Older rescue kitty paw pain possibly due to declaw (done before I got her)

kattiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
271
Purraise
13
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Hi all,

Its been awhile but  I've had a busy few months lately. Anyways, I've been dealing with my older female kitty limping off and on on her left front foot. She is 10 years old or will be sometime this year. I got her when she was 3 and she was previously declawed before I got her. I would never subject any kitty to that awful surgery, especially since I know what they go through having been a vet tech and witnessing the atrocity. Anyways. she has always walked gingerly but never limped. She does walk kinda with a dropped carpus on the left front which I believe is due to the sensitive toes. I currently dont work for a vet but am in the rescue and pet sitting side of animal care which I love. I took her into a different vet a few years ago when she did the exact same thing and they dismissed it as cracked dry foot pads due to allergies and told me to give her fish oil and vitamin e.

Well last week when I first noticed the limp, I gave her some arnica which helped with the pain and the limp disappeared. Her 3rd distal toe pad was dry and cracked and hard again so I applied some coconut oil to the pads which softened them up. the 3rd distal toe pad is still kinda cracked and started to bleed last night. I put pressure on it but decided to take her to the ER. After waiting forever in which the bleeding stopped, they took a quick glance at her but didn't do much because she was in pain and not letting them look very well. The vet said that it could be a hemangioma or cyst and should be biopsied and the toe amputated?! I know that hemangiomas are common in dogs and rare in cats and it doesn't look like a hemangioma to me as it isn't even the right color or shape. A cyst maybe, but I doubt it. I asked the vet if it could be a complication of her declaw hack job she had many years ago. The vet gave me a blank stare like the other vet a couple years ago and said that cats don't get declaw complications this long after the surgery! That's when I lost faith in this vet and just asked for some pain meds, buprenex thank god instead of metacam, and bandaging material incase it starts to bleed again. 

I called my holistic vet and waiting to hear back from her. They were booked today so I couldn't get her in but Katie is resting and not limping because of the pain meds. I will hopefully get her in early next week. 

My question is I've seen picks of cats with calloused cracked pads just like hers and they were due to being declawed. They walk differently and cause the callouses to develop. I am 99% sure it isn't a tumor or cyst and that it has everything to do with being declawed. I'm sure my holistic vet will agree but why is it that so many vets will dismiss the idea that there are complications in these cats even years down the road. Hopefully something can be done for her. I know she is probably arthritic in those toes as there is little flexion in them anymore and they are probably frozen. I don't really want to put her through the declaw salvage surgery but will if it will help. This really sucks as I hate to see my girl in pain. We cuddled on the couch as I cursed the vet and previous owners that did this to her. I guess I'm just venting and seeing if anyone has had similar issues with their kitties. Also wanted to put my experience out  there as another reason to NOT mutilate kitty toes! 
 

vball91

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
3,853
Purraise
252
Location
CO, USA
I am so sorry you both are going through this. I don't have much advice to offer, but I think it sounds like declaw complications too. I think some vets don't like to admit that there can be complications because that would be yet another reason why declaws should be illegal everywhere.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

kattiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
271
Purraise
13
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Thanks! Its just so sad that my kitty has to live with the decisions that others made. She is the sweetest cat, but is very sensitive with her toes being touched. She will let me touch them to an extent but puts up a fight in the vet office and so I know the E vet didn't really get a good look at her feet. Luckily I don't have any real behavioral issues with her like litterbox aversion, but she definitely not as agile as my other cat and has never been as playful as him. She is a good cuddlebug though. I have the discussion against declawing all the time but it seems like talking to a brick wall with some people. They say things like laser is better and that it isn't really amputation ect. I've witnessed the procedure. It is horrific mutilation and the cats are in excruciating pain even with strong pain meds. So sad! If I do decide to go back into vet medicine I definitely won't work for a pro declaw vet or pro ear crop taildock ect vet. Needless animal mutilation for human convienence.
 

peaches08

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
4,884
Purraise
290
Location
GA
I believe that trevandbur trevandbur had to go through this after taking on a declawed cat.

I wouldn't use anything softening on the site, she needs a callous like we do for weightbearing. Obviously look into pain meds, but other arthritis help like Adequan injections or Krill oil might be helpful. To heal she needs protein, so I have to ask what is she eating? Last, make sure she has soft litter without scents, and it must be kept meticulously clean.

Thank you for taking her in and I hope you find a good solution!
 

trevandbur

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
117
Purraise
15
Location
NW Ohio
Get a second opinion...I'd call around until you find a vet that is willing to actually look at her. If she's in pain and not cooperating, then she needs to be sedated so they can examine her. Whether it is a declaw complication or something else, she needs looked at by a vet who actually wants to find and relieve the source of her pain. 

Burlington was limping and there was a "click" sound when he walked. He is highly protective of his front feet, so it took a while before I could get him to let me look at it, but with him, it was very obvious that he had a claw. It was growing just above the toe pad, and the pad was angry and sore looking. I took him to the vet and she took one feel of his paw and said "He needs surgery. Now." They began putting him under while I was still there. Once he was out, they did a thorough check of his paws and found one on the other paw that would have began causing him trouble at some point, so they removed both claws. He was in a lot of pain for a few days, but recovered pretty quickly and hasn't had any more problems.

He was declawed at least 3 years ago, so the "cats don't develop declaw complications so long after surgery" argument holds no water with me.
 

cprcheetah

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
1,887
Purraise
149
Location
Bountiful, UTah
I work for a vet and have seen similar things in non declawed cats as well as declawed cats.  If the pad is hard it could be a cyst or a tumor or an infection.  Did they give you any antibiotics?  As a rule (from my experience working in the field for 20+ years)  most complications that happen after a declaw happen fairly soon after the declaw.   I do see them develop arthritis but who's to say they wouldn't have developed it anyways?  I have several declawed (rescued) kitties that have arthritis but they are also older and have other issues too, so I am just chalking it up to them being old not the fact that they were declawed as kittens.  The limping could be due from the sore pad, it could also be due to arthritis, she is getting up there in age.  If you are into natural things, try the krill oil as well as Zeel (homeopathic for arthritis).  Are you giving her any glucosamine? 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

kattiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
271
Purraise
13
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Thanks everyone for the ideas. My regular holistic vet is going to see her on Tuesday. So far she is fine on the buprenex. The vet talked to me on the phone at length and she has seen bone spurs and claws regrow. I was a vet tech for 15 years before leaving the field and have seen declaw complications like this so honestly believe that this is related to the declaw rather than a cyst or tumor. We are doing X-rays on Tuesday to look for the arthritis or a bone spur or nail. I do think that the arthritis if she has any is related to the declaw as when a cat is declawed the tendons pull the bones back in a retracted state and the cats can't stretch the toes as easily. There was one older cat where his toes were frozen curled up like a little old man. She probably has a touch of arthritis in other areas due to her unnatural stance and gait. She is on glucosamine and the like. She is on a grain free canned due to allergies. I'm just happy that my current vet is going to thoroughly look at her and not dismiss her like the other 5 vets I've been to have done. I take my old arthritic dog to her for acupuncture and treatment and am in the process of transferring all my other pets to her. She hasn't seen Katie yet but will on Tuesday. I trust her opinion completely and she isn't afraid to call out the issues cats can have from declawing later in life. I guess we will know more on Tuesday!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

kattiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
271
Purraise
13
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Well I thought is give an update on Kattie's toe issue. She was pretty sore today but we went into her regular vet. We did an X-ray to look for a nail regrowing or bone spurs from the declaw and there were none and she doesn't even have any arthritis in those toes. Yay for that. So the doc was examining it and it broke open again and started bleeding there. She decided to swab it for a cytology rather than go straight for a needle aspirate or biopsy. She found a lot of white blood cells on the microscope and is thinking it might be a small abscess or at the very least an infection brewing. She wanted to start Kattie on antibiotics first before going in surgically as that might make things worse. She doesn't feel that it is a cyst or tumor though isn't going to completely rule it out. Anyways, she said the antibiotics should start working within a day or so if they are going to work. If not she may have to have it opened up. She is on clindimycin which is good for anaerobic infections and puncture wounds. We may go to something stronger but she is sensitive to certain antibiotics like Baytril so we have to be careful. Here's hoping that she will start to feel better!
 
Top