Declawing

There was a time that I did believe in declawing, I still own some cats that are declawed. My reason for declawing was simple, or so I thought. I didn't want my furniture ruined and have snags all over it or my drapes shredded into dangling pieces of thread. The simplest way to prevent this, I thought, was to simply get my cats claws taken off. It was a simple process, or so I thought. I honestly thought they only took off the nail, and it was no big deal, like pulling off a human’s fingernail and making it so it wouldn't grow back again. I was very naive. I knew nothing about declawing. Since then I have done a complete turn around in my view of declawing. I am totally against it for so many reasons.

 

Cats have claws for a reason. It is a way to defend themselves against other animals, either by fighting them or by being able to climb a tree and getting away. Climbing a tree is pretty hard to do without having those front claws. They use them to fight off other cats and animals. If you have ever been scratched by a cat, you know those claws are the equivalent of five tiny little razor blades. They use their claws to hold down their prey or food and to rip open the flesh. Cats were meant to live with their claws, not without them. In many countries declawing has been outlawed and is considered to be inhumane. Declawing is mostly an American thing. We do it for our convenience without any consideration about what it does to our cat. It really is mutilation. It is the equivalent of cutting of the first part of each of our fingers at the first knuckle. That would be pretty crippling if we thought about it. Declawing is very painful surgery. There are two ways that it is done. One is by amputation and the other is by laser. Either way is painful for the cat. They don't have the luxury of sitting around in bed and being waited on by nurses. They still have to use the litter pan and get up to walk around and eat.

 

Here are a few photos to help illustrate exactly what declawing involves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The obvious question at this point is, "What do I do so my house isn't all torn up from the cat scratching on everything?" There are a lot of products made just for your cats that are meant for them to scratch on. There are sisal rope scratching posts. Place these in the spots that they like to scratch, like at the end of your couch. That seemed to be one of my cat’s favorite places. There are corrugated cardboard scratching products in various forms. Some of these have catnip that you can sprinkle on them to help attract the cats so they will use them. Whatever product you choose, it will deter the cat from scratching up the things you value in your home and keep them intact. Another answer that is on the market now is called Soft Paws. They were invented by a veterinarian, Dr. Toby Wexler, and are a soft covering that goes over your cat's natural claws.

 

What I have chosen to do with my cats is to keep their claws clipped.  I bought a professional nail clipper from my veterinarian and I clip their nails when they are relaxing with me.  I keep chunks of firewood around the house on the floor.  For some reason they love to scratch on wood.  It is cheap, actually free if you live next to some woods, and the cats just love to scratch on it. Never needs replacing, it lasts for years.  This is what I recommend to everyone who buys a cat from me because this is what the kittens first learn to start scratching on.  I'm all for simple fixes and keeping it   inexpensive if possible.