? about declawing (no, I'm not having it done!)

I'm 100% against declawing and I'm having a little internet debate on another site with someone about it.

She says that there's different methods of the declawing and the one her vet did was to take off the nail and shave down the bone, just so the nail doesn't grow back, and in her opinion that's less cruel than taking off the entire first knuckle. I guess it sounds like it could be, but I can't find any info about this method- just the regular method and the laser method.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Vets like to tell people some weird things about de-clawing. Personally, I don't think having any bone "shaved down" sounds more humane. Ouch! I don't have time to look it up (it's late and I have to work tomorrow) but the links in my sig might have some info.

Oh, and the AVMA site has some info, too. You might look there. I think it mentions the different techniques.

It's really not the procedure I object to so much (although it is quite brutal), it's rendering the cat helpless forever and depriving him of normal use of his claws (it really puts a damper on their playtime) that I think is really awful. And that's the same no matter what method is used.

Claws are not attached to bone, they're attached to tendons, that's why they retract. That information sounds like it cannot be correct, which is probably why you can't find anything on it.

Here's an informative post for your arguments: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...3&postcount=15

This is a link to the whole thread if you want to see the entire discussion: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=207638

however way its done, its wrong and painful! x

Originally Posted by LDG

Claws are not attached to bone, they're attached to tendons, that's why they retract. That information sounds like it cannot be correct, which is probably why you can't find anything on it.

Click to expand...

The claw would flop around like jellow without a support structure. A cat's claws are attached to the distal phalanx bone, out of which they grow. They retract for the same reason you can clamp your fingers; its nail attached to skeletal structure for support, which has ligaments attached to muscle tissue which contracts for movement.



Typically the bone is removed completely, as if any germinal cells remain the claw can regrow. As long as the shave is sufficient, I suppose this procedure could work, although I don't believe its very common and I don't know what the benefit would be, as the cat does NOT walk on the retracted claw bone whatsoever, as many anti-declaw sites falsely claim, and the risk of painful regrowth would put me off to that.

The other three types of standard declaws are:

1) Tendectomy: This leaves the claw and the bone intact, but severs the tendon which allows the cat to extend the claw. The downside of this procedure is that the claw will continue to grow in a curved manner at an accelerated rate without repeat scratching, and eventually will contact the pad. Regular trimming is thus required.

2) Scalpel declaw: Removes the entire bone and severs the tendons attached to it. This is a "traditional" declaw and relatively inexpensive but with the longest recovery period.

3) Laser declaw: Identical to the scalpel declaw, but with major benefits. The laser not only cuts precisely if used by a skilled operator with different beam intensities, but it also instantly cauterizes blood vessels and nerve endings. For this reason bleeding and pain are reduced, recovery time decreased, and bandages are optional. The downside is that the cost is 3-4 times that of a traditional scalpel declaw to recover the costs of the expensive equipment and training required.

If your friend is considering a declaw, I would insist they go with the laser route and verify that the technician has experience (ask how many have been performed) and what the precautions and post surgery care are. They should generally keep the cat for 24 hours, administer pain meds (less pain does NOT mean no pain), and ensure they have a heating pad while under anesthesia and the like and what documentation the owner will receive (its recommended to use a fresh batch of yesterday's news).

And of course as everyone already knows, that is only after exploring all other avenues for avoiding unnecessary surgery in the first place.