Cat Owner's Manual › Chapter 6: Cat Grooming › Taking Care of Your Cat's Nails ›

Declawing Your Cat

Because the cat's off-the-shelf design is so elegant, owners have rarely been tempted to make postnatal changes. One exception is the procedure known as declawing, or onychectomy. Usually done to prevent destructive scratching of home furnishings, the operation removes the claws on the forepaws using a technique comparable to the removal of human fingertips at the top knuckle. The procedure can sometimes cause severe, lasting pain for adult cats. Though common in the United States, this modification is against the law in Germany, England, and Switzerland, where it is considered animal cruelty. This procedure should be contemplated only if other methods of stopping excessive clawing (regular nail clipping, behavior modification, and/or placing "caps" on the claws) have failed, and the choice is between performing the procedure or surrendering the cat to a shelter.

Comments (4)

Chapter 6: Cat Grooming

Comments for This Page (4)  |  Post a Comment

Just a quick comment on declawing—NOT everyone does it for those idiot reasons of preserving your furniture and so on...they CAN be trained not to claw inappropriately. OUR issue is that I have a clotting problem and take a thinner...even an accidental scratch from one of the 'family' can be fairly serious. Still, we've only done it a time or two and it is something we think long and hard about.

purred by Kaye Mossburg on Apr 22, 2008 AT 8:34 pm PDT
3 people found this comment helpful.
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

im really happy about catsters view on declawing. as the comment above states, people do have good reasons for declawing. but for the most part, i know that people dont know what is involved, and i think people just see it as something that is done with cats. 'i want to have my cat neutered and declawed' they say, without knowing that the declaw isnt necessary. without understanding the pain that the cat goes through. yes, convenient, we adopted butter and she was already declawed. but i would never have the procedure done to a cat.

purred by Ashley Smith on May 27, 2008 AT 6:44 am PDT
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

I thought that declawing would be a solution to the slow destruction of my furniture,carpet,etc...and planned on having it done on all 3 of my babies.I had to have the lastest addition, who was a kitten at the time, neutered and decided to have the declaw done at the same time. I was devastated when I got the little one home. he was in so much pain! He wasn't able to walk well, couldn't climb the stairs.... I carried him everywhere just to keep him physically close to me. I think I cried everyday for a couple of weeks because I had allowed this to be done. I still feel guilty about it-he's 5 now. Needless to say,I will NEVER have any of my cats declawed ever again! Furniture and carpet are just things and don't even come close to the value of my furry babies!!

purred by Cindy Cater on Jun 11, 2008 AT 12:17 pm PDT
1 person found this comment helpful.
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

I *suspect* what a lot of folks dont realize is kitties HAVE to scratch something. Provide a scratching post, show them how its to be used -- and when. For example, when you catch kitty scratching where he isnt suppose to, pick him up take him over to the scratching post and put his paws on it. then YOU scratch the post. Be persistant and eventually he will get the idea.

purred by Jon Paynter on Jun 12, 2008 AT 1:08 pm PDT
1 person found this comment helpful.
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

Post a Comment for This Page

Please log in or register to post a comment.

Email
Password:

Quirk BooksThe Cat Owner's Manual is a basic guide to cat care.
The book was written by a celebrated veterinarian and an acclaimed author. It provides cat owners with well-researched and helpful information presented in a lighthearted manner. The creators chose to write the book in a style similar to what you'd find in "operating instructions" for a car or computer. Of course they--and we--respect the fact that our beloved pets are not products or machines!