Declawing cats What Does that mean?

Question

I really don't know what that means I know you can cut your cats nails but does it exactly mean I only have a few friends who owns cats but most like don't know what declawed means

No way I am not thinking of getting my cat declawed I like the way she is

Answer 1

When a cat is declawed the first digit on all of their toes is amputated. You know where your fingernail is? Well that whole bone on your finger is cut off up to the first joint. It is a very painful procedure for the kitties. They have a hard time adjusting, and they lose any chance at defending themselves. There are MANY other alternatives to having a cat declawed.

Answer 2

are you thinking of having your cat declawed?
you should trim your cat's nails regularly as you would your own finger nails, however that is not what declawing them is...
I think you should read this article:
http://www.declawing.com/
it discusses what declawing is EXACTLY, how the operation is done and how serious of a surgery it is
and here are a list of alternatives to declawing:
http://www.amby.com/cat_site/declaw.html...
including training the cat, scratch post alternatives, ways to keep the cat away from furniture (repellent sprays, sticky tape), soft paws product, etc...
and here is a link to the most famous and easy way of keeping a cat from scratching without getting the cat declawed, a product called soft paws:
http://www.softpaws.com/
having your cat declawed is fairly cheap on your pocket, but training a cat would be free! Besides that, most cats come back from the operation traumatized and their personalities changed for the worse (they become violent and fearful)...Declawing is illegal in many countries because it is considered animal cruelty to cut off the toe of a cat (that's what they do in the operation, they cut off the cat's toes...imagain someone cutting off your fingers and that's pretty much what they do to the cat)
really the only positive thing about declawing is that it saves your furniture from claws, however declawed cats are at a higher risk for learning to spray and bite so your furniture (and your arms) really aren't all that safe; and besides that, why traumatized your cat to save your furniture when they are other BETTER alternatives to declawing
go to the links I gave you, read up on it,
it will only take you a few minutes to read about it so that you can make an educated decision
this decision will effect you for the rest of your cat's life
and it definitely will effect your cat

Edit:
glad to hear that you won't be declawing your cat, you should tell your friends who have cats what it means to declaw a cat and through the spreading of knowledge we may be able to prevent more cats from going through this torturous procedure.

Answer 3

When they declaw a cat they cut the toe off at the first knuckle so that there is no longer a nail bed for a nail to grow from. The equivalent of cutting off the end of a human finger at its first joint.

Ouch

Answer 4

If your cat is an inside cat only, there's a humane alternative to declawing. It's called Soft Paws (or Soft Claws, seen it both ways). They sell them at PetsMart. They are soft claw caps you glue over the claw. They can still use their claws to help them stretch and such but it prevents them from tearing things up. They fall off when the cat sheds its claws so you have to replace them every couple of months. They aren't that expensive tho, only $20 for 40 caps and you don't really need to put them on the back paws.

Answer 5

Declawing is a very cruel and unnecessary surgery. In countries like the UK where it is illegal on the grounds of animal cruelty, we teach our cats to have good claw manners.

The web site below has lots of articles about declawing and photos of the surgery, which will leave you in no doubt exactly what they do to the poor cat.

http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/

Answer 6

this is just my personal opinion...but declawing is inhumane and just not neccessary. to declaw a cat is more that just taking out the nail.....they actually remove the entire first knuckle AND the claw. it would be like having someone cut off your finger at the first joint just to get the fingernail off. it's expensive and just plain cruel......i consider it to be mutilation. you can, if you are diligent, keep your cat from scratching on house hold furniture by giving it a short spray form a water bottle or a water pistol.......after a few dousings, he/she will get the point, or you can also purchase a scratching post to intice him/her. spray or sprinkle it with cat nip and the cat will LOVE IT...........good luck, ML in FL

Answer 7

Gnomes is absolutely right... they amputate part of the cat's toes...

a lot of animal rights nuts are totally against it, and they ask "how would you feel if they amputated your fingertips?" I always respond "I'd much rather lose my fingertips than get spayed or neutered". They usually don't have a good comeback for that.

Answer 8

It's a surgical removal of their Claws to prevent them from scratching anything... It is NOT advisable...-as a Cats claws are their ONLY defence...

Answer 9

just trim them regularly. no...having your toes chopped off is not a nice thing so you can trim them regularly