Simba's Home From the Vet .. A Couple of Questions.

Okay. Simba, my six month old longhaired domestic, went to the vet on Friday to get neutered and declawed (he ripped everything in our house to shreds and he fought against Blacken, the nearly-3 year old and almost always won because she came to us with no claws .. anyway) and he just came home today. We've been told to keep him isolated in a room for a week to keep him calm and by himself so his sutures don't reopen and such in his paws.

Okay, so we've put him in our front room, which was the only viable option. This room has a swinging door, a couple of sofas, and our dining room table. (all other rooms are too large or too lived in). Blacken won't stop venturing over to the door and hissing at him through the crack under it, and he won't stop trying to push it open and get at her.

When we first brought Simba home, it naturally took about two weeks or so for Blacken to stop attacking him every two or three minutes. (Blacken, in case you've never seen my topics before, is female, Simba's male. Blacken's 34 months, Simba is 6 months). So is the fact that she's hissing at him to be expected, to re-establish dominance? We're supposed to keep them separated, and he's miserable by himself, sitting in the room crying at a very high volume .. he's almost completely hoarse.

So, my question is, will the hissing between him and Blacken and his frentic attempts to escape die down in a couple of days? Please don't tell me Blacken will freak out and try to maul him when the vet gives us the OK after the appointment on Monday. Is there anything I can do for Simba to alleviate his worry/stress/anxiety? I've put a couple of chairs and a tray in front of the door so he can't push it open, but the intensity with which he's going at the door make me feel like he'll manage to do it anyway: not good at all for his little paws.

Any questions/comments/concerns/advice are greatly appreciated.

Here's a picture of them taken about a month ago .. see how much Blacken used to love him? Has she just forgotten or what? You can see why I'm so concerned .. (take out the 3 ">"s when you paste it into your browser .. the whole "ten posts, seven days" rule)
htt>p://img.photobucket.co>m/albums/v235/TwystedFate/7.jp>g

 

Mmmm sounds like a real problem, I would maybe try and stop your other kitty from going anywhere near him at the moment. It may be causing him more stress, and the fact that he is seperated, what about giving her to another family member just for a "Little" while while he recovers some strength. Or maybe seperate her away and bring him in with you, so he is not on his own at the moment... It will take such a long haul for him to heal, its a painful painful process for them to be de-clawed..

 

Is he on pain killers???? Just keep an eye out too on him because some cats recover from declawing with no or few complications. Other cats recover from declawing with severe pain, bleeding, claw regrowth, loss of feeling in the toes, and infections that may require further surgery.

Shredded newspaper is often recommended as litter box filler right after declawing to protect tender toes and reduce the chance of irritation from clay or clumping litter, because he will not be able or struggle to go to the toilet..
just some things to think about..

 

Oh, we have shredded newspaper litter and we have a followup appt. scheduled in a week so they can look at the sutures and make sure that nothing crazy has happened to him since .. that they haven't ripped open, etc.

What I'm more concerned about is Blacken's apparent animosity towards her brother .. is it just that he's been absent for three days and she wants to re-establish dominance, or is she really, truly dumb and forgot that he existed?

Here's that picture again .. see how cute they are with each other?

 

It could also be that she can smell he is "Sickly" in the animal kingdom, its survival of the fittests, she knows he is injured "so to speak" and in pain.
Usually weak animals are the ones that cop it from a dominate animal. She may see it as her chance to regain dominance over him..

 

It may also be that he still smell like the vet office, and that could be what she is reacting to. If I were you, I'd still keep them separeted for a while, at least until he recovers. Now that he has had his claws amputated he has lost the ability to defend himself, and if Blacken acts threatening towards him he'll probably be very frightened.

I also would ask you to consider not to declaw any cats you may get in the future. Declawing is forbidden by law here in Norway (and also in the rest of Europe I think), and there is a reason for that. It is extremely painful for the cat, and it may cause behavioural problems like biting and peeing outside the litterbox...

I hope Simba recovers quickly, and that Blacken will "remember" him soon, so they can go back to their old snuggely ways. Really cute picture :wink:

 

Well, I don't think I can actually answer your question but I can offer some possibility reasons for it. The fact that he is neutered may mean that his scent has changed. Similar to a female cat when she is spade, the male won't have much of an interest due to her lack of scent. I'm not sure if it really works the same way with males, but it's a possibility.

As for his frantic attempt of escape, it could just be anxiety. My cat Night will go into a near panic if he thinks he's locked in a room by himself. Once, my fiance got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. For some reason, in his sleepy state, he closed the bedroom door behind him. Poor night started to howl at the door and scratching at the door. I called out "kitty" and he immediately came to me, purring up a storm and su**ling at my blanket. Several of my other cats will howl at any door that's seperating them from us. I can't even go into the bathroom and close the door without some of my kitties wanting in.

If you don't spend much time in the room you are keeping the cat in, I would suggest moving him into a room you frequently visit. See if that helps some of his loneliness.