Declawing a cat is major surgery ... and ... it is far from
problem free
A cat's claws are rooted in the paws and are actually
attached to the first toe bones. In order to remove the
claws ... the bone is removed ... at the first joint
... cutting through flesh, tendons, nerves and blood
vessels.
Declawing a cat, in truth, is amputating the tops of all your
cat's toes. Naming this surgery ... declawing ... is
extremely misleading.
Perhaps we have been misinformed – and don't understand
just how much damage we do to a cat - not
just physical - when parts of its paws are amputated.
Did anyone tell you?
... The pain following an amputation is so severe it was
once used to torture prisoners of war.
... Many human amputees experience phantom pain,
described by the Mayo Clinic as "shooting, stabbing,
boring, squeezing, throbbing or burning" ... the pain
comes and goes. Do declawed cats experience the same pain?
How would we know?
... To top it all off, it seems that historically, many
of our cats were sent home after 'declawing' surgery without
adequate (or any) pain medications.
Declawing a cat has been declared
illegal or extremely inhumane in 25 countries outside
of North America - but notably not so in Canada and
the United States.
Ours is a society that thrives on convenience and for
some reason mutilating our cats got thrown into the mix.
Shame on us.
Cats are digitgrade animals - they walk and run on
their toes with their heels up. Declawed cats will
often shift their weight unnaturally, on to what remains of
their paws.
This can permanently throw their whole alignment off, put
unnecessary stress on their spines and invite
the development of arthritis.
A cat's remarkable agility, its sense of balance and ability
to climb will be affected. This can easily result in falls,
injuries and for some cats (according to my local animal shelter)
crazed frustration.
Cats without claws are not able to defend themselves,
as they once did. Do they live in a constant state of fear
and anxiety for the rest of their lives?
Just a few of the major life changes your cat needs
to adjust to. There's lots more.
For their own safety, declawed cats must be indoor
cats.
Watch out for behavioral problems. Many owners of
declawed cats report drastic changes in their cat's personality.
Others surrender their cats to shelters because of behavioral
problems - that didn't exist - before the declawing.
Some cat owners - and some veterinarians
- argue the cats are just fine ...
I would add:
1. cats can't talk
2. cats are extremely skilled
at hiding any signs of
suffering and pain
3. if a cat was born this way
... we would call it a
deformed and handicapped
animal.
Gee whiz, if I had the tops of all ten of my fingers
amputated ... it would really affect my life. It's
not rocket science.
If you are thinking of declawing a cat - I urge you to
do some research. A very good cat
declawing directory and resource is de-clawing.com.
Please explore the alternatives to declawing a cat. Your
cat has a lot to lose if you don't.
