Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG  Claws are not attached to bone, they're attached to tendons, that's why they retract. That information sounds like it cannot be correct, which is probably why you can't find anything on it.
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The claw would flop around like jellow without a support structure. A cat's claws are attached to the distal phalanx bone, out of which they grow. They retract for the same reason you can clamp your fingers; its nail attached to skeletal structure for support, which has ligaments attached to muscle tissue which contracts for movement.
Typically the bone is removed completely, as if any germinal cells remain the claw can regrow. As long as the shave is sufficient, I suppose this procedure could work, although I don't believe its very common and I don't know what the benefit would be, as the cat does NOT walk on the retracted claw bone whatsoever, as many anti-declaw sites falsely claim, and the risk of painful regrowth would put me off to that.
The other three types of standard declaws are:
1) Tendectomy: This leaves the claw and the bone intact, but severs the tendon which allows the cat to extend the claw. The downside of this procedure is that the claw will continue to grow in a curved manner at an accelerated rate without repeat scratching, and eventually will contact the pad. Regular trimming is thus required.
2) Scalpel declaw: Removes the entire bone and severs the tendons attached to it. This is a "traditional" declaw and relatively inexpensive but with the longest recovery period.
3) Laser declaw: Identical to the scalpel declaw, but with major benefits. The laser not only cuts precisely if used by a skilled operator with different beam intensities, but it also instantly cauterizes blood vessels and nerve endings. For this reason bleeding and pain are reduced, recovery time decreased, and bandages are optional. The downside is that the cost is 3-4 times that of a traditional scalpel declaw to recover the costs of the expensive equipment and training required.
If your friend is considering a declaw, I would insist they go with the laser route and verify that the technician has experience (ask how many have been performed) and what the precautions and post surgery care are. They should generally keep the cat for 24 hours, administer pain meds (less pain does NOT mean no pain), and ensure they have a heating pad while under anesthesia and the like and what documentation the owner will receive (its recommended to use a fresh batch of yesterday's news).
And of course as everyone already knows, that is only after exploring all other avenues for avoiding unnecessary surgery in the first place.
