by Sassafras

Created on: May 27, 2008

If your doctor recommended the amputation of the first joint of each of your fingers to permanently prevent your nails from growing, would you sign up for it? Of course not. And you'd definitely look for another doctor. Yet people bring their cats to veterinary clinics every day to undergo such a mutilation. Why? Because their cats act like cats. They use the couch or rug to sharpen their claws, or they've scratched family members and visitors once too often. Declawing is a nifty solution to annoying cat behavior, right? Not at all. Declawing can, in fact, lead to more serious problems-even to your cat's death.

A woman I once worked with was haunted by a tragic accident that befell her two beloved cats when she and her husband left them alone in the house with two young dogs they had recently adopted. Her husband returned home to find the torn apart, dead bodies of the cats and their dogs sitting quietly nearby. She blamed the incident on leaving the animals alone together too soon, and on the fact that the puppies happened to be Huskies (Huskies have a reputation for acting aggressively toward cats). But the most significant fact to me was one that she wouldn't even begin to consider, for understandable reasons. Her cats were declawed. They had been deprived of their first line of defense. When the dogs cornered them, it was all over for the cats.

Declawing is a painful and difficult operation. Curiously, it's a procedure restricted mostly to North America, and many vets-to their credit-refuse to perform the surgery. Others claim that there is no physical or psychological damage from declawing, and even recommend the further mutilation of declawing the back paws. "Declawing" is a misnomer, because not only are the claws removed, but also the first joints of the cat's paws. This can lead to balance problems and an inability to cling to precarious surfaces such as trees or high ledges. Cats may be natural gymnasts, but even they can sustain fractures or internal injuries from a fall. Declawing eliminates an important means of defense, leaves the cat feeling nervous and confused, causing her to resort to biting, and can even lower her immunity to disease. As a shelter volunteer, I encountered a number of declawed cats who, to compensate for the loss of their front claws, had become aggressive biters. Many had been surrendered by the very people who had arranged for their declawing. Sadly, these cats could not be put up for adoption and had to be euthanized.

A cat

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