Declaw recovery. Happy kitten.

This is the morning following a declaw procedure. Does this cat appear uncomfortable?

Declaw your cat if you have small children, are HIV positive, have very valuable furniture or any combination of the above. It's a life-saving procedure for the cat, and if done correctly with a precision plastic surgeon bone cutter preserving as much of p3 as possible, and single sutures in the distal part of the incision to prevent the skin from separating, and good pain management including local "novacaine" nerve blocks and IV opiods before the procedure. This video is the morning after the declaw.

Most feline claw amputation patients are kept in the hospital overnight so they do not ooze blood in the owner's home. I put bandages on them, but they quickly shake their pressure bandages off within 2 hours of surgery (cats hate the bandages), and walk around, just a bit gimpy, but normal by the next day.

Preserving P3 keeps the extensor tendons attached to the digit so they land squarely on their pads and do not develop ulcers in the distal part of their pad. These are the cats you see jump down from a high place and limp a bit after that. Veterinarians need to get their heads together on technique, but banning this procedure would be tragic.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Cat
• Declaw
• Claw
• Amputation
• Humane
• PETA
• Feline
• HIV
• Children