8-9 week old male kitten going to be fixed. concerned! advice?

My kitten will be fixed and I'm concerned about the post-surgery. I have no idea of what to look for. I'm also worried because around the same time his front paws will be de-clawed. (I don't like this, but its my mom's orders) . I'm worried he will get an infection or hurt himself. Any advice or tips to prevent more injury?

I now they fix kittens young but this sounds to young! As to the de claw try and talk your mom out of that..Tell her to do some reading up online about it 1st..She might just change her mind.. But don't do both close together let the poor kitten heal

Do try your best to talk your mom out of de-clawing him. . .use the links in my signature, and the articles on this site. It's a horrible horrible mutilation with lifelong consequences and should be illegal here like it is in most of the rest of the world.

Neutering is no big deal; just a flesh wound. He would be back to normal as soon as he was out of the anesthetic, if that's all that was being done. And normal neuters almost never get infected. But de-clawing is horrible and the recovery is much worse, and the rate of infection is MUCH higher so I really don't have any advice on that one.

The neuter surgery is very minor and the most routine in all of veterinary medicine. He'll be just fine. Keep him secluded from other animals for a day or two and try to keep him from licking the incisions (but he probably won't even try). My 2 boys didn't even notice their incisions and were completely unaffected... back to eating, drinking, and playing as soon as we got home!

Now for the "de-clawing" which I refer to as 'finger/toe amputation:" DON'T DO IT, there are countless ways to train your kitten (especially at this young age) to scratch appropriately. Google the specifics of the surgery: it is HORRIFIC. I can't imagine any reasonable human with a soul allowing the amputation after fully realizing the gravity of it. PLEASE ask your mom to do some research on this completely unnecessary, mutilating amputation. In fact, the surgery is ILLEGAL in most other civilized countries.

I inherited a declawed cat. It breaks my heart every time I watch her trying to do even the most simplest of the things that are in all cats' nature to do. Please ...

I tried today to get her to change her mind. She said no. I can say one thing though, if in the end he ends up getting de-clawed, I will let no one touch him until I am sure he is in no pain. I will wait on him hand and foot. I think de-clashing is inhumane. So in return for her cruelty, she shall have no part in raising him. Thank you all for easing my mind about the fixing. Any ideas of how to kindly convince her to not de-claw? She is very touchy once she has made up her mind.

If you are an adult and it's your cat, simply refuse. If you are a minor and/or he's not your cat, try looking up websites about how de-clawed cats are more likely to have litterbox problems, leave the printouts lying around where she can see them. If she thinks it will inconvenience HER, she might change her mind. You can also promise to keep him in Soft Claws, she might be OK with that.

Unfortunately I am 16 and it is not legally mine. She has told me that I will be the one fully responsible for this cat. It will stay in my room, I will feed it, etc. But the de-clawing is something I apparently have no say in. The papers of notes is a good idea though...

I know people on both side of the fence... and I feel for the little kitty. Hm, I'll try this. I think that those who do not know (and do not WANT to know) think of declawing like removing fingernails. Okay, let's use that metaphor.

You are going in to be "declawed" (fingernail removal). Eh, no big deal, you'll be back on the computer earning a living in no time. Then, to your horror you find that instead, your entire first knuckle on all fingers are gone. And, on top of this, you still need to use your hands as before for everything - typing, writing, eating and, then there is that phantom limb (digit) pain which doesn't go away. You can feel pain in the tips of your fingers even though they aren't there!

This is a major deal. I'm in the declawing camp even though I know quite a number of cats that seem to be okay.* But wait until they get old and arthritic because their entire weight is not distributed correctly.

Well, that's my shot at this, because you said you'd observe him for pain. Cats can hide pain - but there are behavioral consequences (how would mom feel if he started relieving himself every place but that painful litter box instead? How is that better?).

*Cats that fall into this group still very much need to act out scratching - you would still need scratching posts because they require the stretching that accompanies them using the post. But, really - you just don't know which cat is going to be resilient, and which one will suffer.

Neutering him? 99.999% not a big deal. I worried like you did, boys bounce back pretty quickly. Like it was said earlier, "just a flesh wound." I crack up every time I hear/read that phrase - it is a Monty Python thing. 

Here's the link for Soft Claws. Show the page to your mother. http://www.softclaws.com/index.php?pet=cat

Why not have your mom join in on the discussion here? I agree that if the idea of mutilating the cat (once she understands what the amputation surgery entails) isn't enough to change her mind, why not share with her the behavioral ramifications of the amputation (urinating outside the box, aggression from pain and frustration) that others have mentioned.

Again, if she's making this choice I feel like she should get involved in this discussion. What is her reasoning behind wanting to amputate this cat's fingers? Is she worried about furniture? Explain the process of SoftClaws to her, or look into behavioral modifications like treats for using a scratching post set up by furniture or hormone sprays.

I would gather as much information about declawing and the negative effects of it, and write your mom a letter.

A heartfelt, genuine mature letter explaining to her how it hurts you that there is a great chance it will hurt his life.

How so many become biters, stop using their litterbox, etc. not to mention the pain he will go through.

It's a very big deal. I wish it were outlawed everywhere!

Ok, if she is saying you will be "fully responsible" for this cat, then tell her this - if she will not change her mind about the declaw, then *you* will see to it that he gets re-homed.

That ought to wake her up. I'm normally for children obeying their parents, but this mentality of hers falls well outside the boundaries of reasonable intelligence. I always say that people like that should get a stuffed animal instead of a sentient being like a live one.

I would definitely look into the litter box issues and explain that to her.

Declawing was pretty normal,when I grew up. I would never do it now that I know it is cruel.

We used hissing at the furniture scratching and it worked well. My husband thought I was crazy. Hen we first got her she hissed ll the time and I had to tell him not to hiss at her. Now she doesn't hiss anymore, but we use it to tell her no. For the big stuff. It has really worked.

Last night she decided that he would get his back claws amputated. I brought up the litter box issue and managed to get her to change her mind about the back claws. Unfortunately the amputation of the front claws will still happen. In answer to a question someone asked, she is worried about the kitten becoming aggressive later in life and harming our dogs. I also have picked out my kitten. He looks like a tabby cat, but he's orange and white. His name is Kyokonichi. Kyo for short.

I suppose you could ask your mom if should would also be willing to extract all of the dogs' teeth in the event that the dogs become aggressive to the cat in the future.

Dogs have teeth, cats have claws and both can be used for play, relieving stress and aggression.

Also, if you do not own the cat at this point, you could always look to adopt from a rescue/shelter that does not permit declawing (and charges a fine and takes back ownership of the cat for doing so...our rescue does.)

I do not own it yet, but she will not get it from any place but my Aunt. My aunt is giving it to us for free and giving it it's first shots as well. I am happy that I managed to save its back claws as it can try to put most of its weight on them. I did bring up some behavioral consequences with her, her response was that it will be my responsibility.

Your mother is...  a few choice adjectives that I will not say... but  I WILL say straight out that she doesn't understand the first thing about humanely caring for a cat. She doesn't understand that everything she is afraid of happening if the cat has claws WILL HAPPEN ANYWAY, and to a more marked degree, if this cat is declawed. Aggression, biting, not to mention litter box avoidance. Cats scratch in the box when they pee, and dig in the box when they poop, and they need to do this even during the healing process.

You do understand, and I commend you for it. I must correct you on one thing - declawing changes the way a cat stands, walks, runs and balances.  This cat will run a very strong risk of developing arthritis in its later years by trying to compensate for that change such as, as you say, putting its weight more on its back feet.

If I were you, I would wait until you are out on your own before getting a cat. Please do the humane thing and spare this cat a lifetime of physical and psychological issues.

Cuddly Calico said:

I do not own it yet, but she will not get it from any place but my Aunt. My aunt is giving it to us for free and giving it it's first shots as well. I am happy that I managed to save its back claws as it can try to put most of its weight on them. I did bring up some behavioral consequences with her, her response was that it will be my responsibility.

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I understand where you're coming from. My mother was very domineering. Really to the point I feared setting her off.
If you clip his nails he can't damage but you have to check them every week then only a couple need to be trimmed.
He will become a bitter, to the point of breaking skin. Cat bites are like injecting bacteria into you. They are that serious. Try explaining that.
I do understand your predicament. My mother KNEW it all and never admitted she was wrong even when shown!
Poor little guy!!!

I completely agree.

2 comments here, first of all, if a cat is a kitten when it is brought into a home with dogs, they will do fine and become friends, sometimes close friends.

Why in the world would mom believe she needs to declaw because she is afraid of the cat hurting the dogs in the future? That just doesn't happen and makes zero sense.

All that can come out of declawing is a frustrated cat who feels the need to bite due to feeling defenseless.

If the cat ever gets outside, he is in BIG trouble, just so you all understand that too.

Rather than amputate the poor unfortunate kitten chosen, have you thought about finding already declawed cats waiting for a home from a shelter or rescue?

The fee is low and it saves her the cost of declawing too, which is not all that cheap.