Depending on your living situation, it may become necessary to have your cat declawed. While declawing a cat is something that you may have wanted to avoid doing, there are several steps that you can be taking to help ensure that this procedure goes as smoothly as possible for your cat.
Make Sure The Cat Will Remain indoors
Your cat's claws are its primary weapons and form of self-defense. When you have the claws removed, you will need to avoid letting the cat outside. Otherwise, it may find itself in a situation where it would be defenseless. While you may not like the idea of keeping the cat indoors, this will be necessary for ensuring the safety and well-being of the animal.
Replace The Cat Litter With Shredded Newspaper During The Recovery
During the first several days after the claws have been removed, your cat will be unable to use traditional cat litter. This is due to the fact that the cat litter can get into the wounds on the cat's paws, which can greatly increase the risk of infection occurring. You can avoid this risk while still ensuring your cat has a litter box to use by replacing the litter with newspaper. The newspaper will be much less likely to get stuck in the surgical wounds. When using newspaper, shred it as much as you can as this will help the cat to cover its waste, which can be an important instinct to fulfill.
Take The Cat For Its Follow-Up Visit
After a week or so, your cat's veterinarian will want to see the animal for a follow-up visit. These visits are necessary so that many different potential complications can be identified and corrected before they become major issues. Sadly, there are many pet owners that will fail to bring their cats in for these visits due to assuming the cat has recovered without issues. Yet, there are some issues that will develop very slowly. By the time that these issues become apparent, they may already be extremely severe.
If you are looking to have your cat's claws removed, you will need to be as informed a possible about this procedure. Once you are aware of the fact that a declawed cat will need to stay indoors, the importance of replacing the litter with shredded newspaper and the need to take the cat for a follow-up visit you should find that you are better prepared to have your cat's claws removed. Contact a clinic, like Animal House Veterinary Hospital, for more help.
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