Hi again,
    I ran into 2 ferrets in the clinic at my vet school who were supposed to be
declawed. I started talking to the clinician on the case because I had never
heard of anyone doing this and would never think of doing it to a ferret. Dr.
Pledger, the clinician, said she spoke to a vet in FL that apparently does it.
I spoke to my vet at home, Dr. Kawasaki. He said he had never done it but had
heard of this vet in FL doing it. Dr. Pledger asked me to speak to the owner (I
had met her before) and at least find out why she wanted this done and to see
if I could persuade her not to go through with this. Has anyone out there had
their ferret declawed, why, how is the ferret doing now, any adverse effects to
the ferret? Also, we spoke to several vets who said the procedure should not be
done but gave no reason why. Does anyone know a specific reason why ferrets
should not be declawed?
   I spoke to the owner. She was under the impression that everyone had their
ferrets declawed. I told her that this was the first time I had heard of it.
She said her ferrets were digging at the carpet and new furniture. Does anyone
have any suggestions on how to prevent this from occuring? I told her I'd work
with her and her ferrets to help prevent the problem. I could use some help
with this. Thanx!
 
[Bitter apple and a little discipline]
                               Jenny Au
 
[Posted in FML issue 0222]