actually in the state of California its illegal to “cosmetically” declaw your animals
you have to have a provable in a court of law reason to do so …usually medical
my last dog had a dewclaw that the vets swore would just get “worn off” from him running around being a dog … it didnt and caused much annoyance …then one day i looked outside and seen dog limping i thought hed got it caught again … No he chewed it off himself
Back when declawing cats was almost a standard policy, I remember being told that having only the front claws removed would still allow the cat to defend itself in a fight if it got outside. I had had that done with several of my cats, before I found out that declawing involved actually amputating the tips of the toes
Beck, I’m sorry Bayliss had to have the claw removed. To keep him from chewing on/licking the stitches, you could try medical booties. Some of them have Velcro closures and are impossible for dogs to chew off off.
And just as a side note, I read an article about opossums and thought about Clarence. Just wanted you to know he hasn’t been forgotten.
The kitten we had declawed was declawed only in the front (so was our shelter Siamese), and could climb trees in the blink of an eye. He could also catch small game in the woods just past our yard, and usually shared.
The Siamese was a homebody. She never went out in cold weather, and in warm weather, just out to the patio to lie in the sun. When she needed to, she would come in from the outside to use the litterbox, and then go back out. She also often demanded to be picked up and carried around like a baby.
Ahh. Clarence. Miss that beast.
Now, speaking of claws. He had some rather scary ones. I always wanted to paint them. 