T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
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1195.1 | | PBA::DALEY | | Thu Mar 17 1988 15:35 | 16 |
| When you say "bad claws removed" what does that mean? Are you talking
about cutting the claws or de-clawing. What did the vet say to do
with the claws? If it has to do with declawing - I would say be
extremely cautious - as a cat of that age can have lethal reactions
to anesthesia. The vet showed me where all the claws are on my cats
were to ensure that I didn't miss any. I clip by cats' claws and they
are okay but my mother's cat is a true brat. Sometimes it takes
two of us to do the job - one to hold him and one to cut, altho
it can be done by one person. Wrap him in a towel except for the
paw you will trim. I have to put him on the countertop in order
to get a good grip on him ( and his towel). And he has 7 toes in
front and 5 in back.
Yes indeed, some cats can be next to impossible to trim but it can
be done.
|
1195.2 | | CIRCUS::KOLLING | Karen, Sweetie, Holly; in Calif. | Thu Mar 17 1988 16:42 | 7 |
| I have a beanbag chair in my living room, and if I tuck a cat under
my left arm and sit in the chair, the cat can't get any purchase
to escape. (For those of you not familiar with beanbag chairs,
they are very squishy.) Then various indignities like pill
administration can be performed. Fortunately, mine keep their claws
trimmed themselves on their scratching posts.
|
1195.3 | A clarification | MRESS::MIDTMOEN | Andrea and the Gang | Fri Mar 18 1988 11:47 | 27 |
1195.5 | Let's talk to *his* vet | MRESS::MIDTMOEN | Andrea and the Gang | Fri Mar 18 1988 12:10 | 16 |
| No, I don't think he's had any problems before (we've only
had him for a few years; the people who had him before never took
care of him, so if he did get infected, he got over it by himself).
Also, he's an indoor kitty now, where he used to be indoor/outdoor,
so the risk should be lower.
The vet that I talked to on Wednesday wasn't Bigfoot's regular
vet, so she didn't know how old we estimate him to be (even Tufts
couldn't figure it out!); maybe we should reconsider after all. I
know he gets terrified every time we take him to the vet's; I'm
always worried he'll have a heart attack from the ride or the visit.
I think I will talk to his regular vet and see what she says. I
certainly don't want to lose him on account of a couple of claws!
Thanks for the input - I'll let you know what we finally decide.
|
1195.7 | Final decision | MRESS::MIDTMOEN | Andrea and the Gang | Mon Mar 21 1988 11:38 | 12 |
| Well, Howie and I talked it over this weekend and it looks
like Bigfoot will stay the way he is. Howie tried to figure out
Bigfoot's age again (he was his cat before he was ours) and, as
near as we can figure, he's at least 10-11 years old. This doesn't
make him too good a candidate for "cosmetic surgery" (my vet said
around 12 years old is the cut-off point, so Bigfoot's just about
on it). She too recommended to let him be unless he started getting
regular infections; just bring him in each month to be clipped (un-
less we can get him to behave himself, then we'll do it ourselves)
and make sure to keep and eye on him - if he limps, check it out.
So the old guy gets a reprieve (boy was he glad to hear that!)!
|
1195.8 | Extra toes are okay! | GRECO::MORGAN | Doris Morgan DTN 223-9594 | Wed Apr 06 1988 02:31 | 14 |
| Alex-I was also a "bigfoot" with baseball-size mitts in the front!
His thumbs were so big and out at an angle from the rest of his
paw that it caused him to stand with both front feet angled out
to the side, like a ballerina doing one of those steps (I don't
know the name of it)!
The deformity never cause him any real problems, except that he
had a cute kind of walk. I did have to keep the other extra claw
between his thumb and rest of the paw clipped regularly, or it
would curl back and start to become ingrown. As long as you take
care of this potential problem, I think he can safely live with
his extra, extra toes!
The extra toes are also very common in Maine Coon cats!
|
1195.9 | My boys have them, too | VAXWRK::SKALTSIS | Deb | Wed Apr 06 1988 14:32 | 11 |
| Argus and Panther are both double pawed, and both had this problem
with the extra claw growing into the foot pad. I had the extra claw
removed from Argus (just that one claw between the "thumb" and "fingers"
on both of his front paws) when Argus was about two years old. Turned
him from lion to pussycat. I had Panther's extra claw removed when
he was fixed (about 8 months old). That extra claw can be such a
problem in a double pawed cat that I'm surprised that when a double
pawed cat goes in for "fixing" that vets don't recommend removing
it at the same time.
Deb
|
1195.10 | I wish I had! | EDUC8::TRACHMAN | | Wed Apr 06 1988 17:47 | 9 |
| Dr. Brody suggested that he do that when I have Ivan neutered -
but I wasn't smart enough to agree - I said that I could trim
the nail with no problem so, Let's wait! Dumb! Now, Ivan
weighs 12 lbs. - his feet are Huge - and it's hard to trim
the inside nail. I still can get to it if I do it facing
him instead of him on his back on my lap (usual trimming
position). Hindsight .....
E.T.
|
1195.11 | it may not be too late | VAXWRK::SKALTSIS | Deb | Wed Apr 06 1988 18:48 | 13 |
| Elaine,
consider having it done now if Ivan isn't too old. Argus was about
2 when this was done to him, and even though he was knocked out
for the surgery, he bounced right back, and didn't seem to be in
any pain, although he was pretty groggy from the surgery. He only
stayed in the hospital for one day after surgery, and that was just
precautionary. The vet assured me that it wasn't even remotely as
traumatic as a full declawing.
Deb
|
1195.12 | I'm going to have Dr. Brody do it! | EDUC8::TRACHMAN | | Thu Apr 07 1988 13:40 | 14 |
| Deb, it sounds like a good idea for the summer -
he turned a year on 3-1. I'll probably make the appointment
on my next visit to Dr. Brody - some of the kids are due
for their yearly visits. Some of the younger ones and the
show kids (they get shots twice a year) also could use a
dose of "mites-by-mouth", as I call it. They don't seem
to have any that I can see, but it can't hurt to treat
them once a year to keep the whole crew clean and mite-free!
Yup, Ivan old man - that toe is going!
Thanks for the support - I'll tell Ivan what you said tonight!
E.T.
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