Kitsy's Aftercare (Warning: Sensitive Material)

[quietlydestroyd]

So, I'm following up with my initial post of how my cat got spayed/de-clawed yesterday. She looked like she had been ran over when I went to go get her.

But she's eating and drinking, which is awesome. She tried to step in the regular litterbox with the Feline Pine and she stepped out again, too rough.
So, since I'm alone (human wise) until late tonight and without a vehicle to get her "Yesterday's News" I cut up a carboard box and put TONS of newspaper scraps in it. The lady said that's what she used while with them, but she may reject it anyway cause "This is home, I don't want this" kind of attitude.

She licked the medicine off her paws (which is okay, but excessive licking is bad cause it could pop the glue where her nails were) and is resting.

I hate myself for not being able to prevent her de-claw, but Kitsy is more caring and forgiving. She curled up by me for a little while and licked my hand.

And other than when I looked away and she tried to jump on the bed (and slid down cause she had no nails to catch herself and pull up) we've had no mishaps so far.

Please keep Kitsy is your thoughts and prayers for a healthy speedy recovery.

 

[AbbysMom]

PLEASE NOTE -

This cat was declawed without the OP's knowledge or consent. ANY comments at all condemning her or the person that had the cat declawed will not be tolerated.

Please give advice or encouragement ONLY.

Thank you.

 

[quietlydestroyd]

Thank you for that

I was worried I'd get yelled at

 

[denice]

I think some people don't read posts very carefully. They just see the word declaw and react negatively. Had you posted that you were considering having your kitten declawed I would have given you a long list to try to talk you out of it too. I hope your kitten recovers quickly. Kittens normally recover quicker and adjust to the declawing much better than adult cats. I have heard of people using shredded newspaper for litter right after a declaw. I think that was what was normally used before the pellet type litters came out. Did they give you some pain medicine to give? My cat just had some teeth pulled and they sent her home with a few doses of Buprenex and it seems to help. She is more playful for several hours after getting a dose of it.

 

[ruthyb]

Hi there,
I'm not sure of why your cat had to go through this but I just want to offer my support and vibes.xxxx

 

[ritz]

I don't know if Kitsy sleeps with you, but Ritz (my cat) does. The first night she got spayed, I slept on the floor so she wouldn't be tempted to jump up on the bed. You might want to do the same for a few nights.
Similarly, if you think it would hurt Kitsy's paws to jump up on your lap, try sitting on the floor. Some of my best cuddling times with Ritz are on the floor.
If she jumps up onto/in cat condos, tip it over on its side. (Another added benefit: to Kitsy, it's a new toy because it is in a new position.) Remove all cat scratchers.
I guess what I'm saying is: Any activity she uses her paws for, see if you can at least temporarily modify the activity so she doesn't have to stress her paws. Even go so far as put really soft (washable) towels under the food bowl. And bring everything Kitsy might want to get to, down to her level so she doesn't have to jump. The more force she puts on her paws (jumping), the more they are going to hurt.
What will never hurt is: lots of love, cuddles from you.

 

[quietlydestroyd]

She has lots of pain meds brought home with her. They dissolve on the tongue so she doesn't even have to swallow.
Because our basement apartment is like a studio, I blocked off area's, so she's confined to just the bedroom.
My other kitten understands now I think. After a few attempts to play with her, Kitsy growled and I yelled, and she hasn't been back.
She does sleep on the bed, that's where she is now. I'm going to be here all day, so if she stirrs, I'll gently put her down on the ground. But I did set up nice soft spaces on the ground for her to rest in, too.
Believe me, I'm way overprotective with her normally, now I'm sure it'll be worse.

Any tricks to get her to stop licking her paws? I dont have access to a cone right now. but whenever she wakes up she goes right to licking and tugging her paws. I grab her head gently and pull away, while petting her. Sometimes it works, sometimes she just growls at me.

 

[denice]

The only thing I know would be to use Bitter Apple but I don't know about using that on a surgical site. Could you call the vet's office and ask them what they would do?

 

[kluchetta]

Just so you know, I had acquaintenances who had their kittens declawed - tried to talk them out of it....but they had it done quite young and with the glue...and apparently doing the procedure this way is a lot less painful, or invasive. So at least there's that.

And they are perfect, happy kitties now. Like 6 years later.

 

[quietlydestroyd]

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Just so you know, I had acquaintenances who had their kittens declawed - tried to talk them out of it....but they had it done quite young and with the glue...and apparently doing the procedure this way is a lot less painful, or invasive. So at least there's that.

And they are perfect, happy kitties now. Like 6 years later.

Oh, that's so good to know.
I'm only concerned with how she tries to groom them constantly when she's not asleep. For risk of messing the glue up and making herself bleed.
Infection is a scary word.
But if that doesn't happen, after a few weeks, I'm certain she'll be okay

 

[my4llma]

Try to keep her from pouncing and running around.

I'm not so sure a cone collar would keep her from licking her toes. Midnight had surgery on his paw a month ago, and he came home with 1 cone collar that he managed to pull off. The second cone collar he didn't get off, but he still managed to get his paw in his mouth.

If she keeps licking and you can't stop her. Call the vet and ask if there is something they can give you. Like a bandage to wrap her paws with or something. But even then she could still pull it off her paws. Midnight had a bandage on his paw, he managed to pull off.

I hope she heals quickly!

 

[goldenkitty45]

Unfortunately she may always have paw problems. Maybe you need to put a cone on her so she cannot reach the paws. I'd be suing the vet who declawed w/o permission!

My biggest fear when I take in kittens to be neutered/spayed is some idiot will end up declawing and that bans cats from being shown. I make 100% sure they are quite clear on NO declawing period or they will be looking at a lawsuit for ruining my show cat!

Hope she's better soon.

 

[darlili]

I adopted my cats as adults four years ago; both were picked up as strays - my girl was front declawed, my boy all four declawed before I got them. My girl appears to be perfectly happy and healthy. My boy had litter box issues, which I now attribute to developing struvite crystals. They're now about 8 years old, as best as the vet and I can tell, and just got great results on their senior panels. They jump everywhere and are both very friendly.

Many prayers that your little one heals quickly - and it's good that she has your love and care.

 

[quietlydestroyd]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Unfortunately she may always have paw problems. Maybe you need to put a cone on her so she cannot reach the paws. I'd be suing the vet who declawed w/o permission!

My biggest fear when I take in kittens to be neutered/spayed is some idiot will end up declawing and that bans cats from being shown. I make 100% sure they are quite clear on NO declawing period or they will be looking at a lawsuit for ruining my show cat!

Hope she's better soon.

It was my boyfriend who agreed to de-claw. I was not there. He was unaware of where I stood on it. It's good he only chose front de-claw cause the vet recommended all four be removed, but he thought that was extremely cruel.

 

[quietlydestroyd]

Kitsy in bed, comfy and purring, off all of the surgery sights.

She seems to forget about her paws until she goes to stand, then she's more delicate. But over all, she's taking been taking it easy/resting tons but is just like her old self really.

 

[lynsgems]

Originally Posted by quietlydestroyd

Oh, that's so good to know.
I'm only concerned with how she tries to groom them constantly when she's not asleep. For risk of messing the glue up and making herself bleed.
Infection is a scary word.
But if that doesn't happen, after a few weeks, I'm certain she'll be okay

I read your story and you have my sympathy.

If she's licking her paws and you can't afford or have access to a cone, try using a regular coffee filter. Tear a hole in the filter and just slip it over her head. She might still be able to reach her paws to wash them, but the filter might distract her enough that she would be more worried about the filter than washing her paws.

Are they wrapped at all? If they're not wrapped (I think I noticed that in your picture) you can get some of the gauze wrap that sticks to itself and put that on her paws at least temporarily.

I hope she heals fast and infections stay away.

 

[my4llma]

She's a beautiful cat!

 

[feralvr]

Gosh, I am sorry your poor Kitsy is in so much pain today. Years ago alot of kittens were declawed, it was just something everyone thought you did at the same time of a spay. When I was very little, we had two kittens who were declawed and they did just fine and healed without any problems. I am sure your Kitsy will be just fine

and I would just keep her on her pain meds and keep her as quiet as possible. The cone might not be a bad idea as well.

 

[mrblanche]

for Kitsy.

She looks almost identical to our Punkin, but, unfortunately, he's not a cuddler.

We keep our shredded papers in a big bag and take it to the shelter to be used for situations where cats should not be using clay litter, such as after a spay or neuter, or an injury to a paw, or any such thing. It works pretty well. This is just our mail, bills, things like that that we normally shred for security. If you have a shredder like that, you could even shred up newspapers for yourself.

The good news is that cats adjust very quickly to changes in their circumstances, and I know lots of happy declawed cats. As I said, my sister declaws all her cats and they're fine. In fact, we have had several cats at the shelter that no one noticed were declawed, until I had them out to clip their claws (which I do for all the cats up for adoption).

 

[ducman69]

Cute kitty.

The best tip is just to prevent Kitsy from jumping down from things and to provide appropriate pain medication. Spay surgery is also more painful than neutering, and there's the double-whammy of the declaw.

You can tell from the kitties behavior, but generally speaking its not harmful to provide pain medication a little longer than is needed.

Yesterday's News unscented original or extra soft would be your best bet, but I believe that Swheat Scoop also advertises that it is good for recently declawed cats.

Depends on the age, weight, but the spay surgery should be all healed up in a couple days and the declaw it depends on what kind of surgery was performed. If it was laser with glue, then kitty should be running around normally within a few days provided there are no complications, but traditional scalpel would be around a week and may be tender for some time walking flat footed until completely healed ~ 2 weeks.

I wouldn't worry too much about licking as long as its not non-stop, but watch for kitties stools as may get an upset tummy from the dual-surgery and medication.

The procedure is a lot safer now, and my coworkers best two adult cats are his white declawed ones which happen to be the most active climbers too (but probably just because they are the only non-overweight ones hah), so I wouldn't worry too much.

Are they wrapped at all? If they're not wrapped (I think I noticed that in your picture) you can get some of the gauze wrap that sticks to itself and put that on her paws at least temporarily.

I would not do that, at least not without a phone call to the vet. Most cats will not like something on their paws and shake and bite it right off, and its good for the site to breathe. Advances in surgery techniques often make bandaging unnecessary.