Is It OK To Declaw My Cat?

Question

I got a kitty for my grandma and now he is grown and messing up the furniture. He's an inside cat and i figured it would be ok to have him declawed since he doesnt go outside and has been fixed. We have tried having the vet clip his nails but stewie cant resist scratching up the place. He has scratching posts and other things to claw. So is declawing the best or the worst thing to do?

Answer 1

no, not cool at all, that's cut off the tips of his fingers.
i know, my cat has destroyed/scratch 3 sofas. I'm using right now the mirror tape on one of the sofas and it's working really well. you can buy the mirror tape at home depot.
chin

Answer 2

It is the worst, cruelest, most inhumane thing you can possibly do to a cat. It doesn't matter whether he goes outside or is fixed or anything else, declawing is a brutal amputation of the lower part of a cat's toe. Declawing can leave cats maimed, infected, in permanent pain, or even dead. It can lead to litter box problems, because the feel of litter on the raw stumps of his feet will be too painful, and he'll start using the floor instead. It can cause psychological damage and he may never trust humans again. There is no reason anyone should ever declaw a cat, you bought the cat knowing it had claws, it's not fair to the cat to mutilate it now!

Try a product called soft claws, you glue them right over the cat's nails and it can't scratch the furniture. All you have to do is replace them every few weeks when one or two will fall off. I've been using them for 7 years with great success.

Follow these links and read more literature about why declawing is so horrible:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html

http://www.everycreaturecounts.org/declaw.htm

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/pet/246532341.html

http://amby.com/cat_site/cattrain.html

Please do not subject your kitty to this torture! It would be better for you to find him a new home that to do that to him.

Answer 3

It's not an issue of mixing clawed/declawed cats, it's an issue of personalities and introductions. If you have to worry about a cat with claws hurting one without, then declawing the aggressor is just going to make things worse. Now I'll be accused of being a PETA-nutcase, but I'm the person who goes into shelters to evaluate cats for rescue. 30% of cats who are declawed develop at least one behavioral issue, the two most common are biting and peeing outside the litter box. Of these cats who're surrendered to shelters, 80% of them are promptly euthanized. After all, how many people do you suppose walk into a shelter and ask to adopt a cat that bites and pees on the furniture? There is a reason that declawing is banned and considered animal abuse in every civilized country in the world - other than the US and Canada, of course. And you'll have all the posters here with their 'successful' declaws tell you it's a good thing and harmless. It's not. Most major animal organizations frown upon it, including the AVMA! Other opponents include the HSUS, and the major purebred cat registration bodies like the CFA. The CFA does not allow declawed cats to be shown - and a cat that cannot be shown will never achieve championship status. Introduce your new kitten to your cat slowly, over a period of days, and I'm sure the claws won't be an issue at all.

Answer 4

Declawing is basically taking off the top joint of the finger to the knuckle. Then the kitties get to stand on these painful wounds until they heal over. Many cats start having litterbox problems after a declawing because they associate the pain with using the litterbox when they bury their waste. I run a cat rescue and the #1 reason cats are surrendered is for litterbox problems - and the majority of these are declawed. If there was no other way to save your furniture, I might understand the desire, but there are many ways to train your cat not to scratch furniture. Use all or any of the following:
1. Soft Claws are plastic nail tips that are glued on to the claw. The cats can't even feel them once their applied. Some vet offices will do this for you if you ask. Compare hundreds of dollars for a painful declaw to $20 for 4 sets of Soft Claws. Each set lasts around 2 months, which gives you lots of time to discourage any scratching behavior on the furniture. (They will still go through the motions, though they can't do any damage with them on.)
2. Squirt the cat with water in a squirt bottle when he scratches on the furniture. They catch on to this one, quick.
3. To prevent certain areas from being targeted while you're not around, cover the corners of the furniture with either double-sided sticky tape or aluminum foil. Not forever, just until he establishes a pattern of scratching on a scratching post.
4. Provide a scratching post!

It's actually pretty easy if you're just willing to try, much easier on your kitty, too.

Answer 5

Declawing is considered cruel by many, it often leads to biting problems and tenderness in the feet for awhile. I would say no don't declaw it now, especially if it is grown. There are these things you can try as an alternative, www.softpaws.com they are caps you put on the nails so they can't scratch things. they are worth a look. you might have to work with the cat to allow you to mess with his feet but in this situation declawing is probably not the best solution.

Answer 6

OK, declaw him!...Now imagine that he has escaped your home. What defense does he have against predators? -- NOTHING! The best you can hope with that scenario is that he's very young and runs like a bullet!

There are so many best answers in Yahoo from people that asked the same question. I would say that approximately 98% of the responses I read, said never to declaw a cat.

If you're willing to 'de-arm yourself,' than by all means declaw your cat. Sorry, am not trying to be mean, but only want to leave room for thought for you.

Best of Luck in your decision.

Answer 7

Please do not declaw your cat. It is an incredibly cruel practice, it is banned in over 2 dozen countries and many vets refuse to perform the operation. Declawing involves 10 separate, painful amputations. It is a serious surgery, not just a manicure. Declawing a cat involves general anesthesia and amputation of the last joint of each toe, including the bones, not just the nail. The following are possible complications of this surgery:
• Adverse reaction to anesthetic
• Gangrene, which can lead to limb amputation
• Hemorrhaging
• Permanent nerve damage
• Persistent pain
• Reluctance to walk
• Scar tissue formation
• Sequestrum (bone chips), requiring additional surgery
• Skin disorders

After surgery, the nails may grow back inside the paw, causing pain but remaining invisible to observers. Declawing results in a gradual weakening of leg, shoulder, and back muscles, and because of impaired balance caused by the procedure, declawed cats have to relearn to walk, much as a person would after losing his or her toes.
Without claws, even house-trained cats may urinate and defecate outside the litterbox in an attempt to mark their territory. Declawed cats may be morose, reclusive, and withdrawn or irritable, aggressive, and unpredictable. Many people think that declawed cats are safer around babies, but in fact, the lack of claws, a cat’s first line of defense, makes many cats feel so insecure that they tend to bite more often as a means of self-protection. A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) reported that of those observed, 33 percent of declawed cats developed at least one behavioral problem and 80 percent had more than one medical complication. Declawed cats are also more likely to be surrendered to shelters.
You do have another option. You can get something called SoftPaws. These are basically fake nails for your kitty. Your vet will have to put the nails on the first time to find the proper fit, but after that you can replace any that fall off(they fall off just like acrylics nails that you may get for yourself). Even if you cat still tries to scratch, he won't be able to do any damage since these nails are dull. They even come in assorted colors if you feel like making kitty pretty while protecting your home. You can find more information regarding the SoftPaws at their website: http://www.softpaws.com/

Answer 8

I wouldn't say de-clawing your cat is the worst thing. I just think its the cruelest thing you can do. Why not try using another method to stop him from clawing up the furniture. I have a adopted de-clawed male cat. His previous owners did it to him as a kitten. His paws look deformed but there fine. How ever he still like to rub his paws against the furniture. And he now defends himself by bitting when he gets mad.

Answer 9

i would say no to that. just cut the cats claws very short don't ever declaw a cat. there are websites with cats that have even lost there feet because of declawing.

Answer 10

Think about what it would be like to chop your finger off at your first knuckle and then know what sweet little kitty will experience.

The claw is embedded that far up into the cats paw skeletal structure.

It will also be similar to you having to walk on your hands by your knuckles and not your fingers for the rest of your life creating nothing but discomfort. It gets worse for the fur ball puker in its later years.

So if you care more about you than the sentient being that you are thinking about mutilating, then by all means go ahead.

Answer 11

I loved Melissa B's answer.

If you really, really want, you can buy little kitty nail clippers and clip the tips of his claws yourself. This way, you can trim them more frequently so he can't stratch up your furniture.
Also, a friend of mine suggested getting a piece of the cat-scratching carpet - and putting some cat-nip under it to make it more enticing.