Have you ever declawed any of your cats?

Question

What was it like after surgery? Did it affect their personality? Details?

P.S.
I dont care from the people who are against declawing. I'm not looking to get b**** at.
THANKS!

My beautiful babies!!

Tucker
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/sexziashley21/SSPX2072.jpg

Lola- (older now)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/sexziashley21/lola.jpg

Angus-
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/sexziashley21/SSPX2801.jpg

All three are and will be FOREVER INDOOR cats.

Answer 1

I have had cats forever, some declawed and some not.
I currently have 12 cats. 6 declawed and 6 not. If I am going to have the cat declawed I usually have it done at the same time I have them neutered/spayed. None of the cats I have had declawed have ever had a problem. A lot depends on the vet you use. Some are good, some are not.
I have never had a cat's personality change because of the declaw or the neutering/spaying.
When you take the cat home after having it declawed, you are told to keep it from jumping and playing for about a week. Hah! Does not work. Cats are smart, they know what they can and cannot do.
I am sure there is some pain involved but none of mine ever seemed to be affected negatively by it.
Do not let people on here keep you from doing this if it is something you have given a lot of thought to. Talk to your vet. They are the experts, not the trolls that show up here.

Answer 2

Please don't declaw your cat! Declawing may be very painful for cats, and will depart them with long term bodily and emotional issues to be able to most effective intent extra "unhealthy" habits. You certainly do not desire your cat to give up utilising the litterbox on the grounds that the muddle is now painful on the ones mutilated paws, or to begin "marking" your carpet and garments on the grounds that of the trauma of being maimed. Get a scratching publish or 3, and gain knowledge of methods to instruct your cat to make use of them. Declawing isn't an proper or civilized reaction to a cat's usual have to scratch. It's already been made unlawful in lots of areas in Europe, and a quantity of towns within the United States are running on following swimsuit. That's a well factor. There is particularly simply little need for this sort of merciless train.

Answer 3

Yes, when I moved to the home I was renting from my parents, I had 4 cats at the time, one cat Munch scratched on every piece of woodwork in the house, one day my dad saw her and said either the cat goes or she gets declawed. Well I got her declawed the next week. Post surgery my vet kept her on pain meds and of course antibiotics, her sutures were absorbable and special litter is required. Other than that she was just the same fresh little cat she had always been.

PS-she still scratches on every piece of woodwork in the house.

Please understand, I am not an advocate for declawing, however, I do believe in certain circumstances it has to be done. Discuss your concerns with your veterinarian-he/she will be able to help you with your decision.

Answer 4

Declawed cats can turn into biters, may stop using the box and sometimes will turn into scaridy-cats. Also some cats will get regrowths later on in life and they're at a greater risk from arthritis in old age. None of this is a given, so reports of people saying their cat was just fine doesn't prove yours will be okay; it is a *risk* you're taking. A rather big risk if you ask me, especially because it is unnecessary. I live in Europe, declawing is illegal here, yet we have lots of cats, lots of nice furniture, lots of babies... As a matter of fact, even though I know dozens of cat owners (and all clawed cats since, as I said, declawing isn't an option), I don't personally know anyone whose furniture is all torn up. If we can train our cats, why should you not be able to? We don't have a different breed of cats!

The article in the source has loads of information on why cats scratch and how to train them to use a scratching post. Please give it a try -even if it's just to show us Europeans that Americans can d*mn well train their cats too :-)

Answer 5

I've lived with cats all my life, all of them declawed. Their paws are sore for about a week after surgery (although, of course, less so as time goes on, the first day or two is the only time they MIGHT be "in pain". You will have to use shredded paper for their litter for a little while. Usually they are just fine. ONE time I had a young cat get into a too-serious tussle with my other cat the day after his declawing, and something happened with his stitches. His paw started bleeding, but it wasn't serious. He healed fine. You should try to keep them calm, quiet, and restful for the first couple days after surgery. NO PERSONALITY CHANGES OCCUR FROM DECLAWING. Anyone who says otherwise is just being a moron because they think declawing is evil. All the cats in our family have been declawed. They are still good mousers, and we even had one accidentally get outside and win a fight against a younger, larger, intact Tom. But a declawed kitty should probably be an indoor kitty.

If you aren't sure about declawing, you can try scratching posts, water guns, etc to train them not to claw things they're not supposed to.

I've always found that I'm more uptight about it than the cat. They always freak me out when I bring them home, because they're jumping on the couch, etc, like normal, and I'm cringing, thinking they should take it easy on the paws.

Answer 6

I don't care if you are not wanting to hear from people that are against declawing, I want to point out the facts that you will be facing if you choose to declaw your babies.

They do not just remove the claw, they cut the bone down to the first knuckle. So that would be like someone cutting all your fingers down to the first joint. It is excrutiatingly painful for the cat to even walk for the first few weeks. There are high risks of infection.

A long term effect will be the loss of balance and muscle density that can usually be found in declawed cats.

Personailty is affected in some cats. They become more withdrawn and wary. It is defiintly not a good experience for them and trust me, they remember.

Be prepared for a lot of accidents as most cats refuse to use a litter box for a month or so afterwards as it simply hurts too much.

You will also have to find a vet willing to do the surgery. A lot of good vets refuse to declaw now. In fact it is even banned in the UK.

Oh and your cats will never ever be able to go outside, and if they accidently escape they are pretty much screwed.

Basically you will be putting your babies through a lot of pain for what purpose? To save your furniture? What is more important to you? Also there are excellent alternatives such as soft paws gels caps that go over the claws and sticky paws furniture protectors.

Please make an informed chioce

Oh: and to the poster above me, there are no long term health problems with spaying and neutering and you actually decrease the risk of cancer. And they no longer remove the testicles with a male cat, they do it just like a human visectomy. So, yes I can give an answer.

Answer 7

All of these people are here ranting and raving about the dangers of declawing and the cruelty of declawing...you're all a bunch of fu ck ing nutjobs. Get over yourselves PLEASE. In regards to declawing, I (front) declawed both of my cats when they were less than a year old, they were achy for about a week, and then they went right back to being normal. I don't care about anyone else's opinion! The surgery, while mainly cosmetic (saving furniture & reducing risks of kids getting scratched) did not harm my animals in anyway. They are normal, well adjusted happy cats, they have no problems walking, no "psychological damage" as some people claim....anyway, I just think that if you are planning on having children AFTER you have pets like cats, then declawing is a safety measure you take. Or if you like your furniture. Try a scratching post first, but it's just easier to get the declaw done. My cats were under anesthesia, and treated better by the vet than most people are treated in the hospital. All you friggin' weirdos who've got nothing better to do than sit at home and worry about your animals GET A LIFE. My pets are just like children to me, but to assume that a tried and true practice is "torture" is assanine. Please, take a pill.

Answer 8

I will answer from my experience in animal rescue. Many times when someone calls us with behavioral problems it turns out the cat is declawed. Some cats are fine, but many are not. It can cause them to become biters and also going outside of the litter box. They will do both of these because after time the nerve endings become more sensitive and they don't want to used their paws for anything other than to walk on. I have never declawed a cat, and never plan on doing so. I have no problems with furniture destruction in my house. Just ask yourself if you would have your childrens fingers or toes cut off because they messed up something in your house. That is basically what it does to your cat. Please read up on declawing before making in that decision.

P.S. - I have seen cats in recovery after this surgery as well. They can't really use the litter box, and have a very difficult time getting around. This poor cat was trying to get to his water and on top of the after effects of the anesthesia he really couldn't get around at all. It is a very sad thing to see.

Answer 9

I declawed my male cat a few years ago. It seemed painful for him but he came through it fine. He licked at his paws for a couple days... but I'm sure it hurt a little or even felt weird. He was up and going about a day after AND he was neutered. He does not really like going outside now, but we also got him neutered too. He still thinks he has his claws because he sets and scratches at boxes. He stills loves to play with me and my dogs in the house. I think it is your opinion about declawing it really is your choice. Don't let everyone make you scared, it is okay to declaw... I worked at a vet office where we declawed many cats in one day... Good luck!!!

To a poster above, yes some vets do remove the testicles when they neuter... I worked at a vet office that does!!! I also don't believe it is that hard to find a vet to declaw... most around me will...

I will also say I HAVE had a cat declawed and it was using the litter box the day it came home, don't let all these people try to get you scared when they have not even experienced it.

He also likes going outside on warm days now... and he is still alive and I live in the country, so they have chances.

Answer 10

I had all of my cats declawed except for one he was a stray that I took in, (He was about three years old) he was fixed but not declawed. He never scratched anything and was the perfect indoor cat. After him I got a free kitten who scratched everything and destroyed everything that he could so I had him fixed and declawed, his little feet looked bad for about a week but it never slowed him down and he continued to chew on things and used his toes as if he still had claws. my mother got a siamese from a shelter (along with two orange tabbies) as a kitten and had her declawed and she has never walked the same since. She is not in pain but kind of slinks her front legs, it's very strange. the other two cats were declawed at the same time by the same vet and are perfectly fine. I feel that it is best to have all indoor cats declawed to prevent any household damage and I will continue to declaw all of my cats (unless they are older and like the stray that I had, he was an angel)