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The pain of declawing

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  • The pain of declawing

    I've never been a strong opponent of declawing. I don't like it but I'd rather people declaw their cats than dump them at the shelter if that's their only option. There are enough cats in the shelters. After our recent problem, I would encourage anyone to avoid declawing their cat if at all possible.

    We got Ned as an adult. He was sitting in a Petsmart adoption cage asking my husband to take him home. He had half a tail and was already declawed. We've had him for about 5 years. From time to time he would chew on his front toe. It would bleed just a little bit, heal up, and it would be fine for a while. It didn't seem to bother him. No limping, no swelling, he was his usual self (aside from chewing on his toe), ruling the house as King Ned. At his last exam he had just chewed open his toe again so we remembered to mention it to the vet. He was also due for a dental (and ended up needing a tooth extracted) so the vet said he'd do an exploratory while he was under. The piece of bone/nail bed he removed was incredible! It was probably about 1/4 inch long (we kept it). What we think was happening was the nail would grow and once it got long enough to bother him Ned would chew through his toe to bite the nail off. Poor Ned! He's back home now and looking all miserable with his kitty head cone. He should feel better once he's all healed up though!

    The lesson here: if you absolutely have to have your cat declawed, make sure you go to a good vet who knows what he's doing!

    Julie
    Julie
    Duds and Miles 5- and 6-year-old fawns, Smudge (terrier mix); Bobke, Fig, Olive, Albert (cats); Einstein (African Grey), Rocky (Amazon Parrot).
    RIP Willow 12/95 - 04/04, Maia 03/05 - 10/11, Maverick 11/07-10/14, Spencer 05/06-12/14
    Upper Midwest Great Dane Rescue Volunteer www.thegreatdanerescue.com
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