Cheat Pink Slip while in combat?

[Gardensnake]

Okay,

This came up in a game of Zombies last night. A player playing a Plauge Zombie is in combat a losing by a small margin. She has in play unable to use the claws of the Radioactive zombie. She also had the Cheat Pink slip. Could she play the cheat slip on the claws after combat has started? Would that count as equiping considering the claws had already been played but were not in use? What happens to the claws? The cheat says the item can be used once, does that mean the claws would be discarded after combat or just go back to being unusable?

Thanks,

William