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Declaw Discharge Instructions
Declawing involves the surgical removal of the tips of all ten front toes. It is widely regarded as a very painful procedure. This doesn't mean that it actually has to be very painful, however. At Sunnyside Veterinary Clinic, we believe in better living through chemistry. Your cat has already received a carefully-planned, pre-emptive, multi-modal anesthesia and pain control protocol. The take-home medication is the last mode.
 Some cats go home on meloxicam, a liquid pain medication dispensed in a dropper bottle like in the image to the right. Read the label carefully and follow the directions found there. You need to give one dropper-full to your cat by mouth just once a day, generally in the evening. Shake the bottle well before dosing. One good squeeze of the black rubber top will fill the dropper up as shown in the image to the right. Notice that the dropper only fills up to the black line. When the dropper is filled to the black line, it is full.
Other cats go home on Buprenorphine. If your cat was prescribed buprenorphine, Click Here to go to an article on how to give Buprenorphine.
Your cat will come home with the front feet wrapped up in bandages. The bandages need to stay on two to four days. We put them on so that the cats can get them off themselves in about the right length of time. If your cat does not get them off on about four days, we would be happy to remove them for you. Or you can remove them yourself.
The incisions are held closed by tissue glue. However, it is still important to protect the incisions. Declawed cats should not be allowed outside anyway, but this is especially true for the first week  after surgery. Also, you need to remove any clay-based litter you may have in the litter box. You can shred up newspaper to put in the box, or buy one of the paper-based litters such as Yesterday's News. This type of litter will not get stuck in the incisions. We sell Yesterday's News here as a convenience. You can go back to clay in two weeks.
The bottom line here is that your cat should seem relatively pain free in just a few days after surgery. If you cat seems painful, is reluctant to move, does not eat well, seems quiet or moody, has any discharge or drainage, or limps, please let us know. Your cat may need stronger pain medication, there could be "phantom pain," as is sometimes seem in amputation-type operations, or there could be some other complication. Complications, though rare, can lead to permanent lameness and pain for your cat, so it is important to address them early.
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