Vet Visit Tomorow Has Me Stressed :(

The day has almost arrived. Miikka goes in to the vet tomorow to get spayed, front declawed (not my choice) and tattoed.

I am totally stressed out and worried about this (and I am trying to not let Miikka see/feel that I am feeling uneasy about it). I have to drop her off at 8:00am tomorow morning and she needs to be there until Wednesday afternoon...

My house and my bed is going to feel so empty. I hope everything goes alright and that there is no complications. I also hope she doesnt hate me too much when I come to pick her up.. *sigh* I think she is already mad at me because I had to take away the food 3 hours ago (vets orders).

No clue how I am going to be able to concentrate at work tomorow.

I think I just need some reassurance at this time. Im sure these type of operations are pretty much ALWAYS sucessful. Arrrgh, I hate doctors and medical stuff

Does anyone have any tips on helping me through this, and what to do before, during and after the vet trip to make things the easiest for both me and her.

-Dave

Dave, why is this kitten to be declawed? Would you mind telling me? I am just curious if there is anyway to not have the cat declawed tomorrow?

Hissy,
Miikka is a strictly indoor cat. I will be moving back home to my parents house within the next few weeks with Miikka. My parents used to have a declawed cat and have said that Miikka needs to be declawed to be in their house.

I guess my parents have grounds to what they have suggested. Miikka likes scratching, climbing and using her claws (natural cat things). I would really like to just use soft paws on her but my parents have decided that this may be the best solution for the "long run".

I have been trimming her nails once a week since I got her, but she always manages to sharpen them faster than I can trim them.

My parents have also offered to pay for the whole operation (im a student working temporary full time). I am pretty sure that there is no way around it. It is against what I believe in (I have researched it and I dont like what do during the procedure), but I think its one of these times I dont have much pull.

I am so sorry, and you are right. If your parents aren't conducive to you training your cat to not scratch furniture, then there is little you can do. I would be sure to ask the vet for a pain patch for Miika. She will be in a great deal of pain after the surgery, and will be quite confused and unable to walk for a bit. They should give you a sheet of instructions to take home with you- follow them to the letter and just try and keep her quiet and calm.

I wish you could change their minds about this surgery. But it sounds like their minds have been made up. So all you can do is love Miika and comfort her and try not to let her see you stressed and upset when she comes out of surgery and you get to take her home. I will pray for both of you-

Will also be praying for Miikka and for you to feel peace in her absence. Please let us know how she is feeling after the procedure.

Originally Posted by FastDak

The day has almost arrived. Miikka goes in to the vet tomorow to get spayed, front declawed (not my choice) and tattoed.

I am totally stressed out and worried about this (and I am trying to not let Miikka see/feel that I am feeling uneasy about it). I have to drop her off at 8:00am tomorow morning and she needs to be there until Wednesday afternoon...

My house and my bed is going to feel so empty. I hope everything goes alright and that there is no complications. I also hope she doesnt hate me too much when I come to pick her up.. *sigh* I think she is already mad at me because I had to take away the food 3 hours ago (vets orders).

No clue how I am going to be able to concentrate at work tomorow.

I think I just need some reassurance at this time. Im sure these type of operations are pretty much ALWAYS sucessful. Arrrgh, I hate doctors and medical stuff

Does anyone have any tips on helping me through this, and what to do before, during and after the vet trip to make things the easiest for both me and her.

-Dave

Click to expand...

Wish your parents would give your kitty a chance first before mandating the declaw.

But if your vet knows how to do the procedure correctly, then your kitty will not be any worse for wear. So I wouldn't worry too much.

Are they keeping her till Wed for any special reason?

Spotz

Thanks for the support everyone.
I took her there this morning Now I am feeling sad.
My parents have given the claws a chance, when we initially brought her home we were living at my parents house and that resulted in torn drapes, a ripped up screen door, and scratched leather couches ... *oops* My parents love her every bit as much as me and we want the best for everyone.

Thanks for the advice on the pain patch hissy. I will definately inquire about it.

They have to keep her there until wednesday morning because they want to make sure that everything is healing correctly. The vet is very nice and so are all his nurses so I know she is in very good hands! I am just going to really miss her until I get to go visit tomorow!

aww poor things! Well I'm so sorry she's having to be declawed, but there seems to be nothing for it :/ I suppose it's better than not having her at all though.. *huggles you both* give her lots of love and ty to keep her somewhere that when she licks the scabs off her toes you can clean it up easy (IE keep her off the carpet or the upholstery.)

It can be very painful for recently declawed kitties to go to the bathroom - or to get there. If you can't get a pain patch or something for it, please make sure someone keeps a very close eye on her and helps her get to the litterpan if she needs assistance. Same goes for making sure she gets food & water - it can be painful just to move around for some time. Also, please keep a VERY close watch for post-operative infections until those paws are completely healed. As I'm sure your research disclosed, a very high percentage of kitties experience post-op infections from this procedure, and they can be very, very serious.

The one thing we ALWAYS do when taking a cat to boarding or the vet for more than just a visit is to bring a bed. Because of her condition, they may not allow it. But if they do, take one you don't necessarily want back. Also, if you have a t-shirt you're OK with not necessarily getting back, sweat it up good and put that in the bed - or just with her, if it's a no-go on the bed.

We also keep a small plastic box that fits over the bed - it has a large door. Again, if they need to keep a close eye on her, they won't want to use this. But if all they need to do is monitor movement, infection potential, food & litterbox, maybe they'll put it in the cage with her. Being able to hide is usually a great comfort to the kitties.

If you had scratching posts, I'd suggest keeping them. She may have no claws, but some cats will still go through the motions. They need it for stretching, etc. and having her "things" (if she's still going through the routine), will also help ease her transition.

Also - on the visit. We've stopped visiting our kitties. It only stressed them out further, because they thought they were going home when they saw us. We've decided it's best to call the vet (constantly! LOL!) but not to show up until it's time to go home.

Twelve years ago, Jasmine (the kitty that lives with my parents now) was declawed. (she was my baby then--none of my other kitties were declawed after this though). At the time, I knew nothing about cats; more specifically the procedure of declawing. But this really does, unfortunately sound like it is out of your control.

But, I too quickly came up to speed as I had her declawed and spayed on the same trip to the vet.

Don't know if the healing procedure is same...as far as what vet tells you to do...but way back then, they told me to use shredded paper (or something similiar to this) rather than kitty litter, as the litter can get stuck in their toes and cause very serious infections.

The first three days I had Jasmine home, I kept all of her food, litter box, bedding in one centrally located area because it was difficult for her to get around. (she had only front claws done...hope you are not doing more than that, as they really don't need to declaw back at all...and I will say again....after this experience...and knowledge of procedure etc...my other two kitties DO still have claws...and Winston is a big scratcher, whereas Dylan sticks to the posts)

Rest assured, it will be a difficult first few days...she will be very sore and will require a great deal of TLC--but she should be fine. Just make sure to give lots of extra love and keep all of her stuff very clean. (esp. litter box. Change it daily.)

Good luck.

she will be ok--and you will too . Let us know how she is when you see her/bring her home.


As a side, I would also not visit her. I would call frequently to check on her rather than make her think she is getting to go home. Visiting will be sad for you and stressful for her.

Yes - shredded newspaper should be used in place of cat litter until her paws have healed. (Or until risk of infection has passed - I don't know when this is, but I'm sure the vet will tell you).

Poor Miikka. Here no one declaw. I hope every thing okay. She feel your love.

Well, good news, her operation was very sucessful and they said she is doing just fine.
I am still really stressed out, but I am going to have to deal with that. No one in my family or even my girlfriend seems concerned in listening to me or coming over to keep me company, so I am happy to have TCS to talk to.
Thanks for all the advice. I hope Miikka isnt in too much pain, she is a tough little girl, but she is still my baby.

Dave,
You are being a strong person throughout this. Don't worry your baby will be just fine...and will soon be home with you to recuperate with the love you will be providing her

I too have a significant other that thinks I am crazy for worrying about my cat. I think the uncaring girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse syndrome is much more common than most people would think! That is one of the MANY reasons why I have continued to partake in this group as well...it is amazigly supportive and makes up a million fold for what is missing with those at home as far as kitty support.

Do you pick up Miika today or tomorrow? Hang in there okay

Susan
Dylan's mom

How old is Miikka ? Young cats can bounce back pretty quickly from a declaw if they are managed well by the vet. That they want to keep Miikka until wednesday is a good sign. This way she'll be kept in a cage where everythign is very close to her, so she doesn't have to walk much, and she won't have a chance to try to jump anywhere and cause herself pain.

The vet I worked for before I moved would keep the declaws for 2 nights. After the first night, the bandages would come off so that we had 24 hours to check on how the cat would react (chew on paws too much, bleed, etc.) We also advised using a little like Yesterday's News, or just shredded newspaper, for a few weeks afterwards to be safe. We gave an injection of torb. after the surgery, and with most young cats that was all the pain medication they got and that was enough.

If the vet is experienced with declaws, it really won't be that bad for Miikka. Even if Miikka is older (over 2 years), if things are done well she will recover quickly. My Charlie was about 4 when he was declawed, he came home with some pain medication, and he walked a bit funny for about a week. If we saw him jump up on a table or counter, we took him down so he wouldn't jump down, and left him confied in a room with no high surfaces when we were out.


Finally, it is better to have the declawing done at the same time as the spay, so that the kitty only goes under once. If you're parents are going to eventually insist on a declaw, better that you just accepted it and had it done now, then wait and have to have Miikka go through the whole vet visit and G/A stuff again.

.maggie

She comes home tomorow morning (they keep her for two days). I cant wait to have her home, but I am also scared of her hurting herself jumping around here.
Everyone at the vets office is so nice. They are really reassuring me.

Thanks for everyones support, this is an amazing forum.

FastDak... Don't worry, cats have an uncanny knack for knowing how much activity they can endure after surgery. I'm glad to hear the surgeries were successful and I know your cat will be just as happy to come home and see you as you will be to have her home!
-

I got to see her today!
She is doing well and was very happy to see me but sad to see me go.
I feel bad for her, her little belly is shaved where they did the spay.
They say that she is fitting in very well at the vet. Using the "yesterdays news" cat litter and eating whatever they give her.

Her paws arent swollen at all, but they do look a bit tender. As soon as I got there she climbed out of her cage and walked to me and started purring, and then I got a few hundred kisses!

I have made her own recovery room for her here at home this afternoon. I have cleaned out her box fully and put in the "yesterdays news" litter the vet told me to get. Her kitty bed is in the room away from the box and so is her food. Its the second biggest room in the house but its empty so she wont have places to jump to hurt herself. It is going to be nice to have her home tomorow afternoon! I will be sure to take lots of pictures!

Here is one of my little girl a few weeks before the operation. She is doing her "gopher pose" looking out the front door!


Here is one of her in her "hammock". LOL

Miikka is so beautiful!