Well the decision to declaw was not an easy one for my wife. Age was a concern but with our friend being a vet as i said, it made the decision a bit easier. We knew he was going to give her a good checkup before proceeding and if any blood chemistry was abnormal, we would abort.
The laser method of removal is much better than the old pull technique. Recovery is much faster with alot less pain. The cats go home next day rather than being held for multple days of observation. As long as the cat was healthy, and she is, we decided to have it done.
As for the peeing, the location was limited to 2 areas off to the side of our HT area (as luck has it). We are going to move her cat tower and food over into that corner which is a good behaviour modification technique for cats. Place the food near the defecation area and they won't urinate there anymore. Now there is a chance that she may begin urinating in another location, but if there was something specific about that corner she liked (old carpet smell, carpet tape or glue underneath, etc.) then the odds of her adding scent to another location in the house as compensation is small.
Secondly, we are adding catnip to some other areas in the basement that we think she 'may' move on to if she wants another pee spot. She loves to chew on catnip (the cat's equivalent to tobacco) which once again places 'food' in an area that she may have conisdered to be fair game for urinary relief.
If all that fails, we will try some behavioural modification drugs which have had some success in the past on my vet friend's calico. As i understand it, he says calicos are nasty as temperament goes.
On the other fronts, the bathroom tub area has been gutted. We are getting ready to put the new green sheets in place followed by the new Barker tile later today. Should be cured and caulked by tomorrow night. The wife is shopping for new bath fixtures this aft.
The CRV already has its new tires onboard (
Michelin Hydroedge) and is good to go.
The new carpet has been purchased and is ready for installation later this week.
Total Approximate Cost:
$700 Bath materials
$330 new carpet
$900 tires, balancing, winter package checkup, etc.
$200 vet
All in all, not as bad as it could be since we're doing most of the labour ourselves, but i have spent the past 3 days working on the house instead of actual paid work. Good thing i work out of a home office on my own time.
