9 month old cat

Question
I had my nine month old cat declawed on October 11th, but he is still walking on the back part of his front paws.  Other than walking funny he doesn't act like he is in pain, he even places his paws on my hand and lets me inspect them. I have seen cats years after they were declawed so I know what their paws look like (pretty normal), but I have never seen them this close to the surgery so i don't know what to expect.  They look scabbed and possibly dirty where the claws used to be. I know they are not infected because they would be red, swollen and my cat would cry to me, possibly even wail, and would not let me near his paws.  The problem is I do not know if I should clean them for him, if he will do it eventually, or if these thing take time and he needs time.  He does clean the tops of them, and uses them to clean his face, s I don't know if he is just waiting for them to feel better, before he cleans them, and uses them like he used to.  Also do you think he will ever walk on them properly again or is he freaked out for life.

Answer
Samantha,

You didn't mention whether or not your kitty was sent home on pain medication. At this point I would expect that he would be mostly healed, so I would think that it might be good to have your vet check him over to be sure that there isn't anything interfering with proper healing and also to see if further pain medication or other intervention may be necessary.
I have seen cats who were permanently scarred physically and psychologically by declawing procedures that didn't go quite as planned. This is always a possibility with declawing, the other thing that you may notice when he heals completely is that he may not be content to swat or hiss as a warning. A common behavioral issue with declawed cats is that they will tend to use their teeth as their first line of defense. Some cats will develop the gait issues that you are talking about immediately post surgically and unfortunately some will keep them for the rest of their lives.
I must reiterate that you should return kitty to the vet for a post op check up to ensure that he is not in any pain as pain can be hard to assess and control in cats, they often don't show outward signs of pain like you describe. By returning him to the vet you are also giving the vet a chance to reassess the success of the surgery. Sometimes declaws can leave small pieces of the joint intact causing problems with pain and gait.
I am not sure what other advice I can offer. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.