Why do people say that cats are meaner if you declaw them?

Question

They can't harm you. I had a mean kitten with claws who used to scratch the PISS out of me. Next cat I get, I want a declawed kitten, well 2. A boy & a girl that are neither spayed nor neutered.

Answer 1

That is only anecdotal stories about declawed cats becoming mean. There has been numerous research, as well as my own personal experience, that this is not the case. Cats don't even realize they are declawed as my cats still "scratch" the furniture.

Studies done from veterinary journals regarding declaw:

http://www.westsidehospitalforcats.com/Declawing.htm

A study done by a master's student in Kansas that demonstrated that declawing didn't make a difference in hunting:
http://www.geocities.com/the_srco/Highlights.html

Another website that explains things you should know before declawing:

http://www.geocities.com/declawing

My own experience, many cats that are already MEAN go to the vet to get declawed. Some of them as a last resort.... and exactly bc declawing doesn't change behavior (not to the worse, not to the better) they still remain aggressive and end up in shelters.

This is the reason why many shelter workers mistankenly believe that all declawed cats are mean. But to a person that has seen all these cats before and after, I can tell you that there is no change in behavior. Unfortunately, this myth goes into harming cats as well, since many shelters will refuse to adopt to a person that honestly confess is planning to declaw, and the cat ends up being euthanasized bc there aren't enough homes for all the homeless cats *sigh*

Answer 2

Some get behavioural problems; if they scratched beforehand, they'll often turn into biters afterwards since they lost their claws. You need to correct their behaviour rather than just take the claws away, because yes they do have another option with those teeth! If they weren't mean they probably won't turn mean, some turn more into scaridy-cats, some don't change their attitude towards people
But there are other risks in declawing; because their paws hurt, some cats will stop using the litterbox. Others may get painful regrowths, and declawed cats are also more at risk of getting arthritis later on in life, since the declawing changes their entire posture. These are all *risks* you're taking; knowing some cats that didn't suffer any of these complications doesn't prove they don't happen.

Biggest problem I have with declawing is that you're taking all these risks and it's really not necessary. Here in Europe declawing is illegal and yet we have lots of cats, lots of nice furniture, lots of small children... we don't have our furniture all scratched up, we don't go around getting scratched up ourselves either. If we can train our cats successfully, why can't Americans?

Answer 3

Because, if they can't scratch, they learn to use their teeth. Now remember these teeth are designed to rip flesh off other animals and you've got a problem. Add to that they are turned off using the litter box because their claws hurt and they can't dig, or that because the claws are sensitive they can't scratch to mark their territory, then you get them peeing all over the house. If they go outside, they are in danger but especially if they have no claws to defend themselves, against a coyote or a big dog. Scratching also helps them exercise their skeltal system and if they're declawed, they can't do that so they tend to end up with athritis and other bone disorders. Another thing that affects their skeleton is that they can't walk properly because the top of their toe to the first joint is amputated, this would be like cutting off the tops of your fingers. Try walking on those!

Add to all that a cat who is majorly peeved because it can't do what comes naturally to a cat and you've got a recipe to lose an arm.

Perhaps there was a REASON the kitten was mean.

Answer 4

I have had 5 declawed cats in my life (before I knew any better). All have been mild temperament unless they are playing. It really is the way cats are raised more then if they have claws or if they don't. To have a cat declawed is actually amputating the first knuckle, which is very painful for them. Also I have found that if they are spayed or neutered they will calm down.