Declawing cat or soft paws?

[PatriciaH]

My BIL is a vet, and did a lot of research before agreeing to declaw the inlaws cat:

1. A properly done declaw does NOT result in pain for the rest of the cat's life or long tem physical problems.

2. Properly declawed cats have no problem using the litter box, and no more "behavior issues" than other cats.

3. It can absolutely be done humanely with proper pain control.

I hate propogation of myth and propganda.

Then why do so many civilized countries ban declawing calling it inhumane?

England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Yugoslavia.

Several cities in CA banned it as well. What would you guys do if they make it illegal here?

 

[fakereadhed]

Then why do so many civilized countries ban declawing calling it inhumane?

England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Yugoslavia.

Several cities in CA banned it as well. What would you guys do if they make it illegal here?

I don't make personal decisions based on what other countries think.

There are all kinds of things that are legal/illegal in other countries that are or are not in the US. That doesn't mean it's morally right or wrong. Of course I would abide by the law, but as a thinking person I don't make moral decisions based only on whether it is legal or illegal in another country.

 

[jwfla422]

Cats who are declawed tend to have a lot of behavioral problems. While your cat would not be clawing things all the time, peeing all over is a common (pretty much unstopable) problem that cats who are declawed have much more commonly.

Sorry for such a long response, but I find this VERY interesting. While the "indoor" cat I had as a kid had an "exceptional" personality, loving, friendly, so sweet, he did pee on the carpet in our dining room for years. He was the first cat we had that my mom declawed. We had 2 outdoor cats prior who had claws who didn't have that issue.

I then adopted my first cat when I became an adult and declawed her and she too had issues with peeing and pooping where she shouldn't have. Thought she was jealous of my dh (when we first started dating). She has since passed on, but I find this topic interesting because I now have 3 cats whom I never declawed and SO FAR, none have had any issues with peeing or pooping anywhere they shouldn't be (and one of them was a stray we took in about 1 1/2 yrs ago and he had no problem adjusting to a litter box).

I did use Softpaws on our oldest when I first got him and he's probably the most easy going when it comes to touching his paws...but after a while I got tired of replacing them all the time. They came off pretty quickly and they still suggest to clip their claws if you use them. They're great when all 10 stay on but then you have to start gluing them on every few days. After a while I just stopped using them and just kept his claws trimmed. So, I do this with all them now.

Yes, it is a chore sometimes. My little one squirms and whines sometimes and the one who was a stray is really tough about it. If you trim them once a week you don't always have to do all 10 each time. At this point, I don't think I would declaw again because it does seem to be inhumane...and I find it VERY coincidental regarding Sarahlovy's comment as I do see a link to it. Although we did have another female that was a stray that was already declawed when we rescued her (can you imagine someone declawed her and let her go? and we did find the owner & she didn't want her) But, she never had litter box issues, so I don't know...

 

[cbg1027]

I don't usually jump in to multiple page argument threads, but this is one I feel really strongly about.

The humane society I volunteer for has a clause in our adoption contract that you are NOT allowed to declaw any cats adopted from us.

Declawing is cruel, plain and simple. How would you feel is someone cut off the first joint of your fingers and/or toes???

Forget about the argument of whether or not the cat has pain the rest of their life for a moment and ponder something else.

Putting an animal through unnecessary surgery is cruel. It is risky and irresponsible to do what essentially amounts to cosmetics for the owner. Cats have claws and natural instincts that include scratching things. If you can't handle those behaviors is a humane way (soft paws, behavioral training, providing other surfaces to scratch, etc) than accept the fact that having a cat comes with some drawbacks. If you really can't stand to have some scratches on your furniture, than you shouldn't own cats.

 

[herdtoDisney]

OP, I really think you should try SoftPaws. After reading this thread, I am ordering some too! While I would never declaw my kitty boy, he does like my sofa-so I figure SoftPaws is a harmless, low-cost solution.

Reading the site, they don't seem that hard to put on. I'll probably use 2 people-one to hold kitty boy and me to put them on. At least the first time. My cat is ok enough with us trimming his nails but if he wasn't, I'd wrap him gently in a towel to hold him (head out of course, and the paw being trimmed).

 

[pigletto]

I could and would not declaw my cats. EVER. We can argue until the cows come home but in my heart, it doesn't feel right and I just can't do it.
I have heard and seen RAVE reviews for softpaws! Luckily, I have never been in need of them.
Older kitty doesn't scratch anything ever. Little kitty (he was hand reared and found at 4 days old) is just starting to on one cabinet. The spray bottle and a firm "NO!" are working well. I will consider the softpaws if needed though.

 

[tlbwriter]

No way is it my first choice...I will do anything I possibly can before having a cat declawed (which I have never had to do). But, I would rather declaw a cat then give them up or take them to a shelter. A cat would rather lead a happy declawed life than a life of uncertainty in a shelter.

I don't regret having them declawed one bit. I would rather have them in a safe loving home than see them euthanized in a shelter because they weren't adopted.

I agree with both of these statements. A declawed cat with a home is happier than an intact cat in a shelter or living on the street.

Sure, you might luck out and have no behavior issues, but cats who are declawed typically resort to biting since they can't protect themselves with their claws.

It also makes it impossible for them to fully stretch- something cats do to keep their joints healthy.

It also makes it INCREDIBLY painful to use the litterbox. Imagine standing on arthiritic knuckles in the middle of a gravel parking lot every time you needed to pee or poop. That's what you're putting cats through. That's the reason many cats start urinating outside of the box- it just hurts too much to stand in the litter.

Incredibly painful? To use a litterbox? Seriously? Where did you get this? I don't know any cats who will willingly do something that's "incredibly painful," and yet millions of declawed cats have used litterboxes for decades without issue.

My cat is a rescue cat who was declawed by her previous owner. She doesn't pee all over the house, she successfully trained our puppies to leave her alone by swatting them across the nose sans claws, and she doesn't have any behavioral problems. Yes, I'm sure some cats do. But to paint all declawed cats with the same brush is simply a painfully (pardon the pun) obvious scare tactic.

Did I direct that at anyone here? Did I say, "LIZ, you're a soandso!"?

I offered an opinion directed at no one. I don't see how a rational person could even contemplate that as a personal attack. *shrug* If I said "Extreme couponers are selfish and ruin coupons for everyone," does that imply I called every self-avowed "extreme couponer" on that thread selfish? No. It's simply my opinion on extreme couponers.

Again, I don't see how a rational person could come to that conclusion.

Apparently I'm irrational, then. Because when people on a thread say "I do this," and you say "No one would have to do that if they weren't an expletive freakin' moron," it's pretty obvious to me that it's a personal attack. Also, a word to the wise, inflammatory language like that doesn't exactly make you a good spokesperson for your side of the issue.

 

[stargazertechie]

Incredibly painful? To use a litterbox? Seriously? Where did you get this? I don't know any cats who will willingly do something that's "incredibly painful," and yet millions of declawed cats have used litterboxes for decades without issue.

Yes, incredibly painful. Between phantom limb pain and the early onset of arthritis due to the toe amputation, it becomes increasingly painful for cats to use the litterbox.

90% of cats with litterbox aversion have been declawed (the other 10% are comprised of cats that have recurrent UTIs, crystals, and anxiety).

These statistics have been reported by the ASPCA, the American Veterinary Medicine Association, and the HSUS.

I don't understand why people sit here and say "But it doesn't apply to me because________". The procedure has been outlawed in many countries, and several cities in the US. Research supports the fact that it is a painful procedure that impairs the life of the cat.

It's something that is insanely selfish to do when there are humane alternatives such as soft paws. It's not that hard to train a cat to scratch appropriately and trim their nails weekly or bi-weekly.


In a study published in the January, 2001 JAVMA, 33% of 39 (1 in 3) cats that underwent onychectomy developed "at least" one behavior problem immediately after surgery, with the most common problems being litter box problems and biting.

In a retrospective phone survey, Patronek found that among 218 cats relinquished to a shelter,
52.4% of declawed cats versus 29.1% of non-clawed cats were reported to have inappropriate elimination..."

Borchelt and Voith, looking only at aggressive behavior in a retrospective survey of pet owners, found declawed cats bit family members more often than did non-declawed cats.

(Sorry I don't have the articles cited, my works cited page is on my home computer, and I'm traveling right now).



Those risks are not risks I'm willing to take with my own cats, and yes, I do judge people who maim their pets for life just because it makes the owner's life easier.

 

[tlbwriter]

90% of cats with litterbox aversion have been declawed (the other 10% are comprised of cats that have recurrent UTIs, crystals, and anxiety).

When you get back to your home computer, I'd like to hear more about this statistic, if you don't mind. What you've given here doesn't tell us if those cats had litterbox aversion before they were declawed. Do you know if that was part of the study? If not, this could easily be a textbook example of a post hoc logical fallacy. Also, one would need to know what percentage of cats in general have been declawed. If 90% of cats in general have been declawed, this would be perfectly normal (yes, I realize that's not the case, just pointing out that we don't have all the information needed to really understand this statistic.) Thanks!

and yes, I do judge people who maim their pets for life just because it makes the owner's life easier.

I hope, before you make such judgments, that you find out if the owner was the one who declawed the cat, or if (like me) they acquired one that had already been declawed.

 

[cari12]

Have you tried clipping his claws shorter? You can use clippers intended for cats but human toenail clippers also work well. You do have to be careful not to clip them too far back - you just need to blunt the ends of the claws, not cut them all the way off. If he's damaging the leather by just jumping or running on it, that ought to help. We had the same problem with our cats (who never intentionally claw furniture, but were scratching it by running across it) and found that keeping the claws shorter solved the problem.

I agree with ChiCat - please don't declaw him. It really is cruel. I have never tried Soft Paws because clipping the claws works for us, but I've heard good things about them from people who have tried them.

Clipping shorter would only be a solution if the cat was not deliberately scratching the furniture which it appears it is. Cats scratch on things as a territorial thing. Even declawed cats will do the same scratching motion on furniture as it is a way of leaving their scent.

 

[kamik86]

I'm starting to think I need to try soft claws on my oldest cat but I'm not sure I can get them on. We have to fight a bit (and it takes 2 of us) to trim his claws.

The kittens are little angels when it comes to their claws. We can trim them easily by ourselves and they never scratch on purpose (sometimes we get scratched if one is laying on us and she slips or tries to jump off but thats all).

Now if only we can stop one of the kittens from her bad litter box habits we would be all set (I don't get it one has never gone oustide the box and the other rarely goes inside)

 

[cari12]

That was my first thought as well. Then I wondered how many of those here who are staunchly anti-declaw have no issue with cosmetic surgery on a newborn human.

Funnily enough, I had my cat declawed (after he ripped up several pieces of furniture) and he is still happy and healthy at 17.5 years old but I did not circumcise my son. I believe, unless it is for religious reasons, it is just plastic surgery on your baby. No health benefits whatsoever -just teach the kid to wash properly (and not doing it will not ruin brand new furniture!).

 

[cari12]

My vet actually recommended declawing for my kitty - not because she was scratching my furniture and carpet (she was) but because she was scratching my kids and they were both afraid of her. Without even researching it, I had her declawed. She spent 3 nights at the vet drugged up and then came home in a lot of pain. She wouldn't even walk for another 2 weeks (I carried her everywhere). After seeing the pain she was in, I researched how the declawing was done. After laying with her and crying, I decided right then that I would never do that to another cat. It didn't seem to cause any long-term emotional or behavioral issues for her - but it sure made an impression on me.

Maybe it was the vet who did it or his procedure! We had our cats declawed and they were only in the office overnight and were walking around as usual within a couple of days.

 

[fakereadhed]

Funnily enough, I had my cat declawed (after he ripped up several pieces of furniture) and he is still happy and healthy at 17.5 years old but I did not circumcise my son. I believe, unless it is for religious reasons, it is just plastic surgery on your baby. No health benefits whatsoever -just teach the kid to wash properly (and not doing it will not ruin brand new furniture!).

But my DS still refuses to use the litterbox.

 

[cari12]

.

90% of cats with litterbox aversion have been declawed (the other 10% are comprised of cats that have recurrent UTIs, crystals, and anxiety).

It's something that is insanely selfish to do when there are humane alternatives such as soft paws. It's not that hard to train a cat to scratch appropriately and trim their nails weekly or bi-weekly.


In a study published in the January, 2001 JAVMA, 33% of 39 (1 in 3) cats that underwent onychectomy developed "at least" one behavior problem immediately after surgery, with the most common problems being litter box problems and biting.

In a retrospective phone survey, Patronek found that among 218 cats relinquished to a shelter,
52.4% of declawed cats versus 29.1% of non-clawed cats were reported to have inappropriate elimination..."

Borchelt and Voith, looking only at aggressive behavior in a retrospective survey of pet owners, found declawed cats bit family members more often than did non-declawed cats.

(Sorry I don't have the articles cited, my works cited page is on my home computer, and I'm traveling right now).


Those risks are not risks I'm willing to take with my own cats, and yes, I do judge people who maim their pets for life just because it makes the owner's life easier.

We thought long and hard before declawing (fronts) our cats. We had a couple of differnet scratch posts and tried the water bottle thing but the one would scratch only on the furniture.The one that scratched the furniture the most was also the one that had peeing outside the litter box problems afterwards but he also had a recurrent urinary crystal problem. So interesting that you mention this is common with cats with UT problems.

Both cats, when angry would swat with the clawless paws to send you a message that they did not like what you were doing and if they got really angry (rarely), would nip (not hard enough to break skin though).
The one with UTI we had to put down last year at 14 due to cancer and kidney/lover problems. The other one is still happy and healthy at 17.

 

[GinnyEmma]

But my DS still refuses to use the litterbox.

 

[stargazertechie]

I hope, before you make such judgments, that you find out if the owner was the one who declawed the cat, or if (like me) they acquired one that had already been declawed.

Of course I find out first. I myself have 3 cats that are declawed (and came to me that way). 2 of the 3 have litterbox aversion issues, and I hate the person who did that to them

 

[KCMiller]

I think declawing a cat is mean, just like docking a puppies ears or tail (which has been banned in many countries, and yes, I know it's legal here, but seriously people, occasionally countries other than the United States make good decisions, too). If you don't have the time or inclination to train a cat not to scratch things, then don't have cats.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't always mean you SHOULD do something, or that it's the right thing to do.

KC

 

[GinnyEmma]

I think declawing a cat is mean, just like docking a puppies ears or tail (which has been banned in many countries, and yes, I know it's legal here, but seriously people, occasionally countries other than the United States make good decisions, too). If you don't have the time or inclination to train a cat not to scratch things, then don't have cats.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't always mean you SHOULD do something, or that it's the right thing to do.

KC

Because it is so much better to have those cats euthanized because there aren't homes available.

And just because some people don't like it doesn't make it bad. I don't like people piercing baby ears but I don't tell them not to have babies.

 

[stargazertechie]

Because it is so much better to have those cats euthanized because there aren't homes available.

And just because some people don't like it doesn't make it bad. I don't like people piercing baby ears but I don't tell them not to have babies.

To your first point- I'd rather see a cat declawed than euthanized, but I don't condone declawing unless 1) You have someone immunocompromised in you our house, or 2) You have tried EVERYTHING else (including training, 3 or 4 different types of scratching posts, soft claws, and trimming). "I don't want my furniture scratched" is not a valid reason to disfigure your cat. If you value your furniture that much, don't get a pet with claws.

To your second point- There is a difference between piercing ears- which does not cause permanent pain, and declawing, which causes phantom limb pain, early onset arthritis, and behavioral issues.


It's not bad because some people "don't like it'. It's bad because people who hold doctorate degrees have done SCIENTIFIC research that has shown that declawing is inhumane, causes lifelong pain, and directly contributes to major behavioral issues.