Styptic powder is used in the veterinary trade to stop bleeding from nails that are clipped too closely. This powder is generally used on animals, such as cats, dogs, and rabbits, whose vein is found in the center of the nail.[14] - SOURCE

12

If it helps, I have a family member who is a veterinarian and after a similar history of trouble with their dog’s “pinky toe” they had it amputated (by someone else, they don’t do “major” intervention on their own pets).

It’s been several years and dog is just as happy, cuddly, cheerful and astoundingly stupid as ever (really, of all the dogs my family member had, this one is by far the dumbest, but he’s so happy he has no clue!).

People get arms and legs amputated due to medical complications regularly. Medical care and need are valid reasons for such surgeries.

I’m sure your pet will recover and be happy as ever.

13

You did (and are continuing to do) the right thing, Beck. Thanks for keeping us informed about Bayliss, who is my #1 fave of your entire menagerie! Hope he heals quickly. Keep us posted! :dog:

14

I actually did have claws removed from a kitten I adopted – on the advice of the veterinarian who was neutering him, because he was polydactyl, with one full-sized thumb and a tiny semi-thumb inside it on each front paw. The vet (doing pro bono work for the local shelter where I got him) said the mini-thumbs’ claws would be nearly impossible to keep trimmed and would grow into his paws, and offered to remove them when he snipped Schooner’s boy bits.

I subsequently discussed it with my regular vet when I brought Schooner to that office for his first visit, and was told it was the right thing to do. Schooner certainly never seemed fazed by it.

I did adopt a cat in her teens who’d been declawed by her previous owner, for the usual furnishings preservation reason, and while she never exhibited any physical discomfort from it, I did see some different behaviors than in undeclawed cats.

ETA: The cat in my avatar is Schooner.

15

Ha! Mine has the thumb-within-a-thumb thing, too. Makes his paws look like big ol’ mittens.

His claws grow fine, though - even the mini thumbs have fully retractable claws. I’ve never seen any sign of them growing improperly.

Polydactyl cats are so adorable!

16

awwww!

17

For cats I feel it’s different than other animals as the claws are not just static parts but part of a moving mechanism that cats depend on.

But OTOH if it’s a choice between a cat being euthanized/rotting away in a shelter or being a declaw and welcome into a loving home, I have to say that the latter is most likely the better option. But with pressure not to declaw, as we don’t want to expand declawing, so still OK to shame those who do declaw their cats.

18

How fortunate for the both of you! I’d have been fine with leaving the mini-thumbs as they were, but with two different vets advising against it (and neither profiting from removal), and no ill effects from the procedure, I’m content with my choice. Schooner sure didn’t even notice and lived a happy life – not long enough, though, as lymphoma took him in his early teens – and almost all of my cats live into their late teens.

Thumb Boy himself: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6371354256277344&set=pb.100002084977206.-2207520000&type=3

ETA: My vets, every one I have had over decades in that office, are firmly, strongly against declawing unless it’s absolutely necessary for the health of the cat.

19

When I was a kid, and it was my parents’ decision, they declawed a kitten that I brought home one day as a stray. My mother said it was because the cat we already had was declawed, and you couldn’t have a cat with claws and a declawed cat in the same house. The first cat came from the shelter declawed at age 2.

I swore I’d never declaw a cat once I was in charge.

I’ve had 13 cats over my adult life (unless I’ve missed one in counting up). One had to have one toe declawed.

We got him around 10 weeks, as a litter runt (who ended up gorgeous and 14 sleek lbs). At some point before we got him, one of his paws had been hurt, and had healed with two claws frozen in place. One was frozen retracted-- not a problem. The other was frozen extended-- problem. It got caught on things, and once in a while, he was stuck until we rescued him; other times, he yanked it free, but it bled.

We tried to keep it trimmed, but once in a while, we’d cut too close, and other times, we’d not do it soon enough, and he complained bitterly about having it done.

So when he was fixed (because of his size, he was a little older), the vet also declawed the one toe. I was OK with the decision, but a little stunned when the bill said “amputate digit.” So very glad I never declawed another cat.

20

Jojo, my rescue from dire straights(straits?) Was clearly the prey it his situation. He must’ve had to climb fast because he traumatically declawed some of his own toenails. After his rescue several of his toes had to be removed because of massive infection.

He still climbs trees, mainly to make me worry and get a can of sardines, as he sees it: a reward for ingenuity.