excessive grooming

Help. Two weeks ago my Burmese was neutered and declawed. He came home form the vets all fine and dandy. A day later he refused to eat and we ended up force feeding him and keeping him at the vets until he began to eat becuase we had to out of town to deal with a family death. He used to be this affectionate, wonderful little guy. Now whenever I pet him, he immediately starts licking and biting that spot. How do I hekp him get over this trama and is it possible to do so? He's just the love of my life and I am very upset by this turn of events.

Bratnana - It sounds like your little guy has been very upset by this experience. Not only did he get declawed (which, by the way, often traumatizes a cat for life), but then he got sick and had to stay at the vet for even longer. I'm not sure how long it will take for your cat to get back to normal, or if he will. Surely this will fade over time, I would think.

I know there are others on here who will have some suggestions for you. I just wanted to say I'm sorry your cat is doing so poorly. Your vet should have told you this was a possibility with a declaw surgery.

Unfortunatley it is too late to undo the declaw. He is probably still in quite a bit of pain. I am not sure what the vet told you about the surgery, but it is the complete removal of the first knuckle and the tendons attached. It was a very major and painful surgery. It may also cause some litter box problems as well as artheritis when he ages.
For now, I would make sure and give him some extra attention just by talking to him in a soft and sweet voice. I would not pet him much if it seems to aggrivate him. You can try getting some Dr. Bachs rescue remedy from a health food store to give to him. It will help to bring the stress level down. I would also try and keep his enviroment queit for ahwile, let him recover a little in peace.

Declawing is extremely painful and it takes a long time for a cat to get through the pain. Since this is such painful surgery, he probably does not want anyone touching him at this point. I wish vets would really explain the declaw procedure and show pictures as it would probably deter some really good, but unknowedgeable cat owners from going ahead with the surgery. It is just too easy for vets to make money. You can try www.catsinternational.com which is a cat behavior site - while they will probably tell you that you are going to have some lasting issues because of the declawing, they may be able to offer some helpful insights in helping your cat through this ordeal. Good luck.