The Controversy Around Declawing Your Cat

This week we published a Trivia Tuesday post on declawing your cat and the response was huge. On Facebook alone it reached over 10K within one hour. This is a controversial topic in the feline world, so let’s talk about why.

Many years ago, declawing your cat to prevent furniture damage seemed the norm. Some veterinarians declawed kitties at the same time that vaccinated them and spayed or neutered them. Side note: please don’t vaccinate and de-sex your cat at the same time. So why all the uproar about declawing now?

I believe it’s because we now know more about this procedure – and we can no longer do this to a family member in good conscious.

When Adrienne allowed her cats to be declawed 20+ years ago, she had no idea that it was a painful procedure that would affect her kitties for the rest of their lives. The person she lived with just needed to be sure that the cats didn’t scratch her grandmother’s chair. In fact, the vet acted like it was a simple procedure and offered no further information – just saying it was best to get it done at the same time the cats were getting fixed so the cat didn’t have a chance to ‘destroy your furniture’.

But now we know better. And only own furniture we’re comfortable sharing with our cats.

Declawing is not a simple permanent nail trim. If we were to pluck out the claw of our kitty, it would actually grow back. In order to remove the nails permanently they must amputate the bones in your cat’s feet.

Dr. Karen Becker, DVM, says, “Declawing removes the claw, bones, nerves, the joint capsule, collateral ligaments and the extensor or flexor tendons. Amputation of the third phalanx or the first toe bone that houses the nail drastically alters the conformation of the feet, which can lead to a host of physical complications such as chronic small bone arthritis, degenerative joint disease and neuralgia.“

Declawing cats is outlawed in many places as animal cruelty – and these days most veterinarians will no longer volunteer to perform the procedure. However, there are still those who prefer having fancy furniture and will still find a way to declaw their kitties.

If you’re considering declawing your cat, please read above and research the long lasting conditions this procedure causes. Would you prefer to have nice furniture or a healthy, happy cat?