Declawing Your Kitten at Jefferson Animal Hospital

4504 Outer Loop

Louisville, KY 40219

(502) 966=4104

Your kitten can be declawed as early as 9 - 12 weeks of age. It should weigh at least 3 pounds. Many people opt to wait until their kitten is at least 16 weeks of age and then this surgery can be easily combined with the spay or neuter procedure, saving money as well as saving the pet from two separate anesthesia procedures. Kittens declawed at this early age “bounce back” very quickly from the operation. It is best if they have had at least one deworming, and one Feline Distemper vaccination, and we also perform blood tests for anemia and infection prior to any surgical procedure.

Using Laser surgery for declawing

Jefferson Animal Hospital has the ability to perform your kittens declaw using our Laser. This procedure reduces bleeding and pain by cauterizing blood vessels and nerve endings as the incisions are made. Kittens have fewer complications and less pain during recovery. Ask our staff if you have questions.

Litterbox Training

Litterbox training your new kitten is really quite simple. Obtain a good commercial litterbox (with or without a cover), put in about an inch of kitty litter, and show your kitten where it is. Most kittens will start using the litterbox immediately. The best litter is plain, old, generic cat litter with no scent granules, etc. Your kitten’s nose is much more sensitive than yours, and the strong odor of “fancy” litters might offend him/her. Keep the urine and feces scooped once a day and odor usually isn’t a problem. If your kitten is missing the litterbox with it’s stool, it may have a parasite called Coccidia which is causing it to feel very urgent with it’s bowel movement. It needs to be seen and be put on an antibiotic to cure it.

Toilet Training It is possible to train a cat to use a toilet! Cover the toilet bowl with Saran wrap and put some litter on the Saran. As the cat begins to use it, slowly decrease the amount of litter until you eliminate the litter altogether. Obviously, the cat must be old enough and big enough to straddle the toilet seat for this to work. There is a kit available in some cat magazines to help with this process.

Litterbox Problems If your cat stops using the litterbox, it is trying to tell you something! A urine sample should be checked for infection, but if that is normal, then it is a behavioral problem. Something is upsetting your cat! A change in cat litter, a new cat outside your cat’s favorite window are all examples of things that can upset your cat.