Sorry bud, but you came to the wrong place if you dont want to get lectured!
Either way, traditional surgery or laser, you are having your cat's toes
amputated.   Get him a nice, sturdy scratching post.  Yes, he likes to
scratch, all cats do.  Go ahead and get him neutered before he starts
spraying.

    Nope.

    They do the same thing in the laser declaw -- the only
difference is in the cutting tool (scalpel, guillotine clippers,
laser).  The germinative cells for a cat's claws are in the
distal phalanx, arising from the unguicular crest and unguicular
process in the distal phalanx.  The distal phalanx *must* be removed
completely or the regrowth of a vestigial claw (and the accompanying
abcesses) will (not can) result.  The distal phalanx is the last bone
in a cat's toe, thus in an onchyectomy (declaw surgery) portions of
the cat's toes are amputated.  
    Post-operative pain is the same with laser, as are
complication rates, bleeding, and healing times are not markedly
increased.
    You will see the same behavioural issues in laser declawed
cats as in traditionally declawed ones -- the most common being
avoidance of the litterbox (due to painful feet), biting, and fear
aggression.
    You will also see the same long-term issues in laser declawed
cats -- arthritis due to elbow and shoulder degeneration due to the
forced change in gait and back problems due to the cat being unable to
properly stretch and exercise the muscles in its shoulders and back

    How about reading veterinarian journals for discussions of
both methods and talking to vets?   

    How many posts do you have, where are they, how tall are they,
and how sturdy are they?  :)
    I know that's a lot of questions, but placement, number, and
all those others are crucial factors in whether a cat uses a post or
not, thereby saving your furniture.
    You should provide multiple posts and multiple scratching
surfaces.  Some cats like the feeling of sisal rope, some like bark,
some like carpet, some like cardboard.  Some cats like vertical
surfaces, some like horizontal ones.
    Cats like to scratch when they first wake up, and they like to
scratch in places where the traffic density is the highest.  Put one
post where they like to sleep so they can stretch their muscles after
a nap, and put one in the living/family room (high traffic density) so
they can fulfill their territorial marking need.  Scratching is a
visual and olfactory territory marker -- the scratched part says
visually 'here I am, and I'm this big', and cats have scent glands on
their paw pads that say olfactorily 'This is my place, and I'm this
sex and this old and this healthy'.
    Cats tend to prefer posts that are tall enough to stretch way
up against.  This not only helps them stretch/exercise their back and
shoulder muscles properly, but lets them announce how tall they are to
the world in territorial marking.
    Cats will not scratch on an unsteady surface.  If the post
wobbles or (Bast forbid) falls over, cats won't scratch on it.  Posts
and trees should be on a heavy, wide base for maximum stability.

    I have four scratching surfaces (one 6' tree in the living
room, 2 4' posts (one in the library near out bedroom and one in the
media room in the basement), and one cardboard horizontal scratcher
that floats around the house) for two Bengal cats (who are very active
and heavy scratchers), and we have no damage anywhere in the house.
Now, the cats will paw at the furniture (claws in) to put their scent
on it, but since that's non-damaging we allow it.

Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat?  Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Hi there, me again.  I'm promising myself I will *not* preach about
anti-declawing, because I can tell that tactic will not work with you.  So,
here's a website from a vet hospital that is *promoting* laser declaw, and
you can see for yourself that it is still an amputation, albeit a more
hi-tech one.  http://www.adobepet.com/library/declaw.htm

I only ask that you try a few alternatives before you declaw your cat.  What
is he doing wrong?  Scratching the furniture?  Get him a nice, sturdy
scratching post.  I have 5 cats, all with their claws, and NONE of them
scratch the furniture!  I really didn't have to discipline them about it,
either.  I have a big cat tower/scratching post in the living room, right
near the sliding glass door and sofa, and they all use that and not the
couch!  I also have a few horizontal sisal scratchers, and they like that
better than the carpet.  With a cat, you have to give them a better
alternative than your furniture for scratching, IMHO.

If you cannot train your cat not to scratch, for whatever reason, please
try Soft Paws (http://www.softpaws.com/).  They are plastic caps that you
put over the cat's nails.  I have them on one of my cats, not because he
scratched furniture, but because it was impossible to clip his nails and he
likes to knead me every morning, and his claws would poke me.  I admit, I
was very skeptical about Soft Paws, but they work!! I took him to the vet to
have them put on (as said cat won't sit still for nail clipping, I knew he
wouldn't for me putting on Soft Paws).   My vet charged $20 for the
application.  It's been almost two months, and only one tip has come off so
far.  Bartleby still does the scratching act at the cat tower, and doesn't
seem to notice them at all.  Best part is, he can now knead me in the
morning and it doesn't hurt! If your cat is easy to handle, you can probably
put the Soft Paws on yourself.

I will also admit that when this cat was a kitten, I contemplated declawing,
but that was before I had all the facts.  I thought about laser declawing,
too.  Thinking it was more humane, but then I realized it is bascially the
same procedure, just the cut is done with a laser.  It sounds like your cat
is very happy and well-adjusted.  Declawing can lead to behavioral issues,
like litterbox avoidance.  So, before you spend hundreds of dollars on a
surgery that can lead to other problems, try some low-cost, low-tech
solutions.  I think Soft Paws might be your best bet.

Surely you didn't think you could post about wanting to amputate the ends of
your cat's toes in a cat loving newsgroup and not get any comments.  If you
feel compelled to mutilate your cat, please find another home for him.

1. It is illegal in many countries and even some animal shelters and vets in
the United States won't perform the surgery.

2. Cats actually walk on their first digit, which is the digit that is
amputated. They can begin to walk incorrectly due to the amputation.

3. Declawing is not just yanking the claw out, it is the amputation of the
first digit, which is the equivalent of us having our fingers cut off to the
first knuckle.

4. Declawed cats can become fear biters. Cats first defense mechanism are their
claws, when these are gone they bite. Biting can cause severe blood poisoning .

5. Declawed cats can and do suffer behavioral disorders, such as not using the
litter box due to discomfort in their feet, and may use the rest of the house
as their litterbox. They also have trouble jumping and landing, and in some
severe cases, both domestic and wild cats have become lame upon being declawed.

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Director of the
Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and
internationally known specialist in domestic animal behavioral research,
explains declawing:

"The inhumanity of the procedure is clearly demonstrated by the nature of cats'
recovery from anesthesia following the surgery. Unlike routine recoveries,
including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful,
declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage
because of excruciating pain. Cats that are more stoic huddle in the corner of
the recovery cage, immobilized in a state of helplessness, presumably
by overwhelming pain. Declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation to
a tee. Words such as deform, disfigure, disjoint, and dismember all apply to
this surgery. Partial digital amputation is so horrible that it has been
employed for torture of prisoners of war, and in veterinary medicine, the
clinical procedure serves as model of severe pain for testing the efficacy of
analgesic drugs. Even though analgesic drugs can be used
postoperatively, they rarely are, and their effects are incomplete and
transient anyway, so sooner or later the pain will emerge."

"Declawing, or onychectomy, is an amputation of the toe at the last joint.
This removes the claw and the bone from which it originates. On a human hand
this would be an amputation at the knuckle just above the nail. It is not
just removal of the claw as many people think." Matthew J. Ehrenberg, DVM

"It is serious surgery. Your cat's claw is not a toenail. It is actually
closely adhered to the bone. So closely adhered that to remove the claw, the
last bone of your the cat's claw has to be removed. Declawing is actually an
amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". When you envision that,
it becomes clear why declawing is not a humane act. It is a painful surgery,
with a painful recovery period." Dr. Christianne Schelling, DVM

"The amputation of the nail is accomplished with a guillotine nail cutter,
which cuts across the first joint of the toe" Dr. Paul Rowan, DVM

"Declawing (onchyectomy) is a surgical procedure that amputates the 3rd
phalanx bone and claw of all ten front foot toes of a cat. This is
comparable to the amputation of the last bone of each finger in the human
hand." Dr. Jennifer Kissinger, DVM

"The feline digit, just like the human digit (finger), possesses three
phalanxes. When a cat is declawed it is the third or last phalanx, that is
completely removed or amputated." Murphy Animal Hospital, Tampa, Florida

"Declawing, or onychectomy, is the amputation of the claw and last bone
(third phalanx) of the cat's toes at the first joint on the front feet. It's
the
equivalent of removing the last bone of all your fingers." Dr. Alice Crook,
Head, Animal Welfare Unit at Atlantic Veterinary College, University of
Prince Edward
Island.

"Declawing is the surgical amputation under general anesthesia of the last
part of the toe - comparable to the removal of your fingertip at the first
joint." Veterinary Information Network, Inc

"The most common surgical procedure, onychectomy, or "declawing", is
amputation of the claw and the end toe bone joint." The Cat Fanciers'
Association

"Declawing a cat involves general anesthesia and amputation of the last
joint of each toe, including the bones, not just the nail." Doctors Who's
Who, Inc.

J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998 Aug 1;213(3):370-3412 Comparison of effects of elective
tenectomy or onychectomy in cats. Jankowski AJ, Brown DC, Duval J, Gregor TP,
Strine LE, Ksiazek LM, Ott AH Department of Clinical Studies, Veterinary
Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia 19104, USA.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Owners should be aware of the high complication rate for
both procedures. Vet Surg 1994 Jul-Aug;23(4):274-80 Feline onychectomy at a
teaching institution: a retrospective study of 163 cases. Tobias KS Department
of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Washington State University College of
Veterinary Medicine, Pullman 99164-6610.
One hundred sixty-three cats underwent onychectomy from January 1985 to
November 1992. Onychectomy was performed with guillotine-type nail shears
(62%), surgical blade (24.5%), or both (8.6%), and wound closure consisted of
bandages alone (61.3%), bandages after suture closure (26.4%), or tissue
adhesive application (9.2%). The duration of surgery was significantly longer
when onychectomy was performed with a blade or when suture closure was used
instead of bandages alone (P < .05). Fifty percent of the cats had one or more
complications immediately after surgery. Early postoperative complications
included pain (38.1%), hemorrhage (31.9%), lameness (26.9%), swelling (6.3%),
or non-weight-bearing (5.6%), and were observed more frequently after blade
onychectomy (P < .001). Follow-up was available in 121 cats; 19.8% developed
complications after release. Late postoperative complications included
infection (11.6%), regrowth (7.4%), P2 protrusion (1.7%), palmagrade stance
(1.7%), and prolonged, intermittent lameness (0.8%). Late postoperative
complications were observed more frequently after shears onychectomy (P =
.018). Use of tissue adhesive was associated with more postoperative lameness
(P < .02) and, when used after shears onychectomy, with more infections (P =
.049).

Lauren
________
See my cats:  http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

I had my cat declawed and spayed at the same time. With your callous
attitude, I think you probably wouldn't even feel like a Nazi if you
did this to your cat. I did.

My cat turned into a biter, stopped covering her poop in the litter
box after age seven (mutilated feet tend to be arthritic in old age,
who knew?) and her beautiful little feet looked like dust mops.
Deformed and sickening.

Having made the mistake of mutilating her, I at least did right by her
and kept her all 20 years of her life, never letting her outside.

You will do whatever you want, I did. My experience left me never
wanting to do it to another cat, ever, and I have had three cats since
that I *trained* instead of resorting to hacking off their toes. You
can train them! It's just amazing. But you won't want to consider
that. It would take more effort on your part than dumping your
helpless, trusting cat off at the vet and writing a check.

Moron.

Unfortunately, the zealots of the pro-declaw will ignore anything they believe
to delay their cause.  Most, not all, people are anti-declaw..I'm against
declaw - unless it's the last option between surrending the cat or keeping the
cat in the home. I also anti-4 paw declaw. You might want to do a google search
on laser declaw for additional info.

<snip>

It's highly likely you're a trol (foll de roll) but I'm in need of a
rant!)

What benefit will there be to your cat if you have him declawed?
You can dress it up any way you like but, declawing is mutilation and
animal cruetly.   How any sane person can even attempt to justify it
is totally beyond me.  

Your cat is young, so of course it is full of energy. All healthy cats
are at that age!  When my mainly indoor cat was a kitten she was a
scratcher. Walls, furniture, carpets, me, you name it, she scratched
it but  using a combination of deterents, like the double sided sticky
tape, and encouraging her to use her post by tying toys to it and
involving it in playtime, she has been trained to use a post with I'd
say about 95% success. She still has the odd scratch at one of my
armchairs but .its only a piece of furniture!!!   As she's an indoor
kitty, I play with her a lot and see her using her claws every day.
How could she toss those fluffly mice in the air without her claws?
How could she catch the feather on the end of the string withour her
claws?

Cats are not the easy pet option...like most pets they need training,
interaction, stimulation and a lot of care.....if you can't be
bothered with any of that....get a goldfish!

You are a bloody idiot, period

Bog off and hope your cat runs away from home and finds a nice human
to live with

<rant over

Both are bad.  Not unlike taking your fingers from the tip to the first
knuckle and chopping that off.

Try nail clippers and a bit of patience - this works infinitely better.

No. It's a little better because the stubs of the amputated digits don't
bleed so much.
Either way you're chopping off the ends of the toes and mutilating an
animal.

I'd tell you all about declaw, but you obviously won't be moved on it.
How sad for your cat. I'll keep him in my thoughts and hope he doesn't
have problems and get dumped when you get tired of dealing with him.

/3 indoor cats with full fingers and toes coexisting with intact
furniture and skin

You know, cats that are declawed often develop worse habbits than scratching
like peeing outside their boxes and biting. You might want to consider a
nice scratching post, it really does work!
Judy F

Our vet told us that the laser surgery has a much faster recovery.
I talked to people who had their cats declawed with and without laser.

The ones who had it done with laser said the cat was "down" for about
one day.  The ones without laser said "a couple of days."

We opted to try training the cat first.  She has done really well with
the cheap WalMart scratching posts.  And now when we add one to a
different room, there's no training required...she just goes right to
it.

I'm not lecturing...I was skeptical at first, and always kept in the
back of my mind that if she couldn't behave, she would either get
declawed or get the boot.  Pretty amazing how quickly they pick up on
things.

The only thing we are having trouble with now is trying to get her to
understand that her playful scratching really hurts.

Last night I was sitting at the computer, and she jumped up onto my
back, and held on with all four feet!  It really freaking hurt!