“Declaw”
To provide the highest quality care for your pet, the staff at Rush Animal Care Clinic feels that you should be fully informed about the procedure, risks, and benefits involved with an onychectomy. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have concerning today’s procedure.
Procedure:
- Prior to surgery, your cat will receive an injection of pain reliever. He or she will receive an injection of an anti-inflammatory to aid in comfort—this will last 24 hours. During surgery, we will use a cocktail of local anesthetics around each foot. These medications all work together to make your cat more comfortable after surgery.
- The surgical procedure involves the removal of the last bone on each toe. This is necessary since the nail grows from the end of the last bone. After thorough inspection for bone fragments, skin-adhering glue is used to close the incision. Each foot is given an application of laser therapy following closure—this helps to reduce inflammation.
- Your cat is allowed to rest and vitals are closely monitored.
- We will phone a prescription to a compounding pharmacy—this will be for pain medication. Please pick that up before you come back for your cat.
Possible Complications:
- Anesthesia complications, such as prolonged recovery, vomiting, diarrhea, drop in or loss of appetite, organ impairment or dysfunction, death.
- Infection of wound
- Delayed closure of surgical incision
- Self-inflicted trauma to the wound
- Circulatory disorder due to use of the tourniquet and bandages
- Hemorrhage (caused by ruptured vessels)
- Lameness due to wound infection
Benefits:
- The removal of the claws can make cuddling with your cat a more pleasurable experience for you.
- Claw removal reduces the severity of damage to your furniture and other belongings.
- This procedure reduces the probability of self-inflicted injuries.
- During play with people and other pets the likelihood of scratches will be decreased.
