Conference misery::feline_v1

    By operation, do you mean spaying?  In any event, I think you should
    talk to the vet;  this sounds like something that has to be dealt
    with before it causes infection, etc., and he may want to combine
    dealing with it with the spaying operation so she doesn't have to
    be anesthesized twice.
    

See the vet pronto!!!  Declawing of at least the most dangerous claws is
indicated.  Your kitten has "confused" genes about making claws and you
will have to declaw a couple of toes to make sure she is safe from infection.
The vet will know which ones are likely to cause problems....Although a
friend's cat had to go back twice before she gave in and had the cat's feet
X-RAYed to find out future problems and then had the problem toes declawed
all at once.

    Argus, who is also a polydaectyl, has a bunch of these little "growths"
    on his pads. They aren't actually claws, but rather like a soft
    nail that never grows more than about a quarter inch. The vet said
    that they aren't harmful of painful (or useful, either). the
    only real problem that they present is a cosmetic one. He said that
    if there was any need in the future to put Argus under, then if
    the looks of the thing really bother me, they could be cut out as
    a very minor procedure, but otherwise, he really saw no reason for
    concern or action.

    There are a couple of notes in here about polydactyls (523, 1195.)
    The last few replies to 523 talk about these little growths, while
    the last few replies to 1195 talk about removing that middle claw.
    
    Deb
    Deb

    Isn't declawing another word for amputation?

    No, declawing does not involve cutting off their toes.  My cat 
    Harry had to have one of his claws removed when if broke off and
    there was just a shard of claw left. Leaving the piece would have
    been a way for infection to set in. When he came back from the vet
    all of his little toes were intact.
    
    Declawing means exactly what it says; removal off the claw and it's
    sheath.  Most cats that I've seen develop STRONG "fingers" afterwards.
    They still can do anything a cat with claws can do EXCEPT, rearrange
    the fabric structure of your furniture and clothing, defend themselves
    effectively from predators.  I have known some that are outdoor
    cats under supervision and they still were able to climb trees,
    harrass the neighborhood dogs that wandered into the yard.
    
    I would say declawing would be more like surgically removing your
    finger/toenails, not the fingers/toes.
    
    Hope this clears up your confusion, and if I'm wrong, please SOMEONE
    set me straight.
    
    Roslyn, Esco and Brandy.  

    In the case of cats with many extras, I have seen removal of the
    toes recommended also.  I won't do that unless their health is somehow
    endangered.  This case may be an example of why they do at all.
    
    Gary

    Declawing in the usual sense is amputation of the toe at the first
    joint.  Maybe in the instance of removing claws in polydactyl cats
    the methods are different.
    
    One of my Birmans was in the vet today with a claw problem.  She
    had somehow injured herself and the cut was very deep between the
    toes and had caused some damage to the nail bed.  The vet had at
    first thought he would have to declaw that toe.  That would have
    involved anesthesia, and amputation of that toe to include the nail
    bed.  Fortunately, that wasn't necessary afterall.  The claw was
    taken off below the skin and the paw was left unbandaged.
    
    Jo       

   > Declawing in the usual sense is amputation of the toe at the first
   > joint.  

    I've seen lots of declawed cats, and never seen any with their
  toes missing! Their paws look the same as before the operation
  (once they've recovered from the procedure, that is!), but they
  have no claws to bring out to scratch you or the furniture with.
  I'm getting really confused here... Do we all have different
  interpretations of the word "toe"?

  Really, the paws look the same afterwards as a cat with its claws
  retracted! If toes were missing, wouldn't I notice?

    re: 6
    
    When they declaw - they remove the tip of the toe with the nail
    down to the first joint - generally, when surgery is performed
    on bone, it can be common to have arthritis develop.  Some cats
    are in pain for the rest of their lives after declawing.  If
    the vet does not take the toe down far enough, the nail will
    start growing back and the surgery has to be performed again.

    re: .9
    
    Actually, if you have two cats side by side you can tell which one
    is declawed because there is a different look to the foot.  The
    clawed foot is rounded and a declawed foot appears somewhat flat.
    
    Jeanne
    

    Declawing does indeed mean amputation, as several other people have
    stated.  Exactly analogous to our having the last joints on our
    fingers and thumbs cut off.

    
    	Just out of curiousity, those of you that stated that declawing
    	is the same as amputation, is that your own definition, or
    	is it a medical definition (did a vet tell you this).
    	If it is your own personal opinion, maybe you should reserve
    	your comments to the notes that are specifically meant to
    	discuss declawing issue. BUT, if it is medically considered 
    	amputation, then I suppose it is alright to discuss it here.
    
    	Being an owner of two declawed cats, I have never heard declawing
    	termed amputation by any vet, only by people who are against	
    	declawing.  But, again, the issue is a personal one although
    	there are cases where partial declawing (ie one toe or so) is
    	medically warranted.  Just to give an example, cats with extra
    	toes are often at a risk of claws growing back into the pad.
    	And one of my own cats actually had a claw growing BETWEEN two
    	toes and it was making him limp.  The claw was such that I really
    	couldn't get to it to trim it so declawing was the only route.   
        Now, somebody tell me what on earth they could have been amputating
    	in the case of a claw between two toes??  There was no toe there!
    	so they certainly were not amputating any part of any toe. 
    	For this reason, I am of the opinion that declawing is not 
    	the same as amputation but I will defer to any verified medical
    	opinion.  
    
    	I also feel that even the most adamant oponents of declawing
    	would not allow their cat to suffer if the cat had problem claws.
    
    	Karen

    
    
    	I couldn't let the issue remain so I just called the vet.
    
    	Amputation of a body part involves removal of a BONE in
    	the body.  They assured me that declawing WAS NOT amputation.
    
    	Now this is just the opinion of one veterinary hospital
    	and it is possible that other vets are of a different
    	opinion but I doubt it.
    
    	But again, this is a personal issue and a moral one.  Those
    	who are considering declawing should really be exposed only
    	to the FACTS, not biased opinion.  From these FACTS, a person
    	should form his own biased opinion!!  Right!!  I said that
    	so well....
    
    	Karen_who_has_her_own_biased_BUT_INFORMED_opinion_on_declawing
    

    let's not start the declawing issue again!  PLEASE!
    
    Holly
    

    Karen, I don't think anyone here was trying to condemn or support
    the issue of declawing, we were just trying to explaine what it
    was.  Whether someone approves or disapproves of declawing I'm sure
    they would have the procedure done if it were a matter of medical
    necessity such as the situation of claws or extra toes growing where
    they shouldn't (given it was causing a problem).
    
    Seems to me that I have read that declawing was an amputation down
    to the first joint but I too will check my books over the weekend
    to refresh my memory.
    
    Jeanne, Cali and Sam
    

    I was very curious about this whole thing after reading .14 so
    I called the University of California, Davis, Veterinary School
    of Medicine to ask them whether or not declawing involved amputation.
    I had always heard and read that it did, and was surprised by the
    previous note saying that it did not. 
    
    Well, to make a long story short, it does involve amputation sometimes
    and sometimes it does not.  The Dr. that I spoke with said that
    they teach two methods of declawing, one that involves using a blade
    and cutting the claw off at the first joint of the toe (cutting
    through the bone), and the other that uses a nail cutter (or trimmer)
    that only cuts through the soft tissue of the nail bed and does not
    involve removing the bone chip that attaches the nail to the toe.
    
    He went on to say that there is a school of thought that believes
    that the latter method (nail trimmer) has a higher instance of claw
    regrowth, but that they had not seen that to be the case at their
    Vet Clinic.  He also said that the method used on a cat is up to
    the individual Vet who performs the surgery.
    
    I have concluded from this that both opinions on declawing are correct.
    If someoone is thinking of having their cat declawed and does not like
    the idea of amputation, they may want to ask the Vet to use the nail trimmer
    method.
    
    So for once we do not have to agree to disagree since both sides
    are right!!!! 8^)  8^)  8^)  8^)  8^)  8^)  8^)  8^)  8^0
    
    Jo

    That last 8^0 was really supposed to be a 8^).
    
    A typo, not a Freudian slip, honest!!!
    
    Jo

    
    	Re: .17
    
    	Thanks Jo!  That was really pretty informative!  I don't
    	think that information is recorded any where else in the
    	file (at least I've never seen it) so it is nice to get
    	the facts.  I don't know what method was used on my cats
    	but judging from my vets definition of declawing, it was
    	probably the nail trimmer method.
    
    	Karen