How soon can I declaw my cat?

Between 3 and 6 months of age is ideal. Typically, our veterinarians suggest you declaw your cat at spay or neuter time. For many cats, that’s around 5 or 6 months of age. If your kitten is already spayed or neutered, we may perform the declaw surgery earlier.

Is it bad to get a kitten declawed?

Some negative effects of declawing Medical drawbacks to declawing include pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain. Removing claws changes the way a cat’s foot meets the ground and can cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes.

How long does it take for a kitten to heal from declawing?

6. The recovery time varies with each cat. Most will be healed completely in 2-6 weeks. If your cat is limping more than 3 days after surgery, call us.

Can you declaw a 6 week old kitten?

Declawing kittens when they are young leads to smoother and quicker recoveries. We feel the best age for declawing is 10-12 weeks of age, but can be done up to 6 months of age. Your kitten will receive pain medication with their anesthesia as well as local anesthetic to each paw.

What to expect after declawing a cat?

Your pet may be reluctant to walk around, jump up on things or act sore. Some degree of discomfort is expected. In younger cats, pain experienced after the declaw procedure should lessen within 10 days and lameness (limping) should improve within one week. In older cats, this time frame may be longer.

How long should a cat use pAper litter after declaw?

Use only shreDDeD pAper or A pAper lItter sUch As “yesterDAy’s news” (available at PetSmart) or litter crystals for the next 14 days. Access to other litter or dirt can result in infection. 3. Give your pet only the pain medication prescribed by our doctor.

Is there a painless way to declaw cats?

Laser declawing is considered by some in the veterinary community to be the most humane method for declawing. Reasons cited for this are that the toes undergo less trauma with laser, nerve endings are “sealed” off leading to less pain, and less bleeding occurs.