HELP!! I declawed my cat. Now unable...?

Question

to walk she, limps. Vet said it just takes time. It's been over 2 months. Is there anyone that can give me advice?

Answer 1

My only advice is to rethink your sorry life and really reflect on WHY exactly you wanted to rip the claws out of your cat's paws. Animal hating sociopaths are not prized owners of cats. I pray someone close to you contacts some sort of authority to take your cat from your possession.

Answer 2

10 reasons not to declaw your cat
1. Declawing is major surgery. Like any surgery, there are risks
2. The surgery includes the removal of the entire claw and the entire first joint (just like removing the first joint of all your fingers).
3. Once the anesthesia wears off, the cat is in pain.
4. The cat is often confused after the surgery, and may exhibit strange behavior.
5. A declawed cat can never go outside. If it gets outside by mistake, it is completely defensless.
6. Some declawed cats become biters or "batters".
7. Scratching is natural for cats-a completely natural behavior.
8. It is easy to learn how to trim a cat's claws.
9. It is easy to teach a cat to use a cat tree or scratching post.
10. Spraying a cat with a fine mist of water(from a spray bottle) will train a cat to "stay away" or "stay off".

Take your furbaby to see another vet. Don't do it to any more cats. It is cruel.

Answer 3

If it's been 2 months and your cat still limps, your vet probably used a cheap procedure (which is why declawing has such a reputation for being cruel). Many clinics will use fast techniques to remove the claws to be able to offer the service cheaper to their clients. However, these procedures leave part of the toe bone on the toe, instead of removing it at the knuckle. This little nub of bone left on the end of the toe causes pain the rest of the cat's life.

When proper technique is used to remove the entire toe bone, the cat experiences no pain at all once healed. The toe pads are left intact, and the weight of the cat is placed on them just as it was before, only the bone holding the claw is no longer there. That last bone actually supports no weight of the cat, it is only there to maintain the claw. The weight bearing toe bones, once they are healed and are not impacted on the remaining nubs present in cheap procedures, will feel just the same when walking as an unaltered cat.

Answer 4

I agree with Jen, probably not done properly. Have a different vet check it out as 2 months is way too long for healing. I support declawing because many cats would not be in homes without it. It is NOT like removing the last part of your finger or tearing a nail out. It is simply removing the nail from the tendon that allows it to retract and extend.

Answer 5

You know, I have to think that you are a kind human being, as you adopted a kitten and are giving it veterinary care. However, you made a choice that obviously many people feel very strongly about.

I feel bad that you are going to read all of these harsh responses, insulting your personality and integrity because you made this one controversial choice. If you are the sensitive person I think you are, they will probably make you feel bad. They are making you out to be some sort of kitten-torturing monster, when you are just an adoptive parent trying to make the right decisions. Don't let it get you down, just try to learn from the experience and reconsider the next time. Things can go wrong with any surgical operation, whether it's a spay/neuter, the benefits of which nobody would argue, or a declaw, which many animals rights activists do argue.

Just so you know, I have been a cat owner/lover my whole life. I had many cats growing up, outdoor cats, indoor cats, none of them declawed. When I went to college, I adopted a kitten to keep me company. It was the first time I was individually wholly responsible for an animal. My landlords had said it was ok to adopt a kitten in my furnished apartment. However, once I got her home, and she started behaving like a normal kitten (i.e., tearing up, climbing, and shredding everything within reach), they insisted that I either declaw her or get rid of her. There was NO WAY I was going to get rid of her, and being young as I was, didn't feel I had any ground to stand on to argue my lease. Nor could I afford to move. So, I did it, thinking it was like having her fingernails removed. Either we didn't know back then (1990) that it was like removing the first joint of the finger, or it just wasn't so widely publicized. Everything went fine with her surgery, luckily, and she went on to lead a long and healthy life, with no seeming side effects to her personality or health.

Three years later, I adopted another kitten to keep her company. I wasn't going to declaw him, but after a few weeks of him tormenting her, and she unable to fight back, I relented. I had him declawed, and it went well, but I did accidentally step on his little paw post-surgery, and he bled, and I felt like a bad kitty momma. He recovered (and forgave me), but did develop the side effect of becoming very bitey. Still is, to this day, at 12 years old.

Fast forward to today. I have two 6-month old kittens, plus the declawed 12-year-old. I have vowed not to declaw these two, no matter the consequences to my house. (Including my $5,000 sofa they fervently believe to be a scratching post.) We clip their claws ourselves and when we visit the vet. I will be looking into the "soft paws" product as well.

I made this decision based on what I had learned over the past 35 years of cat ownership and research. But my point is, I am a fervent cat lover, yet I had still made the same decision as you did in the past due to lack of knowledge. It was also the lesser of two evils at the time.

Since you have already done the declawing and now have to live with it, just learn from the research that is really isn't the best thing to do to a cat. Take her to another vet, it's possible yours doesn't want to admit they may have botched something. Or maybe it's an infection from the surgery. Just take care of kitty the best that you can from now on; give her a good long life full of love and care, and don't let these people make you feel bad about yourself because of one less than stellar decision. Just please don't do it again, and keep sharing your home and love with kitties who need it.

Answer 6

Did the vet mention that a cat, when awake, spends about 1/3 of its time grooming itself? That the claws play an important role in this function, and that grooming is the way a cat helps to control its body temperature, its scent signals, skin irritations, and more?

Did the vet mention that the cat requires its claws for balance, to jump, to climb, and that “declawing” your cat then makes your cat susceptible to back problems, arthritis, joint problems and other foot problems that he would not otherwise face – because declawing results in a gradual weakening of the back, shoulder and leg muscles? Did the vet mention that cats walk on their toes, not the pads of their feet, and declawing forces them to walk in an unnatural way?

Did the vet mention that many declawed cats resort to biting as an alternative method of defense? That some declawed cats become very aggressive because their primary defense is taken away? That many declawed cats stop using the litterbox because it is so painful?

Please reconsider having it done ever again,. since there is nho benefot for the cat and it was most likely done for elective reasons like furniture.

A cat comes with claws, and there are alternatives - (I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's the ugly truth) was this really worth seeing this happen to your cat?


Scratching is not a behavior problem. It is a natural function of a cat, and as cat owners/guardians, we must address their need to scratch. There are MANY alternatives to declawing.

The rate of complication is relatively high compared with other so-called routine procedures. Complications of this amputation can be excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw which is not visible to the eye, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken.

Other complications include postoperative hemorrhage, either immediate or following bandage removal is a fairly frequent occurrence, paw ischemia, lameness due to wound infection or footpad laceration, exposure necrosis of the second phalanx, and abscess associated with retention of portions of the third phalanx. Abscess due to regrowth must be treated by surgical removal of the remnant of the third phalanx and wound debridement. During amputation of the distal phalanx, the bone may shatter and cause what is called a sequestrum, which serves as a focus for infection, causing continuous drainage from the toe. This necessitates a second anesthesia and surgery. Abnormal growth of severed nerve ends can also occur, causing long-term, painful sensations in the toes. Infection will occasionally occur when all precautions have been taken.

Answer 7

Take the cat to another vet. Removing the claws on a cat is an amputation. The cat should be healed now. If too much was removed or an infection has entered the site, a vet would be the only reliable source I would check. The healing time has long passed. Make sure your cat (cats are excellent escape artists) does not ever get out of your house as with out claws it has no way to defend itself nor provide food for itself. Just cutting the cats claws is safer for you and your cat. In some states now removing claws is illegal.

Answer 8

Hm, mostly harsh answers - declawing cats is probably the most taboo subject on Yahoo Pets!

2 months is definitely far, far too long for a cat to be limping for any reason. She should've been healed long ago. Sadly, this is the risk one takes when they have their cat declawed. It isn't worth it, no exception.

Certainly take the cat to another vet as soon as possible. She may need further surgery to correct the problem, but what's been taken away can not be stuck back on. I hope she can be fixed and that you don't declaw any more cats in future.

Chalice

Answer 9

See if your vet can give your cat a pain shot. They last 3 days. Or a few days worth of pain pills. If she doesn't limp while on them, she still needs healing time..some cats are slow healers. Take her to a second vet for another opinion. If she still limps, she may just be truly enjoying your sympathetic attention.

Answer 10

See another vet. Something is definitely wrong.

Jen has given a very good description of what a declawing involves. It is not the equivalent of cutting off the end of human fingers or pulling fingernails out.

Answer 11

when i declawed my two male cats they both limped for about 4 months. she will get over it. it just takes time... like the vet said...