How much does it cost to declaw a cat?

Question

I have a 2 month old baby and he scratched her

Answer 1

Please DON'T declaw your cat. Declawing a cat may turn them into 'biters'. It is also extremely painful for the cat; they use no anasthetic and rip the claws out. It is outlawed in the UK because the practice is so barbaric.

*steps down off of soap box*

Consider this instead: Your vet, or any good pet store, can provide you with "shields" that glue onto the cat's claws. It will keep your cat from damaging your baby's skin, and the cat will be as it was intended to be. You can get them in clear or different snazzy colors. I'm sorry your baby got scratched, but you don't want to create more problems (biting) by declawing.

Answer 2

It depends on the age and weight of the cat. Many vets will not declaw a cat older than three or more than 15 lbs because it can take 6-12 months for them to heal. In my practice we have two vets, one who will do it only after a consult, and one will not declaw EVER.

With that said, I just declawed my cat and the total price was $312 (I did not pay the extra $40 for blood work). They quoted me $165 on the phone. Most vets will not tell you about the other requirements, an office visit, medications, etc over the phone. My cat was 11 lbs and 2 1/2 years old and did ok. He had a very tough first week, he was confined to a dog crate to keep him from jumping, he did not eat for 5 days, etc.

If I had to do it again though, I would. He was VERY destructive, causing thousands in damage. He would pull the soft paws nail caps off, and clipping his nails did not lessen the furniture damage, but he sure would bit and claw me! He would use my furniture in addition to the scratching post, and he was resistant to being trained. I tried EVERYTHING!

He is a love bug and I had to separate him from the baby even with me in the room because the cat would lick the baby's head and kneed on the baby while I was nursing him and leave small puncture wounds on the baby. The cat did not know he was hurting the baby, and the baby was afraid to eat with the cat in the room because he associated nursing with pain.

Declawing is not a simple decision to make, but sometimes neccessary. However, rule #1 of babies and pets is to NEVER leave your animals and children alone together, no matter HOW WELL TRAINED an animal is.

Good luck to you. :)

Answer 3

I'd call around to vets. If your cat is an indoor kitty, it's not a problem to declaw them.

Contrary to the public opinion on the board, I think indoor cats are happier without front claws. They won't accidentally scratch you or your baby, so you and your child don't react negatively to the cat. They do not amputate part of their feet. They remove claws. Some vets use a more painful method, so you might want to ask about that. Mine didn't have any antibiotics or anything like that. Mine had their feet wrapped for about a week. My ex roommate's cat came home, dipped his bandages in the water, and I took them off right away. He was fine. One of mine pulled his own off, dived off the top bunk onto a hardwood floor, and broke open his incision. That cost me like $40 to have the vet put some cream or something on it and re-wrap them for him.

As far as age goes, my 16 year old cat was about 5 when I had him declawed. My 6 year old cats were maybe 4 months. I was trimming claws one afternoon and my little boy decided to nab his teeth through my thumb. I, in turn, decided that I was done with kitty claws and called my vet. I think it was about $450 total, but that was two front declaws, a spay and a neuter. It was also like 6 years ago. (My little girl looked pathetic with her little tummy all stapled and her pawsies wrapped up)

I would only front declaw; they do need some sort of weapons if they do get outside. I trim back claws, because those can still scratch.

Answer 4

DO NOT declaw the cat! you will take away its spirit. It can not defend it self! You did not give enough info on why and when the cat scratched the baby. Did he walk across the room a deliberately go to hurt the baby? Did he check it slowly then scratch? Was the baby crying? Some cats can't take a crying baby! Maybe a Little more attention to the cat. You might be unintentionally ignoring the cat more than you use to. This would make the baby a threat to his security with you.

Answer 5

Where I am (in Canada) it costs about $250 to declaw a cat. I have one cat that is declawed and another that isn't. It never affected my cat in a bad way after she had her surgery, after all she still thinks she has claws and continues to scratch the furniture but at least now she doesn't do any damage. I was contemplating getting my second cat done, but after discussing it with the vet I am no longer sure as she is 4 years old. From what the vet explained to me it is much better to have them done as kittens because then it is all claw, but when they get older they have to cut through cartilage to remove them.

Answer 6

It just depends on what vet you go to. They all charge differently according to what kind of anesthesia, suture material, and medical tests they use.
Be aware that declawing a cat is extremely painful for them and it will take about two weeks for them to heal. You will have to use a special kind of cat litter, Yesterdays News, to avoid infection. Keep the litter box as clean as possible for those two weeks as well. Many vets will not declaw a cat if it is over a certain age as it is hard to recover from this surgery.
Another alternative would be to have your vet put soft paws on your cat. The clinic I work at charges 20-30 dollars for this. This is not a permanent solution however. Soft paws are soft plastic tips that are glued on over your cats own nails. As the nail grows out the soft paws will need to be replaced. Also be aware that infection is a common side affect with these.
I disagree with everyone telling you not to do declaw! I feel that it is much better to declaw and keep your cat than it is to get rid of him/her. A few weeks of pain and recovery is well worth it in my opinion to insure that they have a forever home. To many companion animals are destroyed every year for reason such as this.

Answer 7

Alot of vets will not declaw a cat. They do have cat claw caps, they do work very well and can be very amusing watching your cat after you put them on him. They are easy to apply but will probably need the help of another person just to hand things to you. It is kind of like putting on fake fingernails. Just imagine the pain if a doctor ripped your fingernails out and sent you home to cook,clean and eat. I bet you would hurt alot even with pain pills. **If you chose the caps they will fall off in time just like fake nails so you have to keep some glue on hand.

Answer 8

I just had my indoor only cat done because he was staring to use the furniture as a scratching post. It costs a bought $100 + $35 for 1 week follow-on painkiller.

Now I think it is very unfair people answer only to discourage people from having the procedure done to their pet. I think if your cat is an indoor only cat then it is up to you.

My vet put the cat to sleep and preformed the surgery he was heavily under anesthesia.
The vet kept him over knight and provided me with a week’s painkiller for him (keeps the cat slightly sedated for a week). He slept most of the next week and didn’t wander the house much. After the first week he was mostly healed. By the third week he was back to normal.

Answer 9

It can cost about $400, that is NOT including medications for after the surgery.

You should keep your cat away from the baby.

Trim your cats nails. Give it attention, feed it special food, give it love and lots of toys so it won't have to bother your new baby.

I really dont recommend declawing, it is a very painful operation.

Answer 10

They've got these claw caps, I think they're called soft paws. Look into that, it's like $20 for a 4 month supply. I'm pretty sure it's cheaper than declawing.