What is the big deal about declawing a cat?

Question

Why is the issue of declawing a cat such a big problem? It is done under general anesthesia! It is no more painful then having a cat spayed or neutered. All cats should be indoors anyway, unless they're confined someway. Cats have no more business running loose the letting a dog run loose. What is the problem here?

Answer 1

It's not the fact of a procedure done under anesthesia.

It's the ethical part of declawing that gets people riled up. Some people see declawing as cruel and say that a cat needs all of its claws for defense (if the cat is indoors, why does kitty need all of its claws for? Most cats hate to get their claws trimmed ... and don't even remind me of visits to the veterinary hospital .... how many times have they been nailed by an angry cat???). Some folks point to negative side effects, such as changes in behavior (which are not very common). Others simply look at it and say, "It's just plain inhumane ...how would you like part of your fingers amputated?" (Like there aren't surgical procedures with far worse complications and side effects? How about watching leg amputations, for an example?)

As a veterinary technician assistant who has watched this procedure over and over again, as an owner with a declawed cat, and research on this topic when I was a student, I still have not found anything that suggests that declawing is detrimental to the cat.

Answer 2

In a few cases it can save the cats home, some people choose to declaw rather than rehome a cat who will not stop shreading things. To me this is preferable to 'getting rid of the cat'. With die hard scratchers I find 'soft claw' tips work really well for me. They do take a bit of practice to get on correctly. Personally I have never declawed although I have owned cats that were declawed prior to my getting them, they do rabbit kick in fights and some turn into biters as defense. Declawed cats cant give a 'warning smack' to a pup or dog that would leave it alone if it could, its harder to warn with a back foot. Some declawed cats do escape the house, escape a carrier on way to or from a vet or when moving... and are slower to climb a tree to escape a dog but as long as they have back claws and the tree has texture to the bark they can climb to some degree. I have also seen cats where the vet has messed up the procedure and cats where the owner did not provide proper after care. Yours may have went well because you had an experienced vet and provided correct after care, too many vets do not want to admit they seldom do a procedure and should recomend someone else. In the long run I can see where sometimes it can save a cats home, I can also see how a good vet & after care is vital. boncarles FYI I am the one who took in 2 cats with botched declaw jobs and have over the years taken numerous other cats whos owner got RID OF THEM because they shreded furniture or did you not read my responce about how SOFT CLAWS work well for me, AND that I have never declawed...learn to read before you preach to the choir.

Answer 3

It's not as simple as a spay or neuter. Declawing is not just the removal of the claws. What's happening is the last bone of each of the toes is removed along with tendons and nerves, and muscles are severed. It's actually a series of amputations. It would be the equivalent of having the tips of your fingers amputated. It's not only physically damaging but it's mentally damaging as well. It's been suspected that cat who undergo declawing end up more aggressive in the future because they don't have those claws as a mechanism of defense. A routine spay or neuter is done same day, no problem, no pain medications needed to go home. Declawed cats are kept overnight for observation, given not only a course of antibiotics to go home but pain medication as well. Our animal hospital even likes to put on fentanyl patches the night before. Anything that requires morphine the night before must be pretty painful, in my opinion. So, yes, it is more painful than a simple surgery done under anesthesia. They don't feel it while they're under, obviously, but they do feel it when they wake up - I've witnessed a cat waking up from a declaw surgery - it's not a pretty sight. Some veterinarians won't even do this procedure and a lot will only do it in special cases, such as when an owner considers abandoning or euthanizing the cat if it doesn't get declawed or when the cats claws affect babies or old people. There are other alternatives that should be sought before declawing.

Answer 4

Declawing removes bone and affects the cat's balance, plus the pain from it can stay well past the healing since it deals with nerve severing and muscle. Arthritis can develop there later as well, making it very painful to walk.

Yes, it's cheap, but a cat with claws removed can resort to biting because it knows it has no defenses. If yours gets out, it can't get up a tree to get away from raccoons or dogs, or other danger. It can't do anything except get it's back into a protected space and try to bite, which doesn't help protect it from attack very much. It's options are pretty limited.

Considering how many vets are against the practice of declawing, and how many city ordinances are now going into effect to make it unlawful, there is enough negatives associated with the practice of declawing to keep it from being done in the first place.

Answer 5

People say it's inhumane as it causes some pain to the cat. Declawing a cat is literally like cutting off the tips of all your fingers. Plus, I think it helps to keep the claws on just in case, because if your cat were to ever get outside, you'd wanna make sure it had some kind of defense against other animals. Putting your cat outside when it's been declawed is like going into battle with no weapon to defend yourself with.

Answer 6

It is a big deal...most vet won't declaw any more. The declawing method is sipping off the bone down to the first knuckle. Very painful and not necessary. My cats means more to me then a sofa or chair that can be replaced, besides it would take a very long time before a cat could destroy a sofa or chair. By that time the furniture would be worn out anyway.

Answer 7

A lot of people see it as cruel to the animal in that when the declawing occurs the 1st knuckle of the paw is removed, it would be like someone removing the knuckle where your fingernails are. I have 5 cats, all of them were declawed and spayed/neutered at the same time. They were under anesthesia one time. 4 of my cats were adult shelter cats previously from abused homes, they were all under the age of 1 and a half when I have them declawed. I see it as the younger they are the quicker they bounce back from operations and the younger they are the less they know what they are missing. I do though recommend to people to look into having a cat fixed and declawed by laser. My first cat, whom I got as a kitten was done this way, she was running around the next day as if nothing had happened.

Answer 8

most people think that its wrong because of a cat gets outside and something attacks it it has no way of fighting back besides biting and its back claws
but if its cornered and it strikes there is no way of hurting the animal because it has no claws

personally i dont care for declawing cats
if someones mind is made up theres no way of changing them
thats like saying you are gonig to turn fish into a dog
its not possible
people do what they want to do nowadays and there really if no stopping them

i understand why people get their cats declawed
and i understand why people dont

just let people think what they want to think
i know its not that big of a deal because it doesnt hurt them but its the thought of the cat with no claws to them



its confusing but you will get it as time goes on

Answer 9

I do not declaw my cats due to the fact they are indoor-outdoor cats. Cats need their claws when outdoors int he area that I live since there are other critters out in the woods, and they need their claws to attack or defend or climb up trees to avoid danger. My cats have learned what to scratch and what not to scratch, so I have no problem with having cats with claws. I had my pets spayed, so I have no objection to surgery on cats that are being spayed/neutered/emergency surgery as long as they are sedated.

Answer 10

I agree that cats shouldn't be running outside any more than dogs, except when was the last time you heard about a cat attacking a toddler and putting them in a hospital? But anyway, IF your cat were to get outside, they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. Some people just find it as in-humane as docking tails and ears. When I went to the shelter to adopt a cat, the one I fell in love with happened to be de-clawed, which I appreciated, but had I fallen in love with one that wasn't, I would have still gotten him. It's a selfish human thing to do, to rip out a cats claws, just so it won't ruin your furniture.