Feline Declaw at Murphy Road Animal Hospital

     Declawing (Onychectomy) is an elective surgery cat owners sometimes choose to have performed to prevent their pet from scratching furniture, curtains, other pets, and people.  Surgical declawing should be reserved for indoor cats and should be considered only after all other attempts to train your cat have failed.  

    Here at Murphy Road Animal Hospital we use a surgical laser to perform the declaw surgery Surgical laser offers the safest, least painful method of declawing a cat available today.  This means that there can never be any painful re-growth of nail tissue because the entire claw and attached, non weight-bearing bone are surgically removed. Because the laser seals the blood vessels and nerves, the cat quickly returns to normal activity, usually within one to three weeks following surgery. The laser makes this a virtually bloodless operation! 

In order to ensure that this is as safe and “pain-free” as possible, your cat will receive:

• A complete physical examination is performed prior to surgery.
• A pre-operative blood panel is recommended to ensure your cat is healthy. Included are kidney and liver tests, protein levels, blood glucose level, electrolytes, red cell count, white cell count, hematocrit, and a platelet count.
• General gas anesthesia via endotracheal tube with the latest generation (and safest!) anesthetic agents available (Isoflurane or Sevoflurane) 
• Monitoring of ECG, respiratory rate, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, pulse rate, blood pressure,and temperature during surgical procedure
• IV catheter and supportive fluids during surgery
•  Advanced, state-of-the-art, “Tissue Adhesive” closure to completely seal the incisions.
• Post operative pain medication for about 5 days to ensure a comfortable recovery

Declawing can be done at any age, but younger cats tend to bounce back more quickly than older ones.  Pet owners might consider having the declaw and spay or neuter done at the same time so the cat undergoes anesthesia only once. 

At Murphy Road Animal Hospital, we recommend performing surgeries on kittens between 5 and 6 months of age and only removing the front claws. Since older cats tend to have a longer recovery time, we recommend counseling with one of our doctors prior to scheduling the procedure. There is good evidence to show that recovery time is shortened if pain relief is started prior to surgery and continued for several days post-surgery. We generally use an oral medication.

Some people request that all four feet be declawed, but we do not recommend this. Cats rarely damage anything with their rear claws and these rear claws are their only defense after the front claws are removed. Inevitably, some indoor cats manage to sneak outside and then they may need their back claws to defend themselves. We recommend cats remain exclusively indoors after being declawed.

Benefits of declaw with laser:

• Laser used to dissect out the bone (impossible for claw to grow back)
• Laser seals blood vessels so no need for tourniquets
• Only light bandages used because of very little bleeding
• Laser seals nerve endings, therefore making procedure less painful
• Faster return to use of feet

Typically there are minimal complications with declaw surgery and your cat can go home after a one or two night stay in the hospital.  Activity should be restricted for about a week after returning home; jumping, especially jumping down from higher surfaces, should be avoided to prevent soreness.