recently declawed kitty in great discomfort

[<3scampers]

Hi. i'm new to this forum and would really appreciate some advice.

My cat, scampers, is 5 months old, and i just got her back from the vet a day ago after she was in for a spay and declaw.
she is being rather good about the stitches on her tummy, but her claws seem to be bothering her a great deal.
my family and i have been absolutely babying her, no running, no jumping. she mostly sleeps all day. but her paws seem to be in a great deal of pain and she seems worse today, greatly favoring her right paw.
i think one of the biggest problems in that she is licking and biting her paws a lot, despite our efforts to stop her.

do you have any advice?
is there anything you guys know of that i can put on her paws to either ease the pain or stop the licking?
the vet gave us some 'bitter' cream, but scampers doesnt mind it(and my boyfriend tried it and said it wasnt that bitter)

any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

[Traci]

Get her back to your vet IMMEDIATELY, you need to rule out the possibility of ripped sutures, open wounds and infection developing. Not to mention the pain she is in, your vet should have prescribed a mild kitty pain medication before even releasing her. (do NOT give her any pain medications yourself, and absolutely NO human pain relievers, only your vet can prescribe appropriate pain meds for cats)

You also need to get an elizabethan collar from your vet and put it on kitty at home to PREVENT her from chewing, licking, ripping out sutures or surgical glue from her paws. Do NOT apply anything to the paws, only your vet can re-examine them and determine what should be used. Typically, he may suggest suggesting soaking the paws in a betadine solution (mixed with room temp water very weak betadine amount), he has betadine available at his clinic.

Get her in immediately for a re-evaluation on the paws, to make sure no infection is developing! This is a very painful experience for her!

[<3scampers]

thanks for your advice. scampers is looking happier today, but i will call the vet and tell them what is going on.
i dont think we are going to get her the collar because we had another cat and it seemed to stress her out way more than it was worth it. we will just continue to be vigilant about stopping her licking.

thanks again and i will post in a couple of day how she is doing.

[Traci]

She's going to take every opportunity to lick, pull at sutures, no matter how diligent you think you can be. One second is all it takes for a suture to be pulled out, and that's all it takes for infection to enter.

There is a reason for elizabethan collars, to PREVENT these things. She will only have to wear it for a couple days, you can take it off when you're there to monitor when she eats, etc.

Remember the pain as well, your vet can prescribe specific pain medication (for cats) you can use at home. It has to be prescribed, dosed cautiously though, so follow vet's Rx and instructions carefully.

[Cindy]

This is what she went thru, I'd be sore and unhappy, too!

[JUDY S]

I don't know what Traci edited out, but I think I might be with Cindy on this one. I think declawing is unnatural and cruel.

[<3scampers]

the morality of declawing is not the topic here. while i do agree that declawing is not a good idea, it is too late now.
i was just hoping to get some home remedies on how to make my cat more comfortable before i go rushing off to the vet. i do not think her situation is as serious as you may believe, and i do not have another few hundred dollars (or hours to drive to the vet).
i have cared for cats since i was 7, so i do have experience with living with them, and i do care about their health.

scampers is doing better today as well. her paws do not seem to hurt her as much, and she is eating and using the litter box normally. my mom and i are going to try and get the betadine solution and soak her feet. although we have both agreed to not get the collar.

i will post in a few days to let you guys know how she is doing.

[Traci]

Your vet, who performed the surgery, will re-evaluate her at NO charge. That's what a "followup" or "recheck" exam is, which I'm sure he advised you when he released kitty that day.

So, it's free, and you owe it to your kitty to get her seen immediately. Don't know what about "immediate" you don't understand. Declaws are painful, they are HIGHLY susceptible to infection, and you CANNOT watch her every second of every 24/7.

So, isn't it easy on you, and clearly better for the kitty, to have her re-evaluated for FREE by your vet, to ensure that no pain, no infection has developed? That's what he's there for, and that's why it's a followup!

Heated debates about declawing aren't allowed here, BUT, when you come here asking for help, and are given good, quality, sound advice and don't take that advice, we tend to get alittle upset. It's your kitty who is in pain, not you.

By the way, you can't just use any old betadine you get at the store, and you can't just use it directly. You HAVE to dilute it to an extent with water, so that it is a weak solution, and you HAVE to know how often and how long at a time to soak her paws, that's what your vet is for, so HE can direct you properly, so he can re-evalute her, and so he can give you the betadine and instruct proper use of it.

[mamabear]

I have to agree here...You asked for advice it was given and you ignored it. You really have no clue what your cat went through and any graphics or memos will never give you actual feelings towards it. It was your choice to do it and you did no one stopped you nor should they have BUT it IS your responsibility as the good pet owner you say you are to have gotten that cat to the vet to check for infection or anything that could have gotten into the wound. YOUR VET is WRONG for not giving you a pain reliever for your kitty.

DID YOU even call vet to ask advice? I do hope so.
Why in the name of good faith would you use betadine on a cats paws that you have no clue what is wrong with them?

Did the vet say to soak them? Or have you done this before and just assume this time is fine as well?

No one here is judging you, there is no reason for debate about the declaw since I am sure you did all of your research prior to put your kitty through what you did and weighed the pain it would go through against why you NEEDED to declaw it in the first place. But for goodness sake call the vet. If you can not afford to get kitty medical attention you might want to think about the responsibility you took on.

I understand you say kitty is feeling better but just because you no longer see her limping or licking her wounds doesnt mean she is ok. Please call the vet he can at least say what to do and prescribe a pain reliever.

I would hope that you have taken every single precaution that you can since having cats since you 7 years old about keeping them indoors ONLY and the risks that will happen if the kitty escapes. Good luck to you and kitty. Hopefully the vet will tell you what to do and she will be on the road to recovery and not feeling so bad.

[Cindy]

oops! sorry about the link Traci, I didn't know....