Originally posted by Bastet27
The vet I brought Piper to said it only hurts them a week, and then nothing.
My cat is declawed, and, had no problem at all with the surgery or the healing process. he was leaping around like a fool the day I brought him home from the vet's, the day of the surgery. He wore an elizabethan collar for a few days, but, didn't have a problem with it, either. And, he didn't have any adverse reactions, physically or behaviourally. My two cats that I had when I was married (RB Justin, and, his mom, Vella) were both declawed and had nary a problem. My childhood cat (RIP Dusty) was ten years old when my parents declawed him because he suddenly decided to destroy all the walls in their home. He had no problem healing, either, and never had any adverse reactions in any way. He was the same ol' Dusty. I think you're making an intelligent decision, but, I also wanted to say that it's not always going to affect the animal in a negative way. Just my experience.