Meeting up with a Porcupine can be Prickly

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 remove visible quills and also to allow a thorough search of the body for quills that may be hidden (e.g. 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 some off. Quills that remain in the body can migrate and cause problems in the future, or can fester and lead to the formation of abcesses.