Cat Care – Cat Declawing Facts

Todays topic is about a controversial medical procedure, Cat Declawing. Recently in Nova Scotia Canada cat declawing has just been banned. This a great victory for cats. I feel that declawing cats is an act of animal cruelty and should have a world wide ban. Cats are declawed for various reasons. Its done to large jungle cats to prevent personal injury and for behavioral changes. This means that the jungle cat can never be returned to the wild. It is done to the house cat to prevent furniture damage. The reality is there is no benefit to the cat and it is only for the benefit of people.

In the pictures above the first picture shows what is amputated during the Onychectomy surgical procedure known as declawing. The second picture shows a paw with the completed procedure. The cruel surgery involves amputating the distal phalanges of all toes on the front paws, and sometimes the rear paws as well.   This is the same as cutting the first bone off your own fingers or having the toes off your foot removed.

The advocates of this procedure think the are no adverse affect to the cat from this surgery. Studies have shown that there are several adverse affects to the cat after having this done.

Cats having this procedure done have significant pain behavioral issues as compared to an unaltered cat. Cats with the procedure done more back pain and an altered gait due to the altered limbs. This causes a weight shift and pelvic stress. Cats with altered toes have more litter box problems and will look for softer spots to litter due to sensitive paws. There are more biting, over grooming and aggression issues exhibited also due to tender toes. The cat has also lost its first means of self defence.  There are even problems with the surgery itself if not done properly will leave bone fragments causing ongoing paw irritation.

The purpose of todays post is reveal the problems of the cat declawing or de-toeing surgical procedure. It is a form of animal abuse only for the benefit of the owners.

How To Stop Cat Scratching

I have seven cats that free roam around the house. To stop scratching we use several items with good success. The first is a cat tree. An indispensable item for many reasons such as scratching, climbing and sleeping. We have a course rug that the cats use regularly. Our soft furniture have washable covers. The next item every cat owner needs is a good set of toe nail clippers. These items can be seen on my Cat Care Product page. I have included links to a couple of websites for more detailed information.

That’s my story for today. If you have any questions please leave a comment. Hug a kitty and do something green for the environment.

Trevor

 

 

4 thoughts on “Cat Care – Cat Declawing Facts”

  1. Didn’t know cat clawing was banned in that part of Canada, very interesting. What about in the United States? We used a spray bottle filled with water to stop our cat when he did that. The litter box was the worse part of having a cat, my god cat poo is the worse smell ever, but with today’s advances the litter box is self-cleaning.

    1. Hello Christopher. Thank you for your comments. Cat declawing varies by state. You would have to check where you live. Some vets just won’t do it. As you can tell I am against this procedure as mentioned in my post. I have provided My seven cats with enough distraction that scratching is not that big of a problem. Cat trees, ball toys and furniture covers help a lot. I have quit the spray bottle. I have several posts on the subject of the litter box, maybe they can help you. We clean the litter boxes often, at least three times a day or when you see a lump. We are switching to an organic pine based litter with good odor control. Check my post for more information. Use the search function for quick results. Thank you again. Happy New Year.   

  2. Thanks so much both from me and cats for this informative article.

    I am 100% against declawing a cat and believe it is the cruelest possible thing you can do them. In my opinion, people are just too lazy to take the time to train their cat to use a scratching post.

    Everyone should watch a documentary called The Paw Project. I believe it’s on Netflix. I was literally in tears watching this. They go in-depth into how cruel this procedure is for both domestic and wild large cats. Have you ever seen this documentary?

    1. Thanks for sharing Bard. I agree with you that this is abusive procedure that should be globally banned. It is only for the benefit of people. I could do a Rick Mercer rant on this topic. Thank you again for reading

      Trevor

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