Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello~
I have a 3 month old bengal kitten and have been thinking about laser declawing her after a series of family crisis over our scratched up NEW leather sofas Can anyone tell me whether or not it is better to declaw a cat at a younger age and if the laser surgery is less traumatizing than the traditional one?
Also, what are the pre-surgical and post-surgical precautions I should know of? It would be great if you could share your own personal experiences of declawing your cat (esp. if you got your cat laser declawed or declawed at an early age...)
Thank you everyone~

Well, I really don't know much about the laser declawing. However, if it still causes the cat to lose part of it's toes, and not just the nails then I can't imagine it's less traumatic. I will not declaw a cat under any circumstances, but at the same time as a PREVIOUS leather furnature owner and a Bengal cat owner, I feel for you. If there's someone is the house who doesn't like cats much anyway, this can be distructive to more than just furniture. If you decide to do this, do it as soon as possible to minimize the loss, BUT, do not lose sight of the fact that this is a traumatic loss to a cat. It can change their personality, forever, and at the very least, they are often sensitive and jumpy about their feet forever. I do have a declawed cat, whom we adopted that way. He is still very jumpy about his feet, 7 yrs after his surgery. For a Bengal this is especially bad, on an emotional / mental level. Many a Bengal has been ruined by doing this, especially the males. I have to encourage you to keep trying, but like I said I do feel for you. Have you tried Feliway, Feliway Comfort Zone, and oral herbal calming agents? There's always drug treatment as well.-- Jennifer
-----
You've got charm, purr-sianality, grace, purr-sianality, style, purr-sianality! Walk- purr-sianality, talk- purr-sianality!

Well, mine was declawed many years ago. No laser anything then. She got nothing by mouth after 12mn, not much fun with a siamese who loves her food. After the surgery we had to use shredded paper in the box for several days. That was not a lot of fun either. The other 16 are not declawed. They are not as destructive as Samantha was. She did fine, had no complications, doesn't bite (well, if you try to stick a pill in her mouth she does) and stands up for herself very well with the others. She can smack with the best of them and does not hesitate to do so.

-----
PHWildCat/Tessa and 17 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

Hello!
I had my Sara declawed about 2 months ago. She was 8 months old at the time. I did it at the same time she was spayed... only one anesthesia that way.

They did it with a laser, and she seems to be fine today... now for one week after the surgery, I had to keep her in an elizabethan collar! We called her "cone-head" and she hated it! But it was easier to keep her from jumping on things, and it was also much easier to give her the pain meds we had to give her.

Also, it would make a scraping sound as she walked along the wall, and I could hear her... plus, she couldn't get under the couch and other hiding places to chew her incissions.

I'm very glad we had it done, although the recovery was hard for the first week...

We used Yesterday's News litter after, also. it is recycled news paper in pellets.

Best of luck to you!

Jacqueline

Our Moxie is declawed in the front only. She had the laser surgery. She didn't seem to be in any pain. It was done the same time as the spay. It worked out well. We also used yesterday's news. She did jump up onto a counter which made one foot bleed. I remember calling the vets and they told us it was normal.
Not sure I would ever declaw again. But we had to because bf's mother didn't want a clawed cat in her house.
-----
Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

I don't understand why no one is telling you the behavorial issues that come with declawing your cat. You are taking away their main defense mechanism which results in the cat using its secondary defenses which are hiding, biting and worst of all not using its litterbox. It doesn't matter how young of an age you declaw your cat, eventually one, if not all of these things will happen. It may not happen in the first year or two but someday something will make the cat unhappy with you and it will stop using its litterbox. I've seen it happen to cats that are only a year and declawed at a young age. Really consider not declawing. If you trim your cats nails every two weeks it will keep them dull, so they can't do much damage to furniture and enforce scratching posts.

There are two declawed cats in this house. Moxie was declawed at five months old when she was spayed. She is four years old and has none of those traits you mentioned.
Also, Buddy is 10 years old (declawed as a kitten) he is the most friendly cat that I have ever met. The only time he hasn't used the litter box is when he had a UTI.
So it's not true for all cats. But yes it can happen. Personally I think it can happen to any cat clawed or declawed.
-----
Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

It doesn't happen to all, but most. A lot of times it happens and your vet will tell you that there is a uti or bladder infection just so they don't have to tell you that its from the cat being declawed because they know these problems can occur and never tell you before surgery so they get your money and the vet down the road doesn't. i work at an animal shelter and 95% of declawed cats that come through there have one of these behavioral problems and never end up going to another home as compared to the 1% of clawed cats with these problems. You may have gotten that little percentile with your 10 year old but you never know if your younger won't develop these issues in a year or two. I personally don't see a need to declaw your cat and take the chance especially when you are putting them through pain. Spend the two dollars on nail clippers

Ok folks, before this even thinks about turning nasty let me give my time honored statement. This forum is for personal opinions only no personal attacks. I would much rather a cat have a forever home than no home and its claws. I have 2 declawed and 16 that are not declawed. My 2 declaws are 15 and 11 years old, neither one bites, attacks, nor have they ever not used the litter box in their little kitty lives. They beat up the other cats with their clawless paws and the others sit there and take it. They have never been injured by another cat with claws. If "every" cat that you have ever met had problems then you need to meet more cats or better people with cats. I think that declawing is a very personal decision between the owner and the Vet. I think only after all other options have been either tried or ruled out should the surgery be done. Just as many clawed cats have behavior problems as the declawed ones but I bet their owners just put them outside and wave bye bye. So lets all play nice and no more "all" or "every". And as for the difference between a UTI and a behavior problem...that is real easy to diagnose. I am sure that a good Vet would never tell a pet parent that the cat had an infection when in fact it was a behavior problem.
-----
PHWildCat/Tessa and 17 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

This is my "personal" opinion and experience, i wasn't attacking anyone. I never used the word "every" and when i used the work "all" i said NOT all. You are saying we should give our opinion but when i give mine which is that i'm against declawing you get mad. The only thing i was trying to get accross is that i've seen the statistics, and i don't agree with it. Besides if it is a decision between you and your vet that is fine but what vet is going to pass up the money you spend on declawing your cat. Not many.

" It doesn't matter how young of an age you declaw your cat, eventually one, if not all of these things will happen."

This is the statement that I referred to as "all" or "every". I simply needed to point out that sometimes and often none of these things will happen but you will have a loving well adjusted pet. I am not "mad" as you put it, but this board has a tendency to get nasty in a hurry and when people start taking things personally it is time for things to cool off. A good Vet who truly cares about the animal he treats most certainly will tell the client the plusses and minuses of any surgery and help them to make the correct decision. Just as a surgeon will for humans. Of course there are some surgeons and some Vets who will just go for the money. But as a rule you can not go to a surgeon and say, hey, I don't think I like my gallbladder anymore, you wanna remove it for me?? My Vets have.....many times through many years told me what the pet needs and what it will do for them and let me make the decision.
-----
PHWildCat/Tessa and 17 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

As a final note i just want to add that its a fact that in other countries declawing is illegal because it is considered mutilation. If you want to know what countries take Europe for example they don't allow it over there. When you think of it that way you might see where i'm coming from.