slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (08/10/85)
Since we were taking the 5 cats into the vet today for their
last leukemia shot, (I just love having 5 scared, howling
cats in the car with me :-) I took the opportunity to ask
him about declawing. Here is what he said.
There are two methods of declawing. One, which was used in
the place where he worked before setting up his own practice,
is quite an operation. After cutting out the claws manually,
they usually cauterize and stitch the wounds. He said it
causes pain, takes quite a while to heal, and the infection
rate is quite high.
The method he uses takes about 5 minutes for both paws. He
uses a little device which plucks out the claws. No cutting
is involved. This is not amputation. He does not need to
use a general anesthetic, but rather one which leaves the cat
conscious but feeling no pain (rather like some parties I've
been to :-). There is no cauterization or stitches. He bandages
the paws, and keeps the cats overnight. The next day he takes off the
bandages and keeps the cats long enough to make sure they
are not bleeding before they go home.
With this method, it is as I observed with my cats--they
show no pain, and are able to walk normally from the first
day. You would never know it's been done. He asks that they
be kept quiet for a day or so, otherwise, all is normal.
He said in 13 years the only problem he has had is an
occasional restart of bleeding. This usually happens with
a very heavy cat that jumps a lot--a big Tom that just can't
be kept quiet, for instance. In this case, he just bandages
it again and keeps it overnight. He has also seen the claws
grow back--in that case he repeats the procedure. He has
NEVER had a case of infection from this method.
His general impression was that if you have an indoor cat,
you should get it done. He says that cats scratch--that
is their nature, and it is a rare cat that will not damage
furniture. Both of his cats are declawed.
He said also that there are vets who still do things the old
way--that is where the horror stories come from. He said there
are good and bad vets and it is too bad that some don't know
how to handle this properly.
He says that neutering and spaying are serious operations, and
that declawing is not. They aren't in the same league.
So, if you have your cat declawed--check on how your vet
does it--perhaps ask friends who have had it done. If your
vet claims it is a serious operation then he does not do
it properly--find someone else.
--
Sue Brezden
Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
AT&T Information Systems
11900 North Pecos
Westminster, Co. 80234
(303)538-3829
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