Is it ever okay to declaw your cat?

Is it ever okay to declaw your cat?

The quick answer to the question of declawing a cat, is a 'qualified' no. It is almost never okay to subject a kitty to a procedure that is painful when performed, and which may lead to continued strife for the feline's entire life.

Declawing is a major surgery known as onychectomy, performed under anesthesia. It removes the tip of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the cat’s forepaws. There is a slight chance of death in the surgery, and a declawed cat may have an increased risk of infection and life-long discomfort in its paws.

The procedure is never recommended for an adult animal and is considered an act of animal cruelty in some countries as you will learn later in this article. 

People generally have cats declawed to prevent them from hunting and from damaging furniture. Rarely, vicious cats are declawed. 

Veterinarians are generally critical of the procedure and some refuse to perform it because taking away a cat's claws:

1. Deprives it of its main defense abilities, including escaping from predators by climbing trees.
2. Impairs its stretching and exercise habits, leading to muscle atrophy.
3. Compromises its ability to balance on thin surfaces such as railings and fence tops, leading to injury from falls.

4. Can cause insecurity and a subsequent tendency to bite.

Think about number four for a minute.  If you declaw your cat, you may be trading its habit of clawing scratch posts, for a habit of biting things, possibly including the hand that feeds it. 

Amputation of claws is rare outside of North America. In Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, declawing is forbidden by the laws against cruelty to animals. In many other European countries, it is forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless “a veterinarian considers such non-curative procedures necessary either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of the animal”. 

In Britain, animal shelters report that it is difficult to place imported cats that have been declawed and the majority are euthanized.

There is an  alternative to declawing but it still might be considered cruel to the cat, and even dangerous to a cat that is allowed outside.  It is the application of blunt, vinyl nail caps that are fixed to the claws with nontoxic glue. they require periodic replacement every month or so when the cat sheds its claw sheaths.

Out of the house, the cat will experience difficulties because the capped nails are not as effective as claws.

Think before you deprive a kitty of its natural defenses, then think again.  As stated in prior sections, this is a permanent alteration and can prove very harmful to the cat.

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