Declawing Cats
Cats.
Loveable, furry friends who roam their owner’s houses as their own domain. Cat
owners would do anything to make their feline comfortable and out of harm’s
way. Unfortunately, many cat lovers have unknowingly subjected their cats to a
painful procedure that has become a ‘quick fix’ to scratching; declawing. This
procedure cannot only cause phantom pains post-procedure, but the cat has to
re-learn how to walk, due to its altered balance. Furthermore, scratching is a
natural behavior that can be used as an alternative to declawing. Claws are the
cat’s first line of defense as well, so while a cat may be strictly indoor, if
the animal were to ever escape outdoors it would have no way of defending
itself.
This method
of scratch prevention is much more involved than most people think. Many
believe the misconception that declawing is simple; like trimming human
toenails. According to an article online
written by Dr. Drew Weigner, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and past president
of the Academy of Feline Medicine; “There are several different techniques, but
they all involve one thing. You have to remove the claw, and you have to remove
the little piece of bone that the claw grows from. If you don’t, the claw will
try to grow back… The way cats are normally declawed, there’s an instrument
with a sliding blade, almost like a guillotine, and it cuts a straight line
through the joint between that little piece of bone and the next piece of bone,
which is much bigger.” Essentially, it’s like cutting off the first part of the
toe to prevent further claw growth.
While
declawing is a sure way of preventing unwanted scratching, what cost is it to
the cat? There are many complications that can occur during or post- surgery.
Pain for the animal is the most common side effect. In an article written on
All Feline Hospital’s website; “If not enough pain
control was utilized with the procedure, the cat can actually develop a
hypersensitivity of the nerves in the toes that can result in a lifetime of
acute pain every time your cat puts weight on their paws. This can result
in cats holding their paws up every time they sit down from chronic pain.
Sometimes this hypersensitivity can be reversed with certain combinations of
medications, but not always. In people, after an amputation, they can commonly
experience phantom pain, where they feel pain in the limb that has been
removed. While we can't really ask cats if they feel this, each declaw is
a toe amputation, so there is a very high likelihood that they also experience
this phantom pain.” I personally have fallen victim to the common misconception
of the procedure when I put my own cat through it eight years ago. She ended up
having phantom pain for three months post- procedure. It was heart breaking to
watch her sit with her paws held up like a prairie dog, or watch her painfully
shake her front paws every time she put weigh on them. Imagine yourself being
put through a surgery that cuts off the tips of your bones in your fingers, and
being in so much pain that you cannot express clearly to anyone. It’s a
horrifying thought to imagine yourself, let alone an animal go through that
pain. Yet another drawback of declawing to the cat is that it must re-learn to
walk. Since a part of their paw has been removed, they have to adapt how to
evenly distribute their weight.
Cat scratching can be a natural way of displaying affection,
marking territory or simply for exercise. Using the cat’s natural instinct to
scratch to the owner’s advantage by providing a positive outlet for them to
scratch on is a happy alternative for both the cat and the owner. These routes
are also more cost-friendly methods to prevent scratching as opposed to
surgery. Scratching posts, cardboard pads, and cat condos are all ways for the
cat to exercise its needs without destroying furniture. Another way to prevent
scratching on furniture is to put caps on the cat’s claws that allow them to
exercise the motions of scratching without the sharpness of the claws. Using
unpleasant scents like orange or vinegar sprays to deter felines away from
areas that are not suitable for scratching or using good smelling odors like
catnip to encourage the cat to scratch in a specific area are also easy options
for cat-owners.
In conclusion, another important factor to consider with the
consequences of declawing is that claws are the cat’s main way of defending
itself. If the cat for some reason gets lost outside, there are many dangers
that could threaten a cat’s life, and a cat without claws being outside has far
more risk of encountering a danger and not being able to walk away from it. It
doesn’t matter where the owner lives, there are always dangers outdoors for
cats in general, and for a cat without claws, the odds of the lost cat
surviving are much smaller than those with intact claws.
So while the method of declawing is the only permanent
fix to unwanted scratching, the risks of complications overwhelmingly outweigh
the ending benefit. Forcing the cat to change its weight distribution to
maintain simple balance due to removal of important bone. Taking this natural
instinct to scratch away from a cat is simply cruel when there are so many more
natural and cost effective ways to prevent scratching. Taking away the feline’s
defense mechanism is also a secondary consequence that would be robbed from the
cat. With all of these points described, would you choose to declaw your cat?
Works
Cited
"Above All, Don't Declaw." CatScratching.com.
N.p., 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
"Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure."
RSS. Humane Society of the United States, 11 June 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Declawing Cats Q&A: Positives, Negatives, and
Alternatives." WebMD. N.p., 6 Oct. 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
"Declawing of Domestic Cats." Declawing of
Domestic Cats. AVMA, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
HOFVE, Jeane, 7. "Thinking of Declawing?" Robot
Check. LNREkonen, 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Menu."
Our Hospital. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
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