Should I declaw my cat if he’s tearing up the house?
A lot of people have problems with their cats tearing up furniture and other fabric items around the house, but it’s shocking to me that a lot of people who have a real love of cats will get their cat declawed. I think the reason they think this sort of surgery is routine is that they are imagining a surgery that would involve something similar to getting our fingernails removed. After all, a claw is just a nail, isn’t it?
Actually that is not the case. The analogy between declawing and human hands is more like having our fingers amputated at the last joint. Declawing involves the amputation of bone – the last joint of your cat’s toe. Why is it necessary to remove the bone at the joint? It’s because the cells that will eventually become claw originate in that part of the toe, so if the declawing surgery did not amputate the bone above a certain point, the claw would grow back. This amputation is “necessary” sheerly for the convenience of humans. This is a painful surgery and painful recovery. Many people don’t seem to realize how much it all must hurt, because they see that their cat is still going to the litter box or going to the food dish. Well, what else will your cat do? She must walk on those painful feet in order to eat and go to the litter box, and we need to remember that cats are great at hiding their pain or illness.
The only drawback to declawing that seems to be obvious to the public is that the cat can no longer swipe a dog across the face with her claws or quickly climb a tree. Everyone I know personally who has taken his/her cat to be declawed proclaims that Kitty will always be an indoor cat! And maybe that is true. Maybe they do not have relatives, friends, or workmen who will leave the door open accidentally. The thing about declawing is, aside from the horrible pain and the danger from other animals if the cat gets outside, cats naturally walk on their toes! They depend on their excellent balance and agility every time they walk and jump, and certainly this amputation throws off that natural balance as the cat has to re-learn how to use every muscle to walk on what is left of her toes. Oh sure, the cat will eventually walk without a hitch, just like any other amputee who learns to adapt to what’s left.
Why do cats scratch on furniture anyway?
Scratching comes naturally to your cat, and cats actually exercise their backs and shoulders by digging their claws into something and stretching as f-a-a-a-a-r as they can. Scratching and claws are just part of what makes a cat a cat! Actually, declawing surgery, onychectomy, is illegal in many countries but is still going on in North America. Veterinarians in this country sometimes do onychectomy because the owner of a cat will claim that they will throw their cat out or have her put to sleep if the cat isn’t declawed.
This year, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association has launched an outreach effort focused on the issue of cosmetic and convenience surgeries in companion animals, such as declawing for cats, devocalization in cats and dogs, and ear cropping and tail docking in dogs. The HSVMA is producing materials to educate the public and also to give tools to veterinarians who are asked for these surgeries.
What can we do about cats destroying the house then?
One thing I did as a teenager was to clip my cat’s claws for her with an inexpensive cat nail clipper
Other ideas are a sturdy scratching post
The best remedy I’ve found
My cats developed a habit of ripping into the back of a soft sofa in the den a couple of years ago, while the small carpeted scratching post I had bought when they were kittens sat totally ignored. I ordered some Sticky Paws
Don’t put your cat through painful surgery and leave him without his claws! There are many ways you can let him enjoy his natural claws without putting up with shredded the furniture and curtains!
Photo credit: Marcin Wichary