It’s hard to write about cats and not write an article about declawing. The very subject of declawing is quite controversial. Some find declawing cruel and others think it’s an option.
Before I declawed one of my cats years ago, I thought it was a fairly harmless procedure. My cat was not declawed to save furniture or rugs; I declawed him because he was attacking my dog. I had already had my dog for 6 years when he brought Dori. Dori had been a stray who had given birth to a litter. She was able to get her kittens adopted, but no one wanted her. I just couldn’t imagine her in a shelter, so she brought it inside her. Although Dori was quite tame, she was really aggressive towards my very tame dog. We discussed the problem with our vet and he suggested we declaw Dori.
It is true that I did not investigate the declawing procedure before giving my consent. Almost immediately, I regretted the decision. Although Dori could no longer scratch my dog, she was never the same. He was constantly licking his paws and shaking them as if he had gotten into the water. To me, she seemed depressed and that made me very sad.
Years later, I learned that declawing traditionally involves the amputation of the last bone of each toe. Usually, this amputation is done with a scalpel or clipper. Amputation can also be done by laser surgery. Sometimes a cat will have its claws removed through a tendinectomy. With a tendectomy, the tendon that controls the nail on each toe is cut. However, when I realized what I had done, I had a hard time dealing with her. I remember hugging her and crying and apologizing. But of course, this didn’t bring the claws back.
You should know that after declawing, the cat may experience pain, infection and other complications; including nerve damage. Because they can’t scratch now (a normal part of cat behavior), some cats become biters. Fortunately, although I believe Dori experienced discomfort for the rest of her life, I saw no evidence of pain. I could tell that she really missed her claws.
Since my experience with Dori, I have never had and will never have a declawed cat again. I no longer have a problem with a docile dog and I now live in a cat-only house. However, to minimize damage from scratching, I keep my cats’ claws trimmed, provide cat scratching posts and boards (sprinkled with catnip), and toys. My husband’s leather sofa is a bit messy, but we live with it.
I bought soft plastic caps for her claws, but decided against it. Just thinking about fake nails makes me unhappy and I didn’t want to do that to my cats. However, if this is a good alternative to declawing, then I’m all for it.
I personally believe that declawing is cruel and should not be allowed unless the cat’s health is at risk. I will always regret declawing Dori and would like to help educate others not to make the same mistake.