Would it be a sin to declaw my cat if it could save her life and make her more comfortable? See details.?

Question

My cat is at the vets office right now. Her claws are so curved they are growing in to her paw pads and they are infected. Its like an ingrown nail on a human but like 100 times worse. The vet said the best thing to do is declaw her or i could get her sedated and have him clip her nails every two weeks. Which is worse then declawing her because having her sedated can cause problems.

I knew some one who had one of her toenails removed because she kept getting ingrown nails, and my grandma had her fingertips cut off when she was young in the 1930's she was 19 years old. and she handled it fine.

I am on a fixed income and I cannot afford to take her in to the vet it will cost about $1539 a year to take her in to be clipped and under $200 to have her declawed and the vet said declawing her is my best bet.

Before I took her to the vet I took her to a couple groomers and they said they won't touch her.

What should I do? I cant let her suffer. I dont want any thing bad to happen.

Answer 1

Since your cat's claws are too deformed to keep clipped by all means declaw her. They have to be really bad if professional groomers won't touch her and the vet advises declawing.

I don't advocate cutting people's toenail off generally, but when I had a horribly ingrown toenail and it didn't respond to numerous attempts by the podiatrist to fix the darn thing I had it permanantly removed. It's impossible to describe the pain that one lousy toenail caused me for over a year. The relief I felt after I got rid of that horrible perpetually infected miserable toenail was immense.

Your cat must be truely suffering if all of her nails are growing into her flesh. In this case the kindest and most responsible thing is to declaw it.

Answer 2

Declawing really is the best option here, it will save alot of future problems. The nails getting this bad in the first place can have lifelong lasting effects on the paws. I haven't read all of your answers yet but I'm assuming that as usual, 90% are going off about declawing. *yawn* Declawing is fine as long as it's not done just for the sake of doing it. In this case, it's more than okay to do. My youngest cat had a very traumatic birth. He was stuck paw first out for more than 45 minutes before I could deliver him from the mother. Right after birth, the paw became immediately distended and the nails began to bleed. We thought he would lose the entire leg but luckily the circulation came back and he could walk but the nails on all 4 paws became red and swollen. Took him to the vet and the vet said due to how he laid in the birth canal and for how long, the nails were permanently damaged and removing them was the best choice. So we did. No problems. You follow your heart and do what is best for you cat. Don't listen to the slander and bashing.

Answer 3

I am one to usually say no to declawing one's cat, but in this case it sounds like the best thing for her. However, before you make that decision, have you tried to clip her claws yourself with the help of another person. There are nail clippers that can be purchased for under $15 that work great. I have 14 cats and clip their nails ourself. My daughter helps with this. We also have birds and an iguana's nails to clip. Imagine my vet bill if I paid to have them all clipped. Only declaw as the last resort after you have tried to clip her nails yourself. Your vets office can show you the proper way to do this safely. Mine did. I have a rescued fully declawed cat that's 9 and she won't use a litter pan. Guess it was painful for her and she still remembers it. We use puppy training pads for over 6 years now, since we got her. I'm sure the vet told you about the risks of infection in the nail beds even you do everything right. And you'll need lots of shredded paper, not good to use litter for it can cause an infecton, let alone be extremely painful to walk on even long after healed. You're doing right by asking questions on what to do, it is a very tough decision. First try clipping her nails yourself - with help. This way you can clip them each week a small amount. She may be more at ease at home, if not the vet can give you a mild seditative to calm her. The sedation problems, are they potential ones from frequent use of the drugs or was there a problem with her own body reacting? I'm glad your taking that into consideration as well. Just to give my wolf mix a bath, I have to give her 2 valium pills. I would only declaw her after you have exhausted all other avenues first. Good luck

Answer 4

Your cat has obviously one of the few good reasons to declaw a cat. If the vet and groomers all agree that there's really nothing more practical that can be done, go for the declawing--but then you'll need to keep her inside all the time and if you ever need to give her away you will have to make sure any new owner (or shelter) knows she was declawed and will need to be protected for the rest of her life. You've done the responsible thing, did the research and declawing sounds like the best thing for everyone.

Answer 5

In this case I would do what the vet suggests. I think if the cat is an indoor cat it would be fine for her to be declawed just so she doesn't have to go thru the pain of other infections. Research on the Internet ways to make them comfortable after the declawing so your kitty can be as comfortable as possible after the procedure is done. Good luck, I hope your cat is better soon.

Answer 6

Please have one more conversation with your vet before you make this descision. I think there might be some confusion about the situation.

First, I've never, ever heard of any animal being sedated to have nails clipped so something is odd there. Cat nail clippers are available at the pet store for about $4 and I've always clipped the nails of my own cats and dogs.

Groomers would probably not touch her in her current condition but would clip her nails in the future once the vet has fixed the problem of being ingrown and the infection is cleared up.

The above assumes that the cats paws are normal, just went too long with no clipping and grew back on themselves. The only situation in which this might not be the case is if your cat has some genetic anomaly that caused a growth mutation. You didn't mention this in the question so I'm assuming that's not the case.

Claws are a cats only nature means of defense, and personally I'm against de-clawing if it can be avoided. So please, check one more time with the vet. Hopefully, he just needs to sedate her this one time to clip the nails back to normal and then you can either clip her nails yourself or make that a part of the service your groomer provides. If there is no growth anomaly and the vet actually does intend to sedate your cat for a nail clipping, I would suggest a second opinion with a different vet. Of course if there is some valid reason that nail clipping would cost your over $1500 per year, then the de-clawing would be justified.

Answer 7

You don't have to take a cat to the vet to get its claws clipped. I clip my cats' claws every other week or so. There's been a few cats (fosters I've had) who didn't like it much... in which case I just had someone else hold them while I clip.

I would just have the vet clip them this time, take care of the infection, etc. You'll probably want to wait a month or so before clipping them the first time... just to let her paws heal up. Handle her paws often while holding her, etc. to get her used to it. Then when time comes to clip, just gently squeeze each toe (it doesnt take much at all) till the nail is extended, then clip off the hook part. Make sure not to clip the pink line that extends up the claw as it will bleed if you do...won't kill her or anything, but it will hurt and make her less cooperative in the future.

If you have more questions about clipping, feel free to email me. Like I said... I do my cats every couple weeks... I've never had a domestic cat that was so uncooperative i couldn't do it myself (or with one person's help). I HAVE had some semi-feral cats that were impossible to do... but I assume your cat is tame.

Good luck.

As for all the people saying "your vet wouldnt' tell you to do it if it weren't necessary" blah, blah, blah... MANY other countries (England, Japan, Australia, etc) have BANNED the practice of declawing. Vets continue to DO it because it's a quick buck. Type "declawing" into ANY search engine and you'll find numerous articles about how cruel it is... including big University studies, etc. I understand that this cat is having issues right now... but once the ingrown claws are trimmed and the infection cleared up, there is no reason why her claws can't just be clipped. I have had indoor only cats my whole life and I"ve NEVER declawed a cat. Nor would I. It's not a "nail removal"... it's a total amputation of the first portion of their toe. Similar to having your toes or fingers cut off at the first knuckle. YOU try digging around in a cat box after having your fingertips cut off and tell me it don't hurt.

Answer 8

Normally I cringe at the very thought of declawing... but in your cat's case, it truly IS in her best interests to be declawed. Go for it... I'd do the same if my cat had the same problem... and not just because it will cost more to have her nails constantly clipped. I think your cat will be a much happier cat if the claws were removed (in her case). Just keep her indoors coz you know she will be practically defenseless outdoors.

Answer 9

as long as she's an indoor cat, you absolutely should have her declawed,in the longrun it will save you a lot of money,and more important,save her a lot of suffering, the condition she has is very painfull and could lead to other medical problems, don't let any one make you feel guilty, you are doing the right right thing for her.they can declaw with lasersnow which is much less painful than the old way, good for you for being such a responsible pet parent!!!i hope this helps,good luck

Answer 10

Please don't have her declawed just because you can't be bothered clipping her nails. Declawing is a barbarious remedy, cruel and painful. It also could totally change her personality. Do a Google search for "cat declawing" and read about it before you make that decision. Its a horrible thing to submit your pet to.
Her nails grew the way they did because you never clipped them. Let the vet clip them now and then keep a watch on them. Learn the proper way of clipping them yourself if you can't afford to take her to the vet. I've had cats all my life and they certainly don't need to have nails clipped every two weeks.

What you have allowed to happen to your cat is really disgusting and unconscionable