Bookmark and Share
Sponsored by:
Do you say "I Love You" to your cat?
Always
Sometimes
Never


Penthouse Spiral Color: Oatmeal Carpet
Regular Price: $149.99
Printer Friendly Bookmark and Share

Cat Declaw

The Pros and Cons of Declawing

Learn the facts about the procedure of declawing to help decide if the surgery is suitable for your cat.

Cat owners commonly want to know whether declawing is a "humane procedure." A properly performed declaw is minimally traumatic to the cat and does not change behavior as is often reported. All declaws should be done under general anesthesia with pain medication administered during and after the procedure, regardless of whether the cat outwardly demonstrates pain. A cat's instinctual M.O. is to hide pain-demonstration of vulnerability is taboo in the wild kingdom. A cat can be in considerable discomfort without external signs.

A fore-foot declaw renders a cat less able to protect itself, and the owner must keep the cat in a safe environment. Declawing all four feet is strongly discouraged as the rear feet seldom cause damage to people or furniture and provide some degree of protection and tree-climbing ability if necessary. Combining the declawing procedure with neutering reduces anesthetic exposure, cost and recovery time. Younger cats show more rapid return to normal mobility than older cats. Every attempt should be made to perform the declaw prior to one year of age. Cats expected to spend unsupervised time outdoors should never be declawed.

Other options include flexor tendonectomy (a procedure in which the cat's tendons are cut, curtailing its ability to extend its claws), nail caps, frequent nail trims and behavior modification techniques. It may be better for the cat to experience the short-term discomfort associated with a surgical procedure than a lifetime of a yelling, irate owner and possible sentencing to the outdoors or the pound.

Posted: Tue Nov 26 00:00:00 PST 2002

 Give us your opinion on
The Pros and Cons of Declawing
Submit a Comment
Reader Comments
I have personally had my arms torn up by a cat kicking me with her rear legs. Now that I have a new kitten I wanted to research declaw (because I don't want this to happen with her as well). I was very glad to find your article.

Thanks for the balanced infomration. It's a shame to see so much ignorance and black and white thinking in the comments, and I'm very glad to have access to the information you presented.
T, Chandler, AZ
Posted: 7/2/2009 5:07:54 PM
i got my kitty about a little over a year ago and she doesn't really scratch bad, when she plays with us, she scratches the hell outta us and bites really bad also. Where my fiance is a diabetic, he doesn't need to scratched or bit by her, even though we know she is only playing, she does get too rough. The other day, she got me really bad with her back feet but I do need to get her declawed and fixed, but I don't know if it would be wise to get all 4 feet declawed, she stays inside and we don't have any other animals inside either -- well the dogs every once in awhile when its cold or it rains so hard it floods their pen but she gets along great with the puppies.
Kayla, Marion, VA
Posted: 5/8/2009 2:39:40 PM
My older three cats have been declawed when they were kittens. We plan on declawing our new little kitten. I would feel terrible if our new kitten was in pain for doing this procedure. So reading this article puts me at ease somewhat.
Vicki, Ellis, KS
Posted: 11/16/2008 10:01:54 PM
Kudos to this article for not condemning those of us who have declawed our cats. I tried EVERYTHING with my one cat - daily clipping, different scratching surfaces, cat trees, nail caps, double sided tape on furniture etc and nothing worked. My husband had had enough of the scratching and said the cat had to be declawed or go. I decided to declaw the cat. He still scratches absolutely everything in sight but there is no damage. If I had surrendered him to a shelter or given him away I am sure that his new owners would not have tolerated his destructiveness. He could have been euthanized or abused due to his actions. I provide him with a wonderful safe home. He and I could just not see eye to eye on what was an appropriate scratching surface. Even though he was over one year old when he was declawed, he has never shown any behaviour modifications since the surgery and bounced back within a day. If anything he has become friendlier. We are not always mad at him for scratching and we can enjoy our time with him instead of always getting angry. When he is mad he still scratches the couch as if to say "I'll show you!". It makes him feel better to let it all out and it makes us feel better to know we are not having our furniture ruined. Declawing our cat was our last resort, but it is a decision I do not regret.
Stacey, Leduc, AB
Posted: 11/16/2008 9:04:47 PM
View Current Comments

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Email:

Cats USA
Buy Now
Kittens USA
Buy Now
Cat Fancy
Buy Now
 



Sponsored by:


Hi my name's Angel Moe,This honor is wonderful thank you to all

Visit the Photo Gallery to
cast your vote!