What is declawing? Declawing is not just having your cat’s claws trimmed, it involves having the claws surgically removed. At this point I will say that this procedure is illegal or deemed inhuman in several countries including England, Brazil, Finland, Wales, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.
In the United States there are more and more vets and cat organizations that are mounting protests that are against declawing on the grounds that it is unnecessary and inhumane.
There is no research showing that there are medical reasons for declawing a cat.
There are very good reasons why cats have claws. Claws provide protection, balance, and mobility.
Yes, cats do scratch. They scratch for exercise. They do this by hooking their claws in to a surface and pull against the resistance. This exercise helps to strengthen and give suppleness to joints and muscles.
They scratch to mark out their territory. A cat’s feet are home to scent -glands and he uses them to show other cats what is his.
The Procedure
Cats’ claws are close to the bone and to prevent any re-growth the first joint of all of the cats toes is amputated. Imagine having your fingers amputated to the first knuckle and then you will get the picture.
These is not a painless procedure, and remember cats walk on their ‘fingers and toes’. Imagine how helpless they must feel.
The Future for a Cat After Declawing
The pain after declawing will be a short- term affair but what about other effects?
Remember we have already mentioned that cats use their claws for defense against other cat, dogs or even humans. They use their claws to ‘warn’. Without this mechanism some cats will begin biting as a defense or warning and others may run away and loose their fight leaving them depressed.
Cats walk on their toes and if they experience intense pain in their toes they can change their normal gait that in turn may cause them to become stiff in the spine, legs and hips.
Alternatives to Declawing
We all know that cats can cause damage with their claws but there is no need to declaw. Make sure that you trim regularly. This is something that you can do yourself with inexpensive clippers that can be purchased from any pet shop.
When clipping your cats nail wait until he is sleepy and then just gently take one nail at a time. Make sure that you do not clip into the dark part of the tip, as this will cause the nail to bleed.
If you area uncomfortable with clipping the nails yourself just pop kitty along to your vet. Your vet will even give you a lesson on nail clipping if you ask.
Provide your cat with scratching posts. These can be purchased or made. Keep several posts around which have different elevations and surfaces. Cats do like sisal covered posts and it really does not take long to train a cat to use a post for scratching and not your furniture.
