Botched declaw?

ok to make sure it's clear, I did not have Burlington declawed, I hate declawing and am against it. He was declawed when I adopted him. 

He's understandably very protective of his feet and doesn't like them touched. When we got him, there was a clicking sound when he walked, but he had some cat litter and poop stuck to his paw and I thought it was that. I tried to get it off and he wouldn't let me (he's very good with his back claws for defending himself), but once he started feeling healthy again and started grooming himself, I figured he would clean it off and he'd be fine. 

But now he's started limping, and licking at his foot a lot. I've tried several times to get a look at his foot to see why, but he just has a fit about having it touched, and with so much hair on it (Maine Coons tend to have a lot of hair between their toes), I just can't see anything. At first we thought he'd gotten stung by a bee, because we had an issue with a bee nest and a few bees got in the house, so I figured he'd be fine in a few days after the sting healed.

I hadn't noticed the clicking in a while, but today he walked across the wood floor and he was clicking loudly, and he was limping much worse. He came in the living room and was sitting and holding up his paw. I looked at it again and he finally cooperated just enough for me to examine it a little more closely, and he's got a claw on the second toe from the outside of his foot. I couldn't look at it for very long because he started struggling and fighting with me, but it's obviously sore and the source of his problem, but it doesn't look exactly right, like it's not a normal looking claw, and it's not coming from exactly the right spot, and it also doesn't appear to retract at all.

Has anyone else seen this? He's got a vet appointment to follow up with his treatment for calicivirus on Monday, but I have a new job and I will have to reschedule it either to a bit later in the day so my boyfriend can take him in, or move it to later in the week, so I'll have the vet take a look at it. But I wanted to see if anyone here has any experience with this. He was brought into the shelter as a stray, so I have no idea how long ago the declaw was done, or where it was done. The shelter said he is 4-5 years old, but I suspect he may be somewhat younger than that.

This poor cat, a rundown for those not familiar, I adopted him about 6 weeks ago. They said he had a respiratory infection, but he got very sick a couple days later and ended up hospitalized for 2 days and was diagnosed with calicivirus. He's got a funny looking eye that I am starting to suspect may be glaucoma, which may mean he could end up losing his eye at some point. And we've also discovered that he is likely deaf. He just does not respond to sound at all, and we can shout his name and he doesn't even twitch an ear. And now this thing with the claw. But he's such a sweet boy! This is a pic I took the day I brought him home. His coat looks much better now, I need to get some new pics.

From what I remember reading some where it is possible for claws to grow back on a declawed cat, if the claw was not completely removed. When this happens it is very likely that the claw may be deformed. If you can get him into the vets on Monday with a later appointment, I would do so. From what you are describing this is causing him pain, and I would want to make sure for myself that it wasn't causing him any other issues such as an infection. Poor baby, sounds like he has been through a lot. Hope he starts feeling better soon, and he is definitly a handsome looking boy.

BarbH is correct, when his declaw was done there was enough nailbed left unremoved to grow a new/deformed nail, and it is surely bothering him.

Your vet will likely say this will take a small surgery to repair, like a re-declawing but for just the one nail.

Declawing is so awful, causes sooo many other issues.

Some cats become biters, others wont step on cat litter anymore, as I have seen, some live with very sensitive paws for the rest of their lives.

For hearing, the vet can tell for sure, but if you whistle, even if it doesn't get his attention, watch his ears closely. If they turn at all, he hears it. To what degree would be in question.

Good luck! Glad he has a loving new home.

I'm sorry I can't give you any advice on the declawing and regrowth although I am aware it can happen: I live in the UK and it isn't done here (thankfully).  Just wanted to say good vibes for your lovely big furboy.  What a hard time he's having.  He is extremely lucky that you have offered him a furever home with anything and everything that comes with him.  I hope everyone is settling in together and Burlington's health starts to settle down too so he can just chill out and enjoy cat life for a bit.  His paw must be very painful.  I am guessing from your description of how protective he is of his paws there is no way you would be able to dress it with anything to reduce the pressure that gets put on the affected pad until you see the vet on Monday?

If one of you can get him to the vet on Monday I'd try to do that.  It is a shame it was not apparent before your last trip as I know it's a long journey for you all and each time must be pretty traumatic for Burlington.  As that was less than a week ago the claw seems to have become painful very quickly and I'd be inclined not to wait longer for it to be seen, esp. as risks of infection might increase.

 

If the vet has any appointments open after 5pm (I know he's open later than 5) then my boyfriend will take him in when he gets off work. Otherwise it will have to be another evening this week, or Thursday. I'm working two jobs at the moment, so I am kinda stuck on time.

At this point I don't think it's infected. There's no heat or swelling. I noticed it because the ped just felt hard, and then I found the nail above it. I will be keeping a very close eye on it between now and the vet appointment, though. Now that I know exactly where the problem is, I can take a look at it in the short amount of time that Burlington allows it. He's VERY good with those back claws, and is a strong boy!

I just feel so bad that with all he's been through, now he's likely got a painful surgery coming up. And of course I'm worried about the cost, as I just had surgery of my own and missed work, and will likely be laid off, probably permanently, very soon, and am about to start taking classes to find a better job, and those cost money too. But thankfully this vet is pretty good with working with people on paying bills, so we'll sort that out and figure out how to deal with it. But he thankfully doesn't have any behavior problems from the declaw, uses the litter box, etc. He's just very sensitive and protective of his paws, which is totally understandable. He's just the most laid back, chill cat. Nothing upsets him, even when Trevor was being such a jerk and hissing and growling at him all the time. He just ignored him. Trevor is over being a jerk to him now, but Burlington still just ignores him LOL.

My guess is he's got severe hearing loss. It takes a pretty loud noise to get even a slight ear twitch out of him. I had a deaf cat when I was a kid, and there's plenty of ways of dealing with it. I love him, he's such a good boy. So it doesn't matter if he needs surgery, or he can't hear ,or needs his eye removed. He's had a hard life before I adopted him, and I want to give him a good life now. I guess this is why he doesn't seem to be afraid of the vacuum cleaner. He just casually walks out of the way. Trevor sees it come out and he takes off and hides for an hour!

There's really no reason to suspect an infection. I was also thinking, you've had him 6 weeks, and his declaw was sometime earlier in his life, so the fact would be, that claw re-grew a long time before now.

Once the vet is able to examine it, how it is growing, etc. it may not actually NEED to be removed, sort of likely, but who knows...if it grows okay and doesn't interfere, it might be fine to just keep it clipped short.

It sounds that the nail is growing through the wrong spot, not where his original nail was. This happens because the entire nail bed was removed, so the claw randomly finds a spot to break through, which would be why the pain/discomfort, also the clicking.

Yeah, pretty uncomfortable for him.

So glad he has you

Honestly, Burlington is so lucky to move in to your home, so many people would have had him back at that shelter in the blink of an eye.  He sounds gorgeous and I bet once he gets a break from all this health stuff hes going to be a real charmer.  If he's been such a sweet boy with you so far and he's been sick and in pain how lovely is he going to be once he's been well looked after for a bit longer and starts to really relax with you.

    to you guys for being such great cat people.   When you love your cats as members of your family it's hard and not everyone understands how or why we do it.   Worrying about how to meet vet bills, uncertain employment and difficulty  getting time off for vet visits is horrible.  I hope your vet is understanding about any payments and there is some way to keep it manageable for you.  Is there any mileage in going back to the shelter you got him from given how recently you adopted, and asking them for assistance?

I would have thought that where you adopted him from should pay for all these things. Did everything turn up after you adopted him? Sounds suspicious like maybe they knew he wasn't well? But he's certainly lucky to have you.

I can't offer any advice as luckily in the UK declawing is pretty much illegal. No vets will carry out the procedure (or are trained to do it). But I did want to say am so happy to read that this little cat has come to you and your obvious caring ways. Will be rooting for Burlington..

The shelter is aware that he was hospitalized but they never really had a response about it. But really, the way I see it, I adopted him, so he's my responsibility. I wasn't terribly impressed with this shelter. It's about 30 miles away, I went there because I was specifically looking for a Maine Coon and they had Burlington featured on their Petfinder page. They obviously mean well, but it wasn't as clean as it could have been, and IMO the cats are rather overcrowded. I believe it is a no-kill shelter, which is great, but cats don't do well when they are so overcrowded like that. Some of the cats are in cages and others are free roaming in the room, and you just can't walk through the room without stepping over a cat. I've been to a rescue with 90 cats in what amounts to a 3 car garage that wasn't that crowded.

With as much as he is chewing at the nail, I think it is causing him a lot of distress and will have to come out. The vet was good about the bill from when Burlington was hospitalized, I told them I could pay half then and half on my next payday, so they had me write two checks, and deposited them on the days I specified. So whatever it comes to for the surgery, I imagine we'll split it up and do it the same way.

I was telling someone about Burlington a couple weeks ago and when I told her how sick he had been, she said "So did you take him back to the shelter?" I was a little stunned at the thought, as such a thing never even entered my mind. I told her "No, I adopted him, he's mine. So whatever he needs, he'll get." Taking him back to the shelter would be a death sentence for him anyway. He got very stressed from being there just a couple weeks, and that's why he got so sick. He can't deal with that environment, it was just way too stressful for him. I'll never forget the way he looked at me when I came back the next day to get him, after they approved my application. There was just relief in his eyes, as soon as I walked in the door. He knew I was there for him. I could never turn my back on him. 

I sincerely wish declawing were illegal here. It's not hard to train a cat to a scratching post. Trevor has used one since he was very little. And when I didn't have one for a while (his got broken and I hadn't gotten around to replacing it), he started clawing the couch. I got another scratching post and he never bothered the couch again. You obviously can't train a cat to not scratch, they have to scratch, it's instinct. But if you show them where it is ok to scratch, and they keep using the couch, you've got other issues to address. Once addressed, they will use the things you gave them. It's not hard.

I also doubt the shelter was aware of his claw. They did know he was sick, they told me he had a respiratory infection and gave me the rest of the Clavamox their vet had given him. But I couldn't get him to eat and he was getting sicker instead of better, so I took him to my new vet (I just moved and am too far away from my awesome vet that I've used for years) where they told me he had calicivirus and while hospitalized they gave him 3 rounds of a couple different injected antibiotics and sent him home with a very expensive ($40!) bottle of liquid meds as well. 

I asked the shelter what was wrong with his eye, and they said they didn't know, he came in like that and it wasn't bothering him. I don't think they give real good head-to-toe inspections to the animals.

Wow, dealing with a new vet and they are being understanding already, you are very lucky.  I have my fingers crossed for you that this new vet proves to be a good one and helps you to get Burlington strong and healthy so he can get on top of the health issues his hard life has given him.  He is now in a very loving home and I look forward to hearing how he progresses, he looks as if he will be a very fine cat once he has settled and feels well.  It is heart breaking to think what life must be like for the cats who remain in the shelters.

There's a lot of vets in our area, but this one came rather highly recommended, and I was shocked to find that they were so willing to work with me on payment for his hospitalization.

He's such a doll. I'll be so glad when we have gotten his health in order and he can start being a normal, healthy cat.

Wow, this poor kitty. But he's so lucky to have found you. You're doing a wonderful job with all these issues.

Yeah, it sounds like a botch job, and one of the nails is regrowing at a weird angle and causing damage. There may be others as well that are better hidden inside the paw pad. It might be prudent to take an X-ray to see exactly what's gone wrong and if any other toes are affected. Unfortunately, another surgery to fully declaw the toe is really the only solution as far as I know. The trapped and/or deformed nail will just keep building up.

I wish it was illegal too. Just barbaric. I can't believe this guy survived outside without his primary defense, in pain, with sensory impairments. What a tough boy. Geez.

I am also sometimes a bit stunned by those comments about "sending them back" if they have any issues, as though they're a defective microwave. This is a living being. I don't really get how people can think that way. If they adopted a baby, would they "send it back" if it developed a medical problem?

Sending good vibes for Burlington and for you. Hopefully his eye isn't anything major and it's just the one claw.

Yeah I imagine we'll get an xray of both paws, just to be sure. If anything else is brewing under the surface, it will be better to take care of it all at once, rather than have to put him through that pain multiple times. Just the thought of having to do that to him again really breaks my heart. I know there's no other option, but he doesn't know anything about it. All he will know is that his paw hurts really bad   I hope they can give him some strong painkillers after. I really wonder if all of these problems are why he was outside. I think whoever had him realized he was deaf, and saw his eye issue, and the claw growing back (it's had to have been there for a while), and just didn't want to pay the vet bills. I don't think he was outside for very long though. He strikes me as the type of cat who would have gone to the nearest human and begged to go inside. He doesn't go anywhere near the door when it is open, so I don't think he ran outside and nobody could catch him. Somebody PUT him outside. That person had better hope I never learn who they are.    

And I have the same question as you about people who would "send him back." I wanted THIS CAT. I didn't want him only if he's healthy and perfect. I will love him just as much without his claws, and an eye, and his hearing, as I would if he were all in one piece and with all his senses in place. The moment I saw his picture, I knew that was my cat. And when I went to the shelter and he was lying there in the office on a blanket, sleeping, I knew he was mine even though he barely opened his eyes because he was so sick (honestly what kind of shelter knowingly adopts out sick animals?), I was sure he was mine, and I knew I had to get him out of there. It takes 24 hours to process applications, so before I left I leaned close and put my arms around him and told him that I would be back tomorrow to take him home. He was so skinny and sick, I wanted to just tuck him under my jacket and leave. He knew he was going home when I walked in the door the next day. They'd called me just as I was leaving work, I hadn't even thought to grab my cat carrier that morning. I went straight to the shelter and he rode home on the passenger seat of my car. Part of the way, he was halfway on my lap, and then he rode on the floor the rest of the way. He didn't meow or get in the way of my driving, just quietly rode along. And sick as he was, he surveyed the whole house when we got home, even going upstairs even though both rooms up there are closed off to the cats. He's a calm, confident guy. I can't say enough good things about this cat, and to think people think I should turn my back on him because he was sick, or he has a few medical issues, it boggles my mind. You have to be less than human to think like that. My boyfriend isn't even a pet person (well he's fast becoming one, but he's never really had pets before 6 months ago) and he never suggested it either.I ADOPTED him. He's my boy now.  

If only every cat could find a home like yours.  The world is so full of selfish and unkind people and it is sad that there is no way to really check people out before they adopt animals.     (Or have children for that matter).  

Will be thinking of you guys until we hear feedback from your vet appointment.  Here's to there not being more claw problems and surgery revision not too extensive.

Lilin said:

Wow, this poor kitty. But he's so lucky to have found you. You're doing a wonderful job with all these issues.

Yeah, it sounds like a botch job, and one of the nails is regrowing at a weird angle and causing damage. There may be others as well that are better hidden inside the paw pad. It might be prudent to take an X-ray to see exactly what's gone wrong and if any other toes are affected. Unfortunately, another surgery to fully declaw the toe is really the only solution as far as I know. The trapped and/or deformed nail will just keep building up.

I wish it was illegal too. Just barbaric. I can't believe this guy survived outside without his primary defense, in pain, with sensory impairments. What a tough boy. Geez.

I am also sometimes a bit stunned by those comments about "sending them back" if they have any issues, as though they're a defective microwave. This is a living being. I don't really get how people can think that way. If they adopted a baby, would they "send it back" if it developed a medical problem?

Sending good vibes for Burlington and for you. Hopefully his eye isn't anything major and it's just the one claw.

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I'm afraid I had to send a cat I'd adopted back. She was so lovely and needed to receive and give so much love but she could not be in a home with another animal. She almost killed whisky. It was with a very heavy heart that but took her back and the intelligent people at the shelter didn't even understand what a single animal home meant. I just hope it won't happen to her again.

TrevAndBur said:

Yeah I imagine we'll get an xray of both paws, just to be sure. If anything else is brewing under the surface, it will be better to take care of it all at once, rather than have to put him through that pain multiple times. Just the thought of having to do that to him again really breaks my heart. I know there's no other option, but he doesn't know anything about it. All he will know is that his paw hurts really bad   I hope they can give him some strong painkillers after. I really wonder if all of these problems are why he was outside. I think whoever had him realized he was deaf, and saw his eye issue, and the claw growing back (it's had to have been there for a while), and just didn't want to pay the vet bills. I don't think he was outside for very long though. He strikes me as the type of cat who would have gone to the nearest human and begged to go inside. He doesn't go anywhere near the door when it is open, so I don't think he ran outside and nobody could catch him. Somebody PUT him outside. That person had better hope I never learn who they are.    

And I have the same question as you about people who would "send him back." I wanted THIS CAT. I didn't want him only if he's healthy and perfect. I will love him just as much without his claws, and an eye, and his hearing, as I would if he were all in one piece and with all his senses in place. The moment I saw his picture, I knew that was my cat. And when I went to the shelter and he was lying there in the office on a blanket, sleeping, I knew he was mine even though he barely opened his eyes because he was so sick (honestly what kind of shelter knowingly adopts out sick animals?), I was sure he was mine, and I knew I had to get him out of there. It takes 24 hours to process applications, so before I left I leaned close and put my arms around him and told him that I would be back tomorrow to take him home. He was so skinny and sick, I wanted to just tuck him under my jacket and leave. He knew he was going home when I walked in the door the next day. They'd called me just as I was leaving work, I hadn't even thought to grab my cat carrier that morning. I went straight to the shelter and he rode home on the passenger seat of my car. Part of the way, he was halfway on my lap, and then he rode on the floor the rest of the way. He didn't meow or get in the way of my driving, just quietly rode along. And sick as he was, he surveyed the whole house when we got home, even going upstairs even though both rooms up there are closed off to the cats. He's a calm, confident guy. I can't say enough good things about this cat, and to think people think I should turn my back on him because he was sick, or he has a few medical issues, it boggles my mind. You have to be less than human to think like that. My boyfriend isn't even a pet person (well he's fast becoming one, but he's never really had pets before 6 months ago) and he never suggested it either.I ADOPTED him. He's my boy now.  

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The only reason I sent her back was because she violent. I couldn't have whisky being attacked all the time and he so wanted to be friends. I really wanted her but it couldn't be.

Stewball said:

I'm afraid I had to send a cat I'd adopted back. She was so lovely and needed to receive and give so much love but she could not be in a home with another animal. She almost killed whisky. It was with a very heavy heart that but took her back and the intelligent people at the shelter didn't even understand what a single animal home meant. I just hope it won't happen to her again.

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Yeah, I understand. That would be something I'd consider too, if the cat couldn't be helped with veterinary or behavioral care and was extremely violent. The animal obviously isn't happy either, for whatever reason.

I think that's different than the "send it back" mentality though. Sometimes homes just do not work for a given animal. That also sometimes happens with foster parents who are considering adopting a child they fostered (usually a child who is old enough to have particular issues, probably related to their rough life thus far). Sometimes our home just isn't the home they need.

Shelters definitely need to make sure people know what they're getting. If a cat had some extremely expensive on-going disease, there's a good chance I couldn't afford that, for example. Best that I know that, so they can be taken home by someone who can.

I guess what bugs me is that a lot of people seem to think if there's any issues at all, they should "send it back." We can only do what we can do -- we have to consider the limits of our safety, the safety of other members of our household, and our resources, both financially and in terms of knowledge. But when we adopt, we commit to try our best. Sometimes our best doesn't quite work, and that's heartbreaking, but a lot of people don't even try.

I tried to take in a stray boy cat a few years ago. I could tell he wasn't entirely well, and I had a cat who was allergic to the FELV vaccine and had a compromised immune system due to medication, so I immediately took him to be tested. He was positive, so I couldn't take him, but it was worse than that. He was extremely advanced. Even our FELV adoption center wouldn't take him due to the severity of the disease. Vet said he had 2 or 3 months, maybe, with optimal treatment. Otherwise, weeks.

I made the call to have him euthanized. I felt terrible. I took him off the street only to have him put to sleep. But my only other option was basically to release him back and let him infect some more cats before he died slowly.

My best didn't work. If I hadn't had a cat who was vulnerable to the disease, I would have just kept him until it was his time. But I couldn't. And it sucked. It upset me for quite a while.

I sharing this to help so I hope no one will be to hard on me for admitting to this but I had my cats declawed. I should have educated myself more but I didn't know much about declawing until very recently. It was just something that everyone I knew did if you kept your cat indoors. I didn't realize it was anything more than removing a fingernail.

With that being said, my cats were declawed years apart with different procedures. Peanut had the older procedure and Angel had her claws removed with a laser. I know they are miserable after the procedure either way, but the difference was huge. Angel recovered so much faster then Peanut did. She was friendlier and more active after her surgery. It could be for many reasons, but I really believe that the laser was less traumatic.

If Burlington does have to go through another surgery, please ask if they do laser surgery. It is going to be hard to have any surgery but the laser does really does seem to be less traumatic.

Hopefully there is something else that can be done. If not, please feel free to send me a message if you have any surgery or recovery questions that you get stuck on. Angel was a jumper after and Peanut hated the litter they give you to reduce the chance of infected paws. So I've had to come up with creative solutions to help them heal.

At this point what's done is done. Thankfully my babies did not have any serious side effects. Since this site is anti-declaw many people do know about all the things that can go wrong, but not many have been through it. Since I'm part of the minority that have taken care of a cat recovering from the surgery, hopefully I can use that experience to help others in situations like yours.