If you follow my social media, you know that I hate declawing. (Ouch!) Can you imagine taking a trusting kitten like Sam and chopping off his little toes at the first joint? Just thinking about it gives me the shivers. But basically, that is what declawing is. The medical term is onychectomy, but no matter what you call it, it’s inhumane, unnecessary, and just plain cruel.
Thirty-eight countries around the world now ban this practice, and I recently read that Rhode Island has joined Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Washington, D.C. in banning it too. Many cities have also outlawed it, including Denver, Austin, St. Louis, and my hometown… yay, Pittsburgh!!
Declawing a cat is like amputating your fingers and toes at the first joints. Imagine how that would affect everything you do. So besides the pain and trauma of the procedure itself, declawing leads to all kinds of post-surgical problems. Some are medical, like infections, back pain, arthritis, nerve damage, and lameness, while others affect the cat’s emotional life and behavior.
Scratching is a fundamental feline behavior. It allows them to exercise, stretch, mark territory, reduce stress, and shed claw sheaths. Cats who scratch are happy cats and preventing them from doing this not only removes their main form of defense but also deprives them of a key pleasure in life.
In fact, scratching is so essential to feline nature that declawing often results in worse behaviors, like fear aggression, biting, and litter box avoidance. Our Walter’s previous owner had all four paws declawed — it was a botched surgery! — and we discovered he needed a special type of litter in his box because regular litter hurt his paws.
Some people argue that banning declawing could lead to more cats being dumped in shelters or abandoned. However, many shelters report that their surrenders often include declawed cats whose aggression and litter box issues cause families to give them up. Learning how to work with your cat to redirect scratching is the only humane solution. Alley Cat Allies offers helpful tips for managing unwanted scratching.
