Declawing and Alternatives
Declawing or not
Declawing
Declawing - pros and
cons
Tendonectomy
Declawing
Earliest age to declaw
Declawing complications
Distal phalanx
(digit) removal
Declawing
- behavior problem
Declawing study
Declawing
also see Behavior
also see Nails
Declawing or not
Question: Hi Dr. Mike,
Quick question. If you remember my cat Armand past away in December.
You
had helped me. We finally got another cat, a kitten named Cosette (we
call her Cozy). Anyway, she is getting spayed on Sat. We
might also have
the front claws taken out because our other cat, Rajah, does not have
them. Cozy is very gentle with her front claws and we are not
100% sure
we want to have them taken out. What our your feelings on having
one cat
with front claws and another without in the same house? Is it fair
if they
are play fighting? Should things be equal or it does not matter
as long
as she is not destroying the furniture. Let me know. We
have to make
this decision by Saturday. One other reason, Cozy is very attached
to
us. She follows us all over the house and sleeps on our pillows
at
night. We are concerned the stay of three days at the vet would
be hard
on her.
Let us know and thanks again, Michael
Answer: Michael-
Until very recently, we had one declawed cat and three cats who were
not
declawed, in our household. If the others ever realized that Gabby
was not
declawed, we could not tell. We have had a number of cats over
the years
and I was determined not to declaw any of them, but over that time
two of
my cats were so destructive that we really had to make a choice between
finding another home for them (we lived on a main highway -- outdoors
was
not an option) and declawing. Both of our declawed cats did well with
the
other cats and I do not think that having claws had much to do with
their
status in the house. So my experience has been that it is OK to have
some
declawed and some intact cats in the same household. I have had a couple
of
clients who had problems with fighting and felt that the declawed cats
were
getting the worst end of it during fighting at their homes. However,
even
if that were to happen, I think that waiting until it does is a reasonable
choice. That's just my opinion. You have to think this all through
carefully, since if there were future problems Cozy would have to be
anesthetized a second time and have a second hospital visit/stay for
the
claw removal.
I hope this helps, rather than making the whole decision more confusing.
Mike Richards, DVM
9/23/2000
Declawing
Q: My daughter has two wonderful "mutt" kitties
and has had them for a couple
of years. After giving away her clawed up couches and buying
new (expensive)
ones, she wants to declaw them.
They do not leave the house (indoor cats). Is there any risk to
declawing
mature cats? Is it true that it is not simply a matter of removing
claws,
but that part of the digits are amputated?
Your advice is appreciated.
A: M-
Older cats have a harder time post-surgically when they are declawed.
They
tend to weigh more and they have had time to get things like joint
pain
that change their gait. So it is much more important to use pain-relievers
(it's important, anyway) in older cats. There is good evidence to show
that
recovery time significantly shorter if pain relief is started prior
to
surgery and continued for at least two to three days.
When cats are declawed the last digit of the toe is removed. If it is
not
removed, the nail regrows. This is the reason it is painful and that
there
can be complications due to bleeding, bandaging complications and
anesthesia, all of which are usually part of the surgery.
This is a surgery that every vet I know would like to avoid but that
most
of us do, anyway. Why? --- because for a lot of cats this surgery
is the
difference between having a home and not having one and for other cats
it
is the difference between a happy home and one in which their owners
are
inexplicably angry with them for hours on end. The improvement in the
relationship between cat and owner is often huge. That doesn't justify
this
surgery for everyone but in a world in which cats are discarded because
they don't match the carpet it seems reasonable to try to do what is
necessary to keep cats in their homes.
Mike Richards, DVM
9/8/99
Declawing - pros
and cons
Q: We have a feral cat and she is slowly getting
used to us. We are going
to get her neutered within a month or so and have been considering
getting her declawed as the vet says we should do it at the same time
because this would require only one time with anesthesia.
We caught her in November and she has been in our basement ever since
but she has ventured upstairs a couple of times.
I read in your web site that you have a couple of feral cats along with
your domestic cats & I was wondering if you had them declawed.
What are your thoughts on declawing a feral cat? I would appreciate
it
if you could relay the pros and cons of this issue. (I have read
the
information on declawing at your web site but no mention was made
regarding feral cats.)
Thank you, S
A: S
We have not declawed our cats who were originally feral because they
live
outside most of the time, still. We are fortunate enough to live in
a place
where this is possible without much risk to them. Not everyone is this
lucky. Outside, they can scratch on anything they want without upsetting
me
or upsetting anyone in my family.
My position on declawing is that it is better to declaw a cat when it
is
clear that the cat will have to leave the household, otherwise. While
some
people feel that it is not ever reasonable to give up a pet it is
undeniable that it happens a lot -- just look at all the cats left
at
shelters. Some day it may be possible for us to give out easy advice
to
follow that will result in cats stopping behaviors that humans find
objectionable but we are not there yet when it comes to declawing.
So I
feel that declawing falls into the category of being a "necessary evil"
in
some circumstances.
Given that, there are still pros and cons to the procedure. There are
also
a lot of myths about the procedure and its consequences.
I personally am convinced that cats that are declawed succeed as outside
cats nearly as well as cats with claws. A dog that is determined to
kill a
cat will usually succeed even if the cat has claws, if it catches the
cat.
Cats survive by being smart enough not to put themselves in a position
of
vulnerability and most cats are very good at this. There may be a small
amount of protection in having front claws but most cats appear to
be able
to climb well enough to get away from predators with or without front
claws. It is also possible to provide protective enclosures if there
is a
serious risk to the cat, like a nearby road. Cats that are killed by
cars
will be killed with or without claws. Cats are obviously safer if they
are
housecats and for many people the desirability of keeping their cat
indoors
increases if it is declawed.
Cats that know how to hunt can do so very well despite being declawed.
During the time I have been in practice I have examined several cats
who
were fending for themselves when adopted by people that were declawed.
I
have worked on several parakeets and cockatiels that were caught by
indoor
cats without front claws as they flew around the house.
There is a feeling, even among veterinarians, that cats that are declawed
are a little more likely to bite. So far, reviews of cat behavior,
including declawed cats, do not support this belief.
Declawing does not always stop destruction in the house. Some cats will
use
their back claws to tear up furniture and other cats have habits like
knocking things off of shelves or chewing on objects that are also
annoying
to their owners.
To sort of sum things up here, I think that the advantages and
disadvantages of declawing pretty much are the same for feral cats
being
introduced to a household as they are for cats that are raised as pets.
I
can't remember what is on the website right now, so I'll cover the
pros and
cons again.
Most cats are probably better off being indoor cats. They are just safer
indoors. If they are destructive about clawing on furniture and if
reasonable efforts to control the behavior, such as providing adequate
scratching posts and making sure they are in places cats find desirable
and
encouraging cats to use them (a new approach I have seen recommended
is to
spray them with Feliway (TM)) doesn't work, then declawing as a last
resort
seems reasonable to me.
Declawing is unquestionably painful for a few days. It is the same as
removing the end of a finger at the first joint, essentially. Cats
have a
protective sheath, which helps, but it is still a significant loss.
In many
cats bandages must be applied to control hemorrhage post-surgically.
Prior
to this year, we had never had a serious complication from bandaging
but I
just had a cat in my practice in which the bandage twisted and cut
off the
circulation to one foot long enough to cause serious damage and potentially
to require amputation of the foot. This has caused me to seriously
rethink
declawing procedures and even declawing itself but after a lot of soul
searching I still come to the conclusion that it is a fact of life
that
declawing is the difference between having a home and not having a
home for
a number of cats. In any surgery, there are potential risks and this
is one
of the risks of declawing.
Declawing must be done under anesthesia. We have had one anesthetic death
during a declaw procedure in our practice. This was a long time ago
and
anesthetic protocols for cats are safer now than they were then but
it is
still a risk. We try to combine declawing with spaying or neutering
so that
we only anesthetize the cat once, too. To be honest, I am not sure
that
this is all that much safer since our experience has been that if a
cat
survives one anesthetic procedure it will probably survive subsequent
ones,
but it is less expensive and probably very slightly safer.
Some cats are lame after declawing, sometimes for several weeks. We
have
had three or four cats in our practice have extended periods of lameness
after declawing. In most of those cases we really couldn't identify
a cause
of the lameness such as infection, inflammation, loss of a toe pad
or
anything else. Infection occurred in at least one of the cats and we
are
pretty sure that a reaction to surgical glue bothered another one.
We have not found an ideal way to deal with the risk of hemorrhage
post-operatively. Laser surgery is supposed to have less hemorrhage
but our
practice is small enough that I sincerely doubt I'll be able to afford
to
use this technique any time soon. Gluing the sheaths incurs a risk
of
reaction to the glue and that is reported to be a problem often enough
to
worry me. Suturing the sheaths seems to result in a lot more inflammation
and more cats are temporarily lame. Bandaging alone was the best method
of
hemorrhage control in a recently published review of declawing procedures
but we just had our bad experience with bandaging, so that is worrisome,
too. Unfortunately, I don't know of any other options.
Some cats are easier to handle after declawing. If they don't have a
tendency to bite but did swipe at people with their front claws it
will be
easier to handle them after declawing. I am occasionally grateful during
examinations for the fact that the cat I am working on doesn't have
front
claws after a foot rakes across my hand a couple of times before I
can
retract it. This may be an advantage when dealing with a cat that has
been
feral but it would depend on the cat's personality how important it
might be.
My take on all of this is simple. Don't declaw your cat unless you really
are at the end of your rope with scratching behavior. When it becomes
clear
that a choice has to be made between keeping a cat and declawing in
order
to keep peace in the household, then it is better than abandoning your
cat.
It causes pain and it involves significant risks, so the decision shouldn't
be made lightly.
That's a long summary of how I feel about this procedure. I hope that
it
helps.
Mike Richards, DVM
Tendonectomy
- Declaw alternative
Q: Dear Dr. Mike:
I am a RVT in NC, and find this site
to be extremely helpful in
understanding better how clients think. Thank
you for this site!!!
After browsing the site this a.m., I thought of something that might
be
useful to suggest to cat owners. A great alternative to declawing is
a
tendonectomy. It is similar to declaw, but much less painful and cats
recovery faster. A tourniquet is applied, pads are shaved and prepped,
incision made and tendon in cut, glue applied. Bandaging is not
necessary. Two problems - owners must stay on top of trimming nails,
or
they will grow into pads; if tendon is not cut well enough, it will
grow
back. You may already be aware of this procedure, and I am not trying
to
overstep my boundary, but I thought it might be useful if you were
not
already aware. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Sincerely,
Christine
A: Dear Christine,
I have often wondered why veterinarians and veterinary technicians failed
to see the value in reading the correspondence on a site such as ours.
There is a lot to be learned about the patterns of misconception that
are
common and the difficulties people have with understanding what is
and
isn't science. I thought it was really perceptive of you to recognize
the
value in studying that aspect of our site.
I should cover tendonectomy. The problem is that I have no personal
experience with this surgery and have been hesitant to start doing
it
because I haven't seen much written about the long term effects. I
am
assuming that you are not seeing any long term problems other than
the one
mentioned, the need to cut the nails frequently? I have seen at least
one
anecdotal reference to arthritis associated with this procedure but
nothing
written in journals except for short term comparisons of post-surgical
pain, in which the tendonectomy is reported to be less painful.
Thanks for your suggestion and your comments.
Mike Richards, DVM
Declawing
Question: Sir,
In one of your articles on the effects
of declawing, you mention that
scratching is one of the most common reasons cats are surrendered to
animals shelters. I would be interested in knowing where you
got this
information. I have worked in several shelters over the past
few years,
and spoken with employees at many other shelters, and it have been
my
experience that very, very few cats are surrendered to shelters because
of
scratching.
Thank you,
Adam
Answer: Dear Adam
Behavioral problems are cited as the major reason for surrender of pets
to
animal shelters in several references on this subject in the veterinary
literature. The most recent example of this was a review by Dr. Karen
Overall in the February issue of Veterinary Medicine. Scratching behaviors
are invariably mentioned in these articles. However, in reviewing these
carefully it appears that even though these behaviors appear to rank
among
the top six to ten behavioral reasons for surrendering pets, they may
in
fact be a small percentage of the actual number of cats who are disposed
of
by their owners through animal shelters, because there are other reasons,
such as economic factors, unexpected litters and convenience that
constitute a large number of the relinquished pets, as well. In addition,
the percentage of cats who are placed in shelters by specific behavioral
problem is not usually mentioned and it is likely based on surveys
of pet
owners who seek behavioral counseling that house-soiling behaviors
are by
far the most likely behavioral problem to result in loss of the home
for a
cat and aggression is the next most likely reason. So, despite the
fact that
there are several references to declawing as a common reason for cats
to
show up in animal shelters it is likely that it may not appear to be
a
major factor when all the kittens and puppies from unwanted litters
and all
the young dogs and cats from mismatched homes are added in. Your experience
may well be the same as that of most shelter workers.
In surveys of pet owners in Ontario, Canada, reported by Dr. Gary Landsberg
in the March 1991 issue of the Veterinary Clinics of North America,
about
4% of cat owners said they would not keep their cats if they were not
declawed. Veterinarians surveyed thought the number was higher, perhaps
10%
or more.
Differences in perspective between shelter employees and veterinarians
often are present over issues such as this. Veterinarians are often
dealing
with pet owners who are at least committed enough to the pet to consider
the cost of a declaw surgery as acceptable, even if they are not committed
enough to attempt behavioral modification for a problem. They are more
likely to mention their concerns about scratching behavior in the effort
to
find a solution than a person who is not considering alternatives but
just
wants to be rid of the burden of the pet.
It is difficult to determine just how significant the concerns of cat
owners over destructive scratching are. This problem is illustrated
by a
report by Drs. Morgan and Houpt reported in Dr. Overall's book Clinical
Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals in which 60% of owners of cats
who
were not presented for behavioral problems reported that their cats
scratched furniture. There is no way of knowing how many of these people
were eventually annoyed enough to seek behavioral counseling, to relegate
their cats to an outside only existence or to rid themselves of their
cats.
I know that in our practice the latter two "solutions" are more common
than
a desire to aggressively pursue behavioral modification. Given this,
declawing is a reasonable alternative considering that the cat retains
its
home and tensions between it and its owner are reduced.
I reviewed the information at the site you referenced. It seems possible,
although unlikely, that the reported 100% success rate in altering
cat
scratching behaviors among people who seek help is real. There is still
a
large population of pet owners who will not seek behavioral advice
and will
not put the time into behavioral modification. These pet owners may
provide
a good environment in other ways. I have serious questions about some
of
the claims made regarding the consequences of declawing, however. The
most
recent studies I can find in the veterinary literature strongly suggest
that there are no identifiable behavioral consequences of declawing.
There
is a review article on these studies in the Feb. 15th 1996 Journal
of the
AVMA. Nearly all declawed cats can still climb trees (especially if
only
declawed in the front) and defend themselves in other ways despite
the lack
of claws. Scratching is not a major defense against attack by animals
capable of killing a cat such as a larger dog. Escape is the most
successful defense and claws are probably rarely necessary for that
defense. Biting behaviors are not exaggerated by declawing based on
the
most recent studies.
It is unquestionable that cats experience pain during the post-operative
period. The painfulness appears to last between 5 and 14 days in most
cats.
A small percentage of cats experience pain for a longer time. Whether
this
is some sort of "phantom pain" associated with the amputation of the
last
digit or whether it is the result of something else is not clear. Some
cats
do seem to develop aversions to clay litter if they are exposed to
it prior
to healing. These cats may then develop elimination behavioral problems.
This is best avoided by not allowing access to clay litter until healing
is
satisfactory, or about one week. There is some irony in the observation
by
many vets that cats do better the younger they are declawed, because
it
seems obvious that it is better to wait until a cat exhibits objectionable
behavior, to try to prevent that behavior and to consider declawing
as a
last resort only.
Unfortunately, the situation boils down to an ethical choice. Is it
acceptable to alter a cat's normal anatomy and inflict short-term pain
in
an effort to resolve conflict with the owners of its home or to prevent
euthanasia? For many cat owners the answer is yes. For many cat owners
the
answer is no. I can not say with certainty who is more morally correct.
I
can say that I consider declawing to be preferable to an outside only
existence, in which a greatly reduced lifespan is the norm, or to euthanasia.
Mike Richards, DVM
Earliest age to declaw
Q: Dear Dr. Mike, I have searched through the information
on cat declawing on your site, but have not found an answer to my question.
So, here it is. We are considering getting a kitten, and would like to
know what the earliest age is for declawing a cat. We had a cat for many
years. He was declawed, and as far as we could tell, he didn't even know
the difference. Thanks for your help. Ronda
A: Rhonda- I have seen a description of a procedure
for declawing kittens as early as 3 weeks of age. I do not think that the
age of the kitten or cat has much bearing on the success of the surgery,
although it is harder on older cats (greater than a year or two of age).
I usually recommend waiting to see if the kitten will be destructive before
declawing, since not all cats engage in destructive clawing behavior. It
is generally a little less expensive to combine declawing with spaying
and that is a choice many people make, as well.
So the bottom line is that declawing can be done at any age over a few
weeks of age.
Mike Richards, DVM
Declawing complications
Q: Dear Dr. Mike: I had my 6 month old cat spayed
and declawed at the local Humane Society last week. They kept her over
night and I brough her home the next day. Her bandages came off, so I brought
her back to to vet immediately. She was not chewing them, but I bet she
just wanted them off! Well, this has happened 2 times now (the first, they
restitched a paw, the second, they reglued 3 paws and sent me home with
a cone for her head). That cone has been on her head all day yesterday
and today, and tonite, she again started limping and I knew she must have
popped open her paw again. I unwrapped her bandage, and lo and behold,
it's open. I taped it shut tight and rebandaged her up. She will go back
to the vet tomorrow morning. I feel TERRIBLE about this whole thing now!
I was told that the declaw should be done during the spay so that the cat
would recover better at the age of 6 months, and under anethesia only one
time. Yeah right! My cats are clawing up my leather couch, dining chairs,
under my bed, and have recently gotten up on our brand new pool table.
A kitty tree, and squirt gun didn't help. This was my last resort. My husband
didn't really want me to do this, and now I am feeling VERY guilty because
of her complications. Did the humane society do the declaw wrong? Is this
a common side effect that the paw keeps opening? She is on antibiotics,
but shouldn't she be on pain medication too? (that vet said it is not necessary).
My male cat is only 4 months old, I don't think I could put HIM through
this too, (yes neuter, though), but how will my female react to him having
claws and her not? How do I keep him from clawing up the furniture? Soft
paws? NO, too much to keep up and I hear the cats chew them off and may
choke of them! I am open to advice! Thank you very much! Michelle
A: Michelle- Once in a while there are complications
to declawing even when the surgery seems to go well. The experience of
the surgeon and the technique used can have a bearing on surgical success.
If a portion of the pad of the toe is removed during surgery it is harder
to keep the sheath closed post-surgically. This usually happens when declawing
is done with a toenail clipper but can happen with surgical dissection
techniques, especially when the surgeon is relatively inexperienced. There
is obviously no way for me to know what happened but those would be the
most common causes of problems. I usually don't worry much over the sheath
opening up post-surgically as long as it isn't bleeding but that may be
a cavalier attitude (although I can't remember a complication resulting
from not resealing a sheath other than bleeding).
I definitely believe that pain relief is worthwhile and we routinely
offer pain-relief medications with declawing. We did not always do this
because prior to fairly recently good pain relievers for cats were not
as easily available. I am very glad we can now offer these. In older cats
(usually over a year) we have even used the fentanyl (Duragesic Rx) patches
that provide continuous pain relief for several days, since they seem more
bothered than younger cats.
I would prefer to combine this procedure with spaying to enable both
to be done with one anesthetic but I can see advantages to other approaches.
Particularly in cats who show strong tendencies towards destructive clawing
behavior early in life, since declawing at younger ages seems to be less
painful to the cat.
Mike Richards, DVM
Distal phalanx
(digit) removal
Q: Hi Dr. Richards, I would appreciate it if you
could answer a question I have. Many of the anti-declaw people state that
performing an onychectomy is akin to removing the last digit of a human's
fingers. Do you find this statement to be true? Why or why not? Thank you
for your comments and assiatance. I look forward to hearing from you.
A: When a declaw procedure is done, the entire
distal phalanx (digit) is removed. So the statement is correct.
It does not have the same effect that removing the last digit from a
human has, however. The presence of the protective sheath over the digit,
rather than skin tightly adhered to the phalanx gives a natural protective
closure after a declaw rather than a sensitive "stub" end. Since the cat
uses its feet for walking, orientation and use of the digit is much different,
as well. If the footpads aren't disturbed by the declaw procedure (they
should not be) the weight distribution on the remaining portion of the
toe is essentially the same. Cats tend to use their foot as a unit for
manipulation of objects rather than grasping it with individual "fingers"
as a human does. This makes for less disturbance in their typical lifestyle
than would occur in a human with the loss of a digit.
Without being able to ask them, it is impossible to determine if cats
have problems with things like phantom pain or minor discomfort chronically
after declawing. These things do not appear to be a problem but there is
no way to be sure.
I am not sure this is relevant but I asked one of the Mississippi river
barge workers if he worried about losing a finger since so many of these
guys experience that problem while working the barges. He told me that
he made a good living and if it cost him a finger or two it was worth it.
While I personally could not ascribe to that philosophy, it was right for
him.
There is not an easy answer to the declaw debate. That's why it makes
a good subject for debate in college courses.
Mike Richards, DVM
Declawing
-- does it cause other behavioral problems
Q: Dear Dr. Mike, First of all, thank you so much
for making your expert vet advice accessible to so many through the internet.
The world needs more people like you who really care about animals.
Now my question: My fiancee is moving in with me and much to my dismay,
she has a cat which is a real scratcher. Her apartment is filled with totally
scraped up couches, table legs, drapes, etc. I want her to bring the cat
with her when she moves in with me, so we are considering declawing. The
cat is 2.5 years old, already spayed, healthy except for a messy but controllable
digestive condition. So here's my question: Is is true that older cats
will urinate all over the place to mark their territory if declawed, or
is that a myth spread by animal rights people?
A: I can't say whether or not the animal right's
people are spreading rumors, but I do think that it is unlikely that a
declawed cat will develop urine marking habits as a result of the declawing
surgery. There was a very large study done of the behavioral traits of
cats after declawing and no significant changes in behavior were found.
For a long time many vets felt that declawed cats were more likely to bite
as a first defense, since they could no longer use claws as a defense,
but even this did not appear to be true in the study.
Cats that are declawed when mature do have more pain after the surgery
than younger cats (or at least they show it more). Ask your vet about using
pain relief medications post-surgically if you do elect to have her declawed.
In general, I think the stress relief for everyone in the family, including
the cat, seems to be enough to justify the discomfort. This is especially
true if steps are taken to relieve any post-surgical pain.
Mike Richards, DVM
Declawing Study
Q: I was trying to locate studies showing the effects
of declawing on cats and your site turned up in the search. In the behavior
section (in response to a question) you said: "There was a very large study
done of the behavioral traits of cats after declawing and no significant
changes in behavior were found." Do you know which study that was and whether
the report, itself, is available on-line?
A: I am out of town right now and can not provide
the exact reference but the article I was referring to was from a Clinics
of North America issue on Behavioral Advances or something similar to that
in title. I will try to look up the exact reference when I get back to
the clinic on Monday or Tuesday. If I remember correctly, the study was
done in Canada.
In the meantime, I found a bibliographic reference on the Veterinary
Information Network database to the following article which you may be
able to find:
"Effects of declawing on feline behavior", Comp Anim Prac 2[12] : 7-9,12
Dec'88 5 Refs 1M. Bennett, BS; K. A. Houpt, VMD, PhD; H. N. Erb, DVM, PhD
This was a study of about 70 cats, 25 declawed, 25 not, and the rest
with behavioral problems of some sort. The authors felt that there was
no effect on behavior from declawing.
Your vet may get the Clinics of North America journal. Since these are
hardbound quarterly journals, many vets keep all the back issues.
Mike Richards, DVM
Declawing
Q: I have a question I was hoping some vets or
others could provide some insight into. If there are many serious side
effects associated with declaw, and because it provides little, if any,
medical benefit... why is this surgery still being performed? Especially
in light of other humane alternatives? Besides trying to keep a destructive
cat from harming others, or perhaps a monetary motivation to perform this
procedure (especially on a normal cat), it's difficult for me to see why
some people are for declawing. It's easy for me to see why people are against
declaw, but hard for me to see over the other side of the fence. If anybody
has any input or comments, it would be appreciated. Arthur-
A: Arthur, Destructive clawing of furniture, walls
and other items is one of the most common reasons cats are abandoned, end
up in humane shelters or are euthanized. While there are alternatives such
as 'Soft Paws' application or behavioral therapy these are too time consuming
for many clients and not effective in all cats. While that is hard to understand
for dedicated cat lovers it is just a fact of life. Many cats die in the
United States because they claw furniture and their owners will not consider
declawing surgery for moral or more commonly for financial reasons.
Even owners who are committed to trying to deal with scratching often
find themselves coming home and dealing with a lot of anger and frustration
over new damage to their house or possessions. This interferes badly with
their relationship with their cat.
We discourage people from routinely declawing cats "just because" but
we do declaw cats when destruction is a problem. I think that the loss
of the claws, even though it is painful for several days to a week is a
small price to pay for harmony in the household and a greatly increased
chance for continuing to have a home.
If you know of simple alternatives to declawing, I'd be interested in
knowing about them because I have not found an easy, consistently effective
treatment for destructive clawing behaviors.
Mike Richards, DVM
Last edited 02/01/05
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