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I was ignorant to the dangers of declawing and found myself getting a kitten that clawed everything. I tried everything to get her to stop clawing the wrong things. She just loved to claw everything and ruined just about anything she got her claws into. She was very energetic and crazy as a cat can be. I loved her to death! I am a cat person. At 6 months I took her to a local vet, not knowing much about him, I got her declawed and spayed. I picked her up and she seemed frightened. I was told she woke up and banged her head on the cage and hurt herself. I took her home and she stayed away from me. I was so sad I began to regret taking her to that vet.
A day later, Moka seemed very odd. I looked at her and her eye looked infected and she was walking horribly. It turns out that the ointment they put in her eyes during surgery, caused complications with her eyes. (I was told by another vet that they don't use ointment, it causes problems) Her paws were infected and I was out more money. I was so upset at the incompetence of this vet that I spread the word about his practices and made sure none of my friends went to him.
Today, Moka is great, except for one little quirk. Moka seems to act like she has a broken paw. She will sit up and lift her paw in the air and sit like that. She rotates her paws as if it is painful. I am sure it is from being de-clawed. I thought it was from the terrible vet too, which is likely.
I adopted another cat, Saki less than 6 months later, I also de-clawed her. She seemed to be well the next day. So, I am sure there are terrible vets out there. If I got another cat, I would not declaw her. I have learned a lot about the dangers and have been lucky with my cats. If I could reverse it, I would. I feel bad everytime I see Moka lift her paw like a little dog waiting to shake your hand. I know it was a terrible thing for her. She is a very shy cat now, but very lovable.
I would warn those who are 'Pro de-clawing'. I would also advise them to look at this site. Moki is now almost 2 years old and still acts like her paws are bothering her. Saki is as normal as she can be after being abandoned, but nothing wrong with her paws.
December 18, 2002
