Tag Archives: feline

Debunking Declawing

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For cats, scratching is an instinctual activity.  It helps them sharpen and condition their claws, as well as mark their territory.  But when your purring pet chooses to mark your carpet and furniture, the resulting frustration may interfere with your bond. To remedy the situation, some pet parents choose to have their cats declawed.

The procedure known as “declawing” is technically a partial digit amputation, during which the first joint of each toe is actually amputated.  It is a very painful procedure with significant recovery periods and potential for post-operative complications.  Declawing is not a routine surgery and should never be done as a preventative.

Declawing is a controversial subject, and the procedure is illegal in most of Europe, parts of Asia and in several U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica.  The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages declawing unless all other options to discourage scratching have been truly exhausted.  Some adoption agencies will not adopt a cat to a person who intends to have her declawed.

Throughout the United States, declawing is often performed along with spay and neuter procedures, when cats are between four and six months old, before proper training to discourage scratching has taken place.  Declawed cats should remain hospitalized for several days after surgery to receive appropriate pain medications and have surgery sites monitored.  At Animal General we require hospitalization before surgery in order to start IV pain management.  Once the cat is ready to go home, she will need additional pain medications, special litter, and weeks of restricted activity.

What are the potential complications of declawing?

  • Post-surgical complications: Lameness, abscesses, and claw regrowth can occur days or weeks or many years after surgery.
  • Pain: It is impossible to know how much chronic pain and suffering declawing causes. However, we can look at similar procedures in people. Almost all human amputees report “phantom” sensations from the amputated part, ranging from merely strange to extremely painful. Because declawing involves ten separate amputations, it is virtually certain that all declawed cats experience phantom pain in one or more toes.
  • Joint stiffness: In declawed (and tenectomized) cats, the tendons that control the toe joints retract after the surgery, and over time these joints become essentially “frozen.” The toes can no longer be extended, but remain fully contracted for the lifetime of the cat.
  • Arthritis: Researchers have shown that, in the immediate post-operative period, newly declawed cats shift their body weight backward onto the large central pad of the front feet and off the toes. This effect was significant even when strong pain medication was given, and remained apparent for the duration of the study (up to 40 hours after surgery). If this altered gait persists over time, it would cause stress on the leg joints and spine, and could lead to damage and arthritic changes in multiple joints.
  • Litterbox problems: Experts say that declawed cats have more litterbox problems than clawed cats. Not many people would choose urine-soaked carpeting (or floorboards, sofa cushions, drywall, bedding or mattresses) over scratch marks, but this is a distressingly common outcome. In one survey, 95% of calls about declawed cats related to litterbox problems, while only 46% of clawed cats had such problems — and most of those were older cats, many with physical ailments that accounted for the behavior.
  • Biting: Some experts believe that naturally aggressive cats who are declawed are likely to become biters.

Luckily, you can avoid putting your cat through a painful procedure but still nix his itch to scratch:

  • Clip kitty’s claws.  The easiest (and most inexpensive) option is to keep your cat’s claws short.  Trimming every other week won’t prevent scratching behaviors, but it will minimize the damage done to your home.  Animal General offers free nail trims to current patients on Wednesdays from 2-4 p.m.  Just call that morning to let us know you are coming.
  • Consider covers.  Soft Paws® are plastic nail caps that are designed to fit over each nail, covering their sharp points and preventing damage.  They will need to be reapplied every 4 to 6 weeks.  They can be put on at home, but many pet parents choose to have their veterinarian apply them.
  • Tricks for training.  Teach your cat to distinguish “good” scratch surfaces from the family furniture.  Provide BOTH vertical and horizontal surfaces like scratching posts and corrugated cardboard scratchers, then entice your cat with catnip.  Be sure the vertical scratchers are made with sisal rope, not carpet, and are tall enough for the adult cat to stretch his entire body length.  Reward appropriate behavior with treats.  Use Sticky Paws® or double-sided tap to cover inappropriate items.

If your cat can’t seem to stop scratching, please talk to your vet.  You may find trimming and training are the right solutions, rather than surgery.

Below the Gumline: Your Cat’s Hidden Pain

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Tooth resorption is one of the most common dental problems suffered by cats, second only to periodontal disease, according to the American Veterinary Dental Society (AVDS). The AVDS estimates that 72% of cats age 5 or over have at least one oral resorptive lesion. Is your cat among them? Unfortunately, you may not be able to tell.

Resorptive lesions start below the gum line, at the root of the tooth, and progress up through the inside of the tooth. Without treatment, this painful process will cause swollen gums and holes in the surface of the tooth. In other words, your cat may suffer silently for a long time before you are able to see the problem.

Tooth resorption can cause so much pain that, under general anesthetic, the cat will react when the lesion is touched.  Yet most cats don’t show obvious signs of pain at home.

“Pets are very good at hiding their pain,” says Brett Beckman, DVM, president of AVDS. “Occasionally we see reluctance to eat, but this is very unusual.”

Eventually the affected tooth will collapse in on itself and dissolve.

Detection and Treatment
Your veterinarian knows what to look for and where to look.

Beckman and the American Veterinary Dental College recommend all cats have a professional dental examination and cleaning each year. Cats with a history of resorptive lesions should be seen twice annually.

During the exam, your veterinarian will look at your cat’s mouth and teeth for red gums and unusual tissue growth. Dental x-rays are almost always necessary to detect developing resorptive lesions and determine the extent of the damage.

Your cat will be sedated with general anesthetic during these procedures so that all surfaces of the teeth and gums can be examined and cleaned with the least amount of stress and discomfort to your pet.

If your cat is diagnosed with tooth resorption, your veterinarian will likely recommend removing the tooth. The goals of treatment are to relieve your cat’s pain, prevent the disease from continuing, and restore function of the mouth. Usually, attempts to save the tooth are unsuccessful.

“Restoration isn’t recommended because this condition comes from inside the tooth, unlike human cavities which are on the outside of the tooth,” explains Beckman.

Prevention
Although feline resorptive lesions are being studied, the cause is not known. One theory is that they are the result of periodontal disease. Many cats do have both conditions, although some have lesions only.

Your best bet is to combine annual veterinary exams with regular at-home care. Your veterinarian can show you how to brush your cat’s teeth and use oral rinses. Be sure to use toothpaste made specifically for cats. Never use baking soda or human toothpaste Cats don’t spit – at least not when you want them to – and ingesting human toothpaste or baking soda can cause stomach upset. Also, many types of human toothpaste contain Xylitol, a sweetener that is highly toxic to dogs and possibly other animals as well.

The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) awards a Seal of Acceptance to products that meet their standards. The list is on the VOHC website.

What Is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease is the most prevalent of all veterinary disease — not just dental diseases, but all veterinary diseases combined. It affects the supporting structure of the teeth, and eventually leads to breakdown of tooth attachment.Plaque causes gingivitis, which is an early stage of periodontal problems. Gingivitis is reversible, but if not treated will progress to periodontal disease.
 Dental care of dogs and cats is one of the most commonly overlooked areas of pet health care; however, it is necessary to provide optimum health and quality of life. Diseases of the oral cavity, if left untreated, are often painful and can lead to more serious health problems including heart, lung and kidney disease.

There are two critical components of your pet’s veterinary dental care: oral examinations and dental cleanings. Veterinary dental care begins at the puppy and kitten life stage. As your pet ages, your veterinarian will look for developmental anomalies, the accumulation of plaque and tartar, periodontal disease and oral tumors. Veterinarians can perform a basic oral examination on patients that are awake. However, when a cleaning is required, your pet will need to be induced under general anesthesia wherein a thorough examination will be done prior to the cleaning. Dental cleanings performed while your pet is awake is not only dangerous for the team member performing the cleaning but dangerous to your pet as well.

Since there is an element of risk associated with any medical procedure, it is important that safety precautions are used. Among the many standards in the dentistry section, AAHA accreditation requires that veterinarians perform thorough examinations of the teeth and structures of the oral cavity in patients presented for dental procedures and only properly trained practice team members perform dental procedures. Additionally, AAHA Standards recommend that dental procedures are accompanied by pain assessment and appropriate pain treatment.

By: KATHERINE DOBBS, RVT, CVPM, PHR

This article originally appeared in PetsMatter Jan-Mar 09 – Volume 4 Issue 1, published by the American Animal Hospital Association. Copyright © 2008 AAHA