Declawing Your Cats

Oh no! Fluffy has scratched up the furniture again. A quick google search reveals a seemingly easy way to permanently prevent these mishaps. Declawing! Unfortunately, this procedure can not only be more expensive than other options, it can also cause a LOT of pain for your cat.

Declawing cuts off claws where they connect at or close to the bone. Claws contain nerve endings, so the cat is usually put under anesthetic. Depending on the procedure, this can cause lasting pain and make their paws hurt to put pressure on. It doesn’t happen to every cat, but there are many other problems with this as well.

If you have an outdoor cat, they can’t fight when outside. This means they can be easily injured or even killed by cats and other animals. It also means that if your cat ever escapes, that they can’t hunt so they will die if not found quickly.

When a cat feels uncomfortable, they’re known to scratch as a way to say “Back off!”. Without claws as a means to say this, some cats will simply bite. It depends on your cat's personality, but you will have to be extra sensitive to your cat's emotions if you do get them declawed.

Thankfully, other options exist such as cutting your cat’s claws every week or three to make them dull, or you can get claw covers to stop them from scratching. Both are temporary, so Fluffy won’t be declawed forever.

We here at Marvelous Mammals Monthly hope you decide against getting your pet declawed because even if Fluffy is one of the cats who won’t be badly affected, do you really want to take that chance?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3935774/A-bite-CAT-dangerous-think-feline-s-fangs-inject-bacteria-deep-skin-cause-sepsis.html http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/wounds-cat-bite-injuries-to-humans/63 http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/declawing-cats-positives-negatives-alternatives http://www.declawing.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onychectomy http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html