De-claw what is the big deal?

[newcat19]

OK, let me just say I've had my new kitten for about 8 days.
I've never owned a cat before.

This was a wild cat, and his claws are razor's at the moment.
His paws get stuck in my shirt when he's on my lap.

I've read some posts on here where people feel passionately against
de-clawing cats. In the wild, cats would need sharp claws to catch prey,
and climb trees to escape predators. In my house he has no use for them.

I'm not sure of the procedure for de-clawing or getting a cat spayed or
neutered. But why is de-clawing so terrible and a sex operation is not?
Is de-clawing extremely painful for the cats, while get a cat spayed is not?

Is there anything I can do to help him dull his claws a bit? He has a scratch
post which he uses, but he still scratches everything else.

Let me say I haven't done anything to my kitten yet & will only do so when
I'm informed properly about his & my best interest.

Thanks for any advice

[Jack31]

First off this is an anti-declaw site it's in the TCS rules.

Second, declawing is cutting off part of the toes (the bone)--its not just clipping their nails. I'll let someone else give you more details.

Leslie

[CatMom2Wires]

You can carefully clip just the tips off the sharp little claws with a fingernail trimmer. That will help a lot for now. It you're not TOTALLY sure what to do, take the kitty to the vet and speak with a tech or the groomer and have them show you what to do. There is no need to declaw the kitty!

Thank you for asking!!!!!!

[Catkiki]

There is a big difference between spaying or neutering a cat and declawing. Neutering a cat can prevent several diseases and have the cat live a long, healthy and happy life. Declawing is an extremely cruel act. Image having all your fingers amputated to the first knuckle. That is what declawing does. It also makes the cat defenseless if they should happen to get out. It is easy to botch the surgery causing even more pain and trauma to the cat. It can cause behavior and litterbox problems. Please don't declaw. Use alternate methods to control scratching. Get a cat tree, clip the claws or use softpaws. But the final word is please please PLEASE do not declaw your cat!!!

[rahma]

I've seen some people recommend Soft Paws - http://www.softpaws.com/ - little clips that go over the nails.

[KiTTYL0VE4]

Yes there is a huge difference between spay/neuter procedures compared to declawing. Spaying & neutering your cat can prevent diseases. Keeping your cat intact could lead to certain cancers, say, if your cat was female and kept going in & out of heat cycles without breeding. also, if your cat is repeatedly bred, can lead to the same problem. They get frustrated because they want to breed but cant. Its hormones that drive them to breed, which can be fixed with spay/neuter. Plus, there is an over population problem that responsible owners can help with if they spay/neuter. Declawing is mutilation, period. It does nothing to benefit the cat, only owners who dont want their furniture or carpet ruined. What those people dont understand is, that declawing can cause more problems than it would fix. There are ways to teach a cat the proper places to scratch(scratching post). You can clip the claws, its really not that hard to do, or you can get soft paws, which are caps that go over the claws and have a rounded point, so the cat cant scratch at all. Just think about it like this, cats walk on their toes. How would you like it if someone cut off your toes at the first knuckle, and you had to walk around your whole life like that? it wouldnt be easy. Declawing makes alot of cats feel helpless, since the claws are their first line of defense. Biting is the second, and if you take away their claws, they will resort to biting. My mom has had 2 cats, both declawed, and both were VERY mean, to the point where you couldnt go near either. The one she has now will hiss at any body who does not live in my moms house if you go near her.

[Mimosa]

Spaying/neutering is in the best interest of the society as a whole (too much cats without a home already), of the owner (less likely to get lost, less peeing and other problem behaviour) and the pet itself (less likely to be rehomed or even euthanized because of aforementioned problem behaviour, prevention of certain health problems like pyometra).
Neutered pets definitely make better pets.

Declawing is only in the interest of the owner, or so the owner might think.
But does declawing really make your pet a better pet than clawed cats ? I don't think so. From what I've read you run a pretty big risk of messing your cat up and ending up with a cat who urinates outside the box and who bites. (I'd prefer a couple of nails in my clothes to biting )

[mschauer]

Most of the responses you will get to this question will involve the possibility of an adverse outcome of the surgery. These outcomes can result in the cat being in great pain either temporarily or permanently unless further surgery is performed or can result in behavior changes that are less obviously tied to the surgery like litter box avoidance. I'll let others elaborate on these issues.

*My* reasons for being opposed to declawing have nothing to do with the possibility of an adverse outcome. My family has always had cats and I distinctly remember when I was a child hearing my mother say that she was opposed to declawing because cats just have too much fun with their claws. I now realize that that would have been about the time that declawing was introduced in the US. And, being the obedient child I was, I carried that attitude with me into adulthood and have never considered for an instant declawing any of my cats. As a result I have a lifetime (I'm 50 now) of observing cats and I can tell you I totally agree with my mother. Cats just have too dang much fun with their claws. That is reason enough for me to be opposed to it. My cats have done some damage to my property (and to me) over the years but I just consider that part of living with a cat. If I couldn't put up with it, rather than surgically altering the cat to fit my needs, I just wouldn't have cats.

[AlleyGirl]

Here is some great info on declawing http://www.declawing.com/

I recommend clipping kitty's claws. If you start now when he is young, you should have no problem doing it in the future, once a week or so. It helps a lot to prevent him snagging his claws on things, as well as scratches on you!

This is a great article with pictures explaining how to do it http://www.catscratching.com/htmls/article.htm

Please don't declaw your little one

[Yosemite]

Well, as you have probably guessed by now, we are very much against de-clawing.

Bijou was a little devil as a kitten and would often chase my feet and ankles and grab on with those little needle-like claws. My legs and ankles always had scratches on any given day. It took time and patience to teach him not to chase my feet and ankles but it was worth the effort. I started playing with his feet and toes, i.e., handling and fondling them, from the time we got him in order to get him accustomed to having them touched since cats don't usually like to have their paws held or touched. I clipped his nails every week to protect me and to prevent him getting his claws caught in something while I was at work and not being able to escape. One night when we were home he got his claw caught in the metal mesh of my hubby's speaker cabinet and he couldn't get it free so that was pretty scary for all of us.

Because of the conditioning and clipping, I can now clip Bijou's claws without even holding him. He will be laying on the table and I just approach him from the front, lift his paws and snip.

You could also have treats handy so that each time your cat allows you to clip a nail they get a treat - can't hurt.

I tell folks that as soon as they are willing to have all their fingers cut off at the first joint then I would be OK with them doing the same to their cat.

[Jalindal]

Everyone else has already made good points and pretty thoroughly explored the reasons why declawing is bad.

And just to give you an idea of how serious this declawing thing is: it's actually illegal in a lot of places, including Australia (where I live) because of the pain and suffering it inflicts on the cat. For people to actually outlaw something it must be bad, eh?

I'd like to say, though, that it's really really good that you asked about it and came online to research it before you just had him declawed. It shows responsible pet ownership.

[Möbius]

Imagine someone clipping off your fingertips at the first knuckle, then
going through life like that. That is essentially what de-clawing involves.

It was very easy for me to teach my cats how to use their claws
appropriately, but it helps if you start when they are very young.

Take kitty and rub her paws over the scratching post or whatever you are
letting the cat use to sharpen her claws, (limit it to one or two things though)
then give her a treat. Repeat several times a day, build it into your daily
routine if possible. I did it in the morning before I left for work and the
evening as soon as I came home.

Keep a squirt bottlehandy for when she scratches an inappropriate object.
Kitty will soon learn where she can scratch and where she can't