Skip to main content
Meeting up with a Porcupine Can Be Prickly
Oct 23, 2012
Porcupine quills are almost exclusively a canine rather than feline problem. Pulling quills out is quite a painful process and should only be done by a veterinarian. In most cases, the veterinarian will use a general anaesthetic to not only remove the quills but also to allow a thorough search of the body for quills (including the inside of the mouth). It is not recommended that owners try to pull out quills because the process is quite painful to the pet, and also because the owner may miss hard-to-find quills or may inadvertently break off some quills. Quills that remain in the body can migrate and cause problems in the future, or can fester and lead to the formation of abcesses.