4 Things to Think About Before Declawing your Cat

Declawing is a major surgical procedure known as an onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, which removes the tip of each finger (of the first joint) from the cat's front paws. There is a low risk of death during surgery, and a cat without claws may have an increased risk of infection and permanent discomfort in the paws. This surgery is not recommended for an adult animal and is considered an act of animal cruelty in some countries (see below). People usually have cat claws to keep them from chasing and damaging furniture. Rarely, ferocious cats are declawed.

In the United States, some owners require tenant cats to be declawed. Veterinarians are generally critical of the procedure and some refuse to practice it because the absence of claws in a cat: deprives it of its main defense capacity, in particular to escape predators by climbing trees; alters their stretching and exercise habits, resulting in muscle atrophy; impairs its ability to balance on thin surfaces such as railings and railings, resulting in fall injuries;This can cause insecurity and a consequent tendency to bite. This operation is rare outside of North America. In Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, nail removal is prohibited by animal cruelty laws. [17] In many other European countries, it is prohibited under the European Convention for the Protection of Companion Animals, unless "a veterinarian deems [such] non-curative procedures necessary for veterinary medical reasons or in the interests of the animal ”. [18] Animal shelters in Britain find it difficult to place imported cats that have been scratched and most have subsequently been slaughtered. An alternative to nail removal is the application of blunt vinyl nail pads that are attached to the claws with non-toxic glue, which require periodic replacement when the cat loses the claw sheaths (approximately every four to four). six weeks). . However, the cat will still have difficulty because coated nails are not as effective as claws.