My cat is declawed but he has pulled out his nails and can't retract them!

What do I do?

Well, then he's not de-clawed. . .a de-clawed cat has had his nails entirely removed; it wouldn't be possible for his nails to do anything, since they got cut off and thrown away with the other medical waste. Do you suppose he had a tendonectomy? In any case, definitely call your vet. It could a neurological problem or a muscle problem, and if he's had his tendons cut it could be a BIG problem (the procedure is listed as "Not Recommended" by the AVMA, although it was popular at one time. Lots of complications).

ETA: if he really was de-clawed (as in, nails fully removed) and you're seeing claw re-growth now, that means the de-claw wasn't done properly and he'll need surgery to fix it. It's very painful for the cat so call the vet right away. If the de-claw was recent, it could also be bone sticking through the skin. . .big emergency.

You wouldn't be able to see a claw regrowth without obvious limping beforehand and eventually blood (the skin is closed after all), so it must be a tendonectomy and not a declaw which would have removed the dystal phalanx entirely so there is no claw nor possible germinal cells for one to regrow or the less common practice of leaving the bone and only shaving the claw off.

Regarding the procedure though, it is a bit misleading to say the AMVA is more against it compared to declaws as they have more or less a "not recommended" for ANY type of declaw: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr03/030415c.asp  unless I just have old info.   Comparing the two, they found that tendonectomies had no higher rate of complication compared to declaws.  

While cats who received the tendonectomy showed significantly lower pain scores immediately post operatively, both procedures showed an equal frequency of other complications (bleeding, lameness, and infection). Owners had positive attitudes regarding both surgeries after the immediate postoperative period. Tendonectomy may be a humane alternative to onychectomy, although owners need to be advised that nail trimming is still necessary in cats after surgery. ( J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;218:43–47)

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In a tendonectomy, the claw shouldn't be able to stay pulled down though, so I'm a bit confused.  The natural state of rest has a tendon that causes it to stay retracted until the muscle below pulls on it, which it can't.   Can you elaborate a bit?

Ducman, you may want to review a more current AVMA link: "AVMA Policy: Declawing of Domestic Cats," (updated 4/2009) http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/declawing.asp Fourth bullet point: "The surgical alternative of tendonectomy is not recommended."

madisonrenae: in order to provide any advice, we need more information. But that's really pretty moot - it seems a trip to the vet asap is in order. vibes for your baby.

Lol, LDG beat me to it. I think there was a longer discussion as to why they no longer recommend tendonectomy, I'll try to find it.

I hope whatever is wrong with your kitty is fixed soon!

LDG said:

Ducman, you may want to review a more current AVMA link

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The same lines word-for-word were in the link I provided (4th line vs 4th bullet), I was just pointing out that it is not less recommended by the AVMA compared to onychectomy due to complication rate, as the complication rate was the same in their study.  

Sorry, I assumed it wasn't in your link because of your statement. I don't know why it isn't recommended vs. onychectomy, but clearly the AVMA does not recommend tendonectomy, and cautions vets to educate people to alternatives to onychectomy.

Thanks everyone for the info. I will take him to the vet. I am just worried because I don't want him going under again for surgery. He's about a yr and a half old I don't know if that makes a difference. Whatever it is that was done to his paws was done around 4 months old. And it was only one claw that came out. But now recently its like 5 now. Like I said I just don't want hum to go under for surgery.

Can you post a picture?  I don't fully understand what "claw came out" means.

Yes, a picture might be good, as I'm wondering too, what this could actually be! 

that your kitty gets "fixed" (I can't think of how else to put it, sorry )  soon

So sorry your kitty is having this problem. I would absolutely take the cat into a vet right away. Please let us know how thing's go :cross:

Have an appointment tonight. He won't let me take pictures. But ill update you guys later. Thanks for caring. I hate that most people I talk to don't care and just think any cat owner is a crazy cat woman.

I'm so glad you were able to get her an appointment. Hope all will be OK.

Glad you have that appt. Hope it goes well :cross:

p.s. I have come to be proud of the "crazy cat lady" label I am CRAZY about cat's and I am a lady

I have heard of claws regrowing (usually in a bad manner) from incorrectly done declawing.  That may be what we're dealing with here.

Mrblanche that's exactly what it was. The previous vet did NOT declaw correctly. He left fragments behind that were able to grow out. So this new vet who has seen this many times is going to fix it or re do the procedure. It was the worst appointment I'd ever been to just because I had never heard Toby scream at all and man did he use those lungs. The vet said he has been masking his pain and didn't like being touched. We get blood work back in a few days and we make another appointment for the surgery after he's cleared.

Yes, this is one of the unfortunate results of declawing.  Poor Toby.

OMG- hun, I am soooooo sorry and sooooo sad for you and Toby. My heart goes out to him. What a terrible situation. Please know we are here for you and are sending Toby loads and loads of vibes that he will be pain free after the surgery. This DOES happen with declaw's and many people don't realize that can happen. SOOOO glad you have a plan now and Toby will be better soon :nod:

Poor kitty

Poor little guy .  In the meantime, is he on any pain meds or anything?  that all goes well