My cat can't put pressure on both paws...

...because she is declawed.

I know 99% of you won't be able to help me.

She is a beautiful cat about 2-3 years old who was a stray that I adobpted. One of the side effects of declawing is biting, she does have a nasty bite. I cannot examine her left paw unless I give her a bath and wrap her in a towel. She might have a burr that grew back, like an ingrown toenail.

She has psychological problems and went absolutely ballistic last time I took her to the vet for her shots and the vet had to use a restraining collar. The vet told me "You should take her to the pound". If you were there you would have said the same thing, she went crazy.

When she sits, she does not put pressure on her left paw. I just tried to look at it (her back feet and teeth did a number on my arms). I'lll have to get her wet, then wrap her, then examine her left paw.

Well I`m sorry for your kitty. Some of these babies can sure have problems from being declawed, which I`m sure you are finding out.
Apparently she has SOMTHING going on with that paw, and if your vets only solution is to "take her to the pound" Then I`d find another vet!!!!!!
If she is that tramatized going to the vet , then there should be something they can give you to give her at home before you take her in, to help her remain calm so that she can be examined when she gets there, without all the stress on her, you ,and the vet.
Hopefully it is somehting that can be simply remedied.
Give her a couple of head strokes, and under the chin "scritches" from me.
Let us know what the NEW vet has to say.
Linda

Thank you, great idea, something to calm her down before we go. My vet is a good vet, he hired a holistic vet too. Believe me, if you were there you would have seen a cat that actually bounced off the walls, she was absolutely wild, I have never seen anything like it, I did not expect her to do this, she was new to me at the time. She could not be contained in ANY way.

Thank you for your answer.

Try giving her some Rescue Remedy before you go, it may help calm her down. It sounds like she really does need to have her foot looked at by the vet.

When people are tramatized and hurt....often they are TRIGGERED by circumstances that seem familiar to the abuse.....so even the smells of the vets office may be triggering your kitty with such a response.....esp if she associates it with having been hurt at a vets before (such as in a declawing)
And especially if she is new to you ,she probably has`nt had enough time yet to bond with ,and trust even you in such a setting yet.
I hope they can give her something to calm her down before you take her back.....I`m sure her response to the terror she was feeling was upsetting to all that were present......but if your vet is a good vet, then you need to tell him that she is not normally like that....that it was because she was THERE...so that he will be more sympathetic and not make suggestions like that again to the next person. (About taking the cat to the pound) That would`nt "set" too well with very many of his patients owners I`m sure!
Please keep us updated as to what they can do for her.
I`ll be praying for her.....and what is her name, by the way?
Linda

Bless you for loving this little one so much to seek the best treatment for her. You've been given excellent advice. I definitely recommend Rescue Remedy. If necessary, I wonder if your Vet could give you a mild sedative to administer to her prior to her visit so that she will feel more calm in this situation that is so scary for her. Going to the Vet is difficult even on the best of days for our kitties who have been going their entire life. Add to this, though, that she is a former stray just learning to trust new family, is completely unfamiliar with her new Vet, has been traumatized in the past in a similar situation, and to top it all off, she is in pain. Bless her. She is definitely in need of treatment for her poor little paw before this infection gets any worse. Thank you for rescuing her, you are her angel! Kisses to her precious paw

Here is a picture of Cassy, short for Cassandra. (The name on her collar was Cass) when she walked into my yard last year) I kept the name, I loved the name, but, now thinking what stampit3d said about the 'tramitized trigger thing' maybe I should have changed it so it does not associate with her past.

And I agree with giving her meds before going to the vet, I do agree that she knows exactly what goes on at the vets.

Thanks for all the advice, I will check into the sedative and the Rescue Remedy. She is a beautiful cat.

It has been quite a year-getting more litter boxes, changing food, getting the two cats to get along, getting their bedding in the right spots so they don't fight, moving litter boxes so they don't fight, etc. etc. Now that they are civil to each other, this happens with Cassy's foot.



Sorry, I can't get the photo onto this post, it has to be a link, too many error messages come up.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/DSC03451.jpg

Oh my! Cassy is BEAUTIFUL! She just looks so noble! (Actually she has the look on her face though of "drat the luck! She caught me just as I was going for those flowers!)
I like her name too...and would have kept it. She probably does`nt associate her name with trama....but she sure does the vets office, by the sounds of it!
I`m praying all turns out well for Cassy at the next vets visit.
Linda

Since she tends to bite, and since there are going to be times in her life where you have to examine her whether she likes it or not, you may want to get a muzzle for her--the ones I've seen are nylon and have velcro for easy fastening.

http://www.amazon.com/Muzzle-Nylon-C.../dp/B000O5K5AG