Declawed cat question NO BASHING

mewlittle

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My mother in law got a cat today his name is mischief already declawed she new his late owner she made a promise to her she would take him when she passes she was on hospice

When mischief was still with his late owner he required an injurie to his claws the only way to fix it was to declaw him she didnt really want to but had no choice so now my question is...

Does a declawed cat kneed their paws all the time because they hurt or is it because they are happy? Asking because i had a declawed cat 4 yrs ago I DID NOT DECLAW MY CAT that would kneed his paws too.

Please no bashing im against declawing its a curiousity question.
 

solomonar

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I do not know anything about declawing, as in my country nobody does it. It is legal, but vets just refuse it and nail clipping is so cheap that is preferred anyway.

So, it might be a good idea to ask the vet when you go for the annual check whether this behavior is normal or not. I mean, a vet who does perform de-clawing. He may know and he.she shall also physically check the paws.

You may ask a shelter vet as well.

If you know the vet who did it, perhaps calling him/her can give you a clou. 
 

misterwhiskers

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My cat is declawed and when he kneads, it's because he's happy.

A declawed cat who's having issues will often walk gingerly, often shaking their paws esp if the floor is cold.
 

silverpersian

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I had a cat who was declawed years before I adopted him. He was very shy and kneaded when only when he was happy.
 
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mewlittle

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I do not know anything about declawing, as in my country nobody does it. It is legal, but vets just refuse it and nail clipping is so cheap that is preferred anyway.

So, it might be a good idea to ask the vet when you go for the annual check whether this behavior is normal or not. I mean, a vet who does perform de-clawing. He may know and he.she shall also physically check the paws.

You may ask a shelter vet as well.

If you know the vet who did it, perhaps calling him/her can give you a clou. 
I have no idea who did the declawing or who his vet is all I know is his shots are due in august

I haven't had the chance to check his paws out 1 because he just got ripped from a place he knew I didn't want to mess with his feet and stress him out more then what he already is and 2 I haven't been at my mother in law since I posted this he is her cat so yeah
 

gareth

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He's happy. And kneading. He just doesn't recognise the fact his claws are missing because there is no naturally evolved scenario in which this would happen. It's the same thing as a declawed cat trying to fight an intact cat and getting the crap kicked out of it because it just doesn't understand why it's defense / attack tools are not functioning. 

So chill. you have a contented cat :)
 

Kat0121

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My mother in law got a cat today his name is mischief already declawed she new his late owner she made a promise to her she would take him when she passes she was on hospice

When mischief was still with his late owner he required an injurie to his claws the only way to fix it was to declaw him she didnt really want to but had no choice so now my question is...

Does a declawed cat kneed their paws all the time because they hurt or is it because they are happy? Asking because i had a declawed cat 4 yrs ago I DID NOT DECLAW MY CAT that would kneed his paws too.

Please no bashing im against declawing its a curiousity question.
Kneading is normal cat behavior. All 3 of mine (claws intact) do it all the time. They LOVE to knead my bed and everything on it- including me. 

No one is going to bash you. You didn't do anything other than take in a cat who needed a home. Same with your MIL. Yes- this is a VERY anti declaw site but what's done is done. You can't change the past. Your MIL is a good friend indeed to take in this lucky cat. it sounds like the cat is already making himself at home. That's nice to hear. 
 

kskatt

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I understand the thread is on the older side. Just a thought. I, very seriously, hope that your MIL did get medical info from the previous owner, as she was a friend. If the cat cannot go to his previous vet, the new one would be helped by getting the cat's medical history. The old vet/clinic should not have any problems emailing the records to the new vet/clinic.
 

IndyJones

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I would never go to a vet who declaws.
I am assuming you are in the UK from your avatar. I don't think it's legal there.

Here in the north America many vets still do declawing.

I'm not going to say anything about the ethical issues but I do know declawing is a rather sensitive topic for many people much like abortion.

In my experience many cats live long happy lives indoors and declawed. Yes it's a surgery, yes it's painful but many cats recover quickly.

By the same token, as with any surgery things can and do go wrong. When things go wrong it can cause chronic pain and distress.

I have one declawed cat Kabby who I was forced to have front declawed by my mother but he is a happy cat and doesn't know his claws are gone.
 

amysuen

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What a great name!

We've had declawed cats and they knead when they're happy, just like cats with claws. ITA that they don't know their claws are gone and can live just as long and happily as cats who keep their claws.
 

kashmir64

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I think some of you are missing a valuable point. The cat was not declawed by choice. It was either declaw or possibly lose the entire foot. As much as I don't approve of declawing a cat, given those options, I would have done the same.
 

amysuen

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I think some of you are missing a valuable point. The cat was not declawed by choice. It was either declaw or possibly lose the entire foot. As much as I don't approve of declawing a cat, given those options, I would have done the same.
Ditto. We all do the best we can at the time with the information we have at the time. And when we know better we do better. That's all we can expect of ourselves and others.
 

sargon

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I would never go to a vet who declaws.
I agree with the sentiment, and, in fact, i take my cat to a vet who doesn't perform declawing (the only one in the ST Louis metro area that I am aware of, in fact.), but a lot of people don't have that option, given how small a minority of vets don't perform it.

On a really positive note, the CVMA (Candaian vetrenary organization) recently joined with the AAHA (the US animal hospital accrediation orginization) in strongly opposing routine declawing.
 

gareth

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I agree with the sentiment, and, in fact, i take my cat to a vet who doesn't perform declawing (the only one in the ST Louis metro area that I am aware of, in fact.), but a lot of people don't have that option, given how small a minority of vets don't perform it.
I think you mean a lot of Americans. Quite a few people live in England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Slovenia, France, Germany, Bosnia, Malta, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Belgium and Israel where it's already illegal.

My wife is a vet and I have volunteered in feline welfare work all my adult life. I would never go to a vet that is willing to perform an elective Onychectomy in any country. Talking to my wife there are almost no medical reasons for for declawing. If it was fractured you would leave it to heal. If the nail was broken you might remove the whole nail (not the same as declawing, bizarrely). "Maybe" if there was a serious nail bed infection there is justification for it, but she's never seen one in 15 years of practice.

We live in a strange world where in many countries it's seen as convenience and some it's seen as animal abuse.
 
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