Tomorrow my one year old cat is going in for surgery to have at least two claws/underdeveloped toes and possibly two additional toes removed surgically.
This thread has the background story on it: [thread="315109"]Selective Declaw On Polydactyl Cat[/thread]
Basically the two underdeveloped toes are causing her a lot of pain and have to be removed. Depending on the formation of her extra toes (which look like thumbs) and how they're connected to the underdeveloped ones, these may be removed in order to minimize complications later.
I am so worried about her going in for surgery, even though I know it is necessary. She doesn't like strangers and the idea of her spending all day with strangers caring for her as she recovers from surgery is killing me. I will be dropping her off and meeting with the vet at 8:15 tomorrow and hopefully picking her up on my way home from work at 5 or 6.
They want her to be separated from our other cat and to wear a cone. The cone will likely be necessary for her, since she already yanks at those claws with her teeth now, so that would be bad for surgical adhesive or stitches. We have a large dog crate set up with a litter box filled with yesterday's news and a cat bed so that we will be able to keep her from jumping or moving around too much for at least the first day or so.
The vet thinks she should be separated from the other cat for two weeks, but this seems like a really long time to me. I don't think he'd try to lick her paws (since he never has before), but they do like to rough house, so I can sort of understand the problem.
Any ideas on how long before a cat feels like itself after a partial declaw/toe amputation? Should I keep my cats separate for two weeks? Do I need to keep using the different litter that long? I tried showing it to her yesterday and she decided to try eating it.
Any help or even words of comfort would be appreciated!
This thread has the background story on it: [thread="315109"]Selective Declaw On Polydactyl Cat[/thread]
Basically the two underdeveloped toes are causing her a lot of pain and have to be removed. Depending on the formation of her extra toes (which look like thumbs) and how they're connected to the underdeveloped ones, these may be removed in order to minimize complications later.
I am so worried about her going in for surgery, even though I know it is necessary. She doesn't like strangers and the idea of her spending all day with strangers caring for her as she recovers from surgery is killing me. I will be dropping her off and meeting with the vet at 8:15 tomorrow and hopefully picking her up on my way home from work at 5 or 6.
They want her to be separated from our other cat and to wear a cone. The cone will likely be necessary for her, since she already yanks at those claws with her teeth now, so that would be bad for surgical adhesive or stitches. We have a large dog crate set up with a litter box filled with yesterday's news and a cat bed so that we will be able to keep her from jumping or moving around too much for at least the first day or so.
The vet thinks she should be separated from the other cat for two weeks, but this seems like a really long time to me. I don't think he'd try to lick her paws (since he never has before), but they do like to rough house, so I can sort of understand the problem.
Any ideas on how long before a cat feels like itself after a partial declaw/toe amputation? Should I keep my cats separate for two weeks? Do I need to keep using the different litter that long? I tried showing it to her yesterday and she decided to try eating it.
Any help or even words of comfort would be appreciated!