To Claw or Declaw?

With all of the controversy brewing across the country concerning this issue, I felt the need to put in my two cents. Should you declaw your cat? Is it cruel to do so?

I’ve shared my life over the years with many animals, including a variety of cats. We’ve had housecats and barn cats, and even fostered several cats. Each have come with their own personality and quarks, and most have been “clawed cats,” while a few were “declawed cats.”

Sharing life with these wonderful creatures has taught me many things, amongst them is that there are certain times when certain cats may possibly need declawing.

In discussing this with pet owners, one of the reasons that they felt they should have their cat declawed was to stop them from tearing up furniture, rugs, or wallpaper. They had tried many other ways to avoid having to do this procedure, but found that none of them had solved the problem. I believe that owners should try all the methods they can before declawing their pet.

In researching this further, I found that some cats were eventually declawed for the safety of others. This was for the safety of not only the humans they lived with, but also for the other pets in the home that the cat had badly clawed. Some had finally chosen to declaw their cats, while others had to give them up to new homes, or even to the animal shelters.

Let me give you an example of one owners’ story:
An older woman who adopted two kittens, siblings, both of whom she loves very much, had been dealing with a problem for the past two years. As the kittens grew, one sister was very loving and purred around everyone she met for attention. Her sister, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with anyone, including the owner. This woman had learned to respect this cat’s wishes, but hoped the cat would come around as time went by. The woman had them both spayed, but this didn’t help the disposition of this second sister. This cat took every opportunity to severely scratch anyone that came with in a few feet of her, especially the older woman. Even if the woman was doing something as simple as changing the sheets on her bed, the cat would attack her from beneath it and claw up her legs until they bled profusely. This became so bad that the woman had to go to the emergency room for stitches. She had tried talking to her veterinarian, pet store employees, on-line help, anything that might help her with this cat, but nothing worked. In a desperate move, the woman eventually took her veterinarian’s advice and had the cat declawed. At first, the cat tried to claw the woman as it had in the past. Over time it gave this up and began to allow the woman to approach and touch her. Now the cat gets along much better with the woman and her sister cat. And can do all the things her sister can do, even without claws.

I would advise and agree with others, when you find you must absolutely declaw a cat; use a reputable veterinarian who uses pain meds and make sure you prepare everything needed for your cat before it comes home from the vet.

Is it cruel to declaw a cat if it becomes absolutely necessary, as in the case of the woman above? I believe it is a much better alternative to giving it away, or even worse, having it put down.