Spaying and declawing

I know there a lot of places that look down upon the declawing and I'm torn whether or not I should get it done. I also need to get my cat spayed. I was wondering if anyone has any feedback if it is too much for the cat to get both done. Is it too much pain for the cat, will they provide medication for pain, what other risks are there? Just genuinely concerned about the best route for the little girl. Thank you!

Please, please do not declaw your cat.  You would be mutilating her, and she will have pain and psychological damage for life.

Why is this something that you are even considering?

She should absolutely be spayed, but these are not comparable procedures.

Spaying is ALL you need to do. 

Declawing is mostly Banned it's not a common procedure anymore nor a necessity

to own a cat.  There is lots of support training methods to deal with cats clawing, rather

than Declaw please find her another home.

Thank you I was simply curious. Some people at work said to that is why I asked. The cat will remain safe with me

If you're interested, the following articles explain more about declawing
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The Cat Site is an anti-declaw site. Once you understand the procedure, its very easy to understand why

Perhaps you can help to educate your coworkers!

Don't do it! Declawing is barbaric. A neighbours cat was declawed a few years ago. He went from a happy and social animal to looking like his world had been destroyed. His spark dissapeared and he turned into a cat who looked on the defensive all the time. It torturee him in all possible ways. They justified this by saying that the cat had caused so much damage to sofas, carpet and their fences outside. My thought was why have a cat? I was pleased to see that in Los Angeles it's banned and each state or county has different rules. I'm not sure about the UK. There's some good videos on YouTube where a vet explains the process of declawing and it gives an idea of how bad it is. Remember that if you want lovely sofas and soft furniture then having a cat will lead to all those things getting fur and dirt and claw marks on them. I've covered everything decent with heavy throws or blankets and supplied the cats with multiple scratching posts and tools. The best thing I have is three carpet tiles. They love using them. You can stop them damaging things if you work with them. While spay and neutering is the only responsible thing to do, declawing is no different to torturing an animal. Some say that it's fine as a last resort when a cats behaviour is out of control. Do all you can to avoid this. Put the time in with a kitten or cat and they won't be destructive. All cats no matter how well behaved sharpen their claws on something that they shouldn't in moments of naughtiness or forgetfulness. At the end of the day furniture can be protected or replaced and won't be in your life for 14-20 years. What you get from a cat is worth a bit more than that. So I and every cat lover I know begs you not to do this!

Gaven Kent said:

Don't do it! Declawing is barbaric. A neighbours cat was declawed a few years ago. He went from a happy and social animal to looking like his world had been destroyed. His spark dissapeared and he turned into a cat who looked on the defensive all the time. It torturee him in all possible ways. They justified this by saying that the cat had caused so much damage to sofas, carpet and their fences outside. My thought was why have a cat? I was pleased to see that in Los Angeles it's banned and each state or county has different rules. I'm not sure about the UK.

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Declawing is banned in the UK, and was virtually unheard of here even before the ban. Most European countries have banned declawing too, as have Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

talkingpeanut said:

Perhaps you can help to educate your coworkers!

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Also vets recommend that declawed cats stay inside as they have no means to defend themselves and their ability to escape by climbing and getting up high is affected. Again check YouTube for some good vet videos where they tell you how much it affects a cats life and how awful it is. Even the name is misleading. It's a surgical removal of the tips of the last bine on each digit of a cats front paws. It's like us having an inch taken off each finger.
Good on you TCS and its members for the zero tolerance policy to this barbaric practice. I learned many years ago to take what co workers say with a huge pinch of salt. Some of the advice and opinions I've heard at work while on coffee or lunch break have ranged from disturbing to ridiculous and usually are made by people with no real knowledge of what they are talking about. Obviously I'm not saying your coworkers have no knowledge but something like this needs you to do your own research and really understand the impact of doing it and the suffering it causes. As someone else has written maybe you can educate them about this so they don't encourage anyone to do it. I would hope that there are many vets who would refuse to do this procedure on moral and legal grounds if it's banned in their particular state or county.

Declawing is mutilation. A good friend, who is also a Vet told me, "it's not a pretty sight...basically you have to cut off the first digit of their claw". Look at your own fingers...would you want your fingers cut off to the first digit? Don't think so.

Besides the awful pain the cats go through afterwards, there are often behavioral issues afterwards. They are more susceptible to infections in the paws; their paws are sore, so they sometimes go alternatively in softer places...like carpets, sofas, beds.

The solution is teaching them to use appropriate scratching places like scratching posts; also trimming their nails routinely. If they are a kitten, you start gently expressing their nails so they get used to your handling their paws. You start slowly, maybe a couple nails at a time offering them treats afterwards and play. It then becomes a routine.

Columbine said:

Declawing is banned in the UK, and was virtually unheard of here even before the ban. Most European countries have banned declawing too, as have Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

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I was so busy looking at its legal status in the US and the world that I didn't check my own country! I'm so pleased it's banned here as I was worried that there would be vets that would do it. It's the same with docking the tails of certain breeds of dogs. It was banned then the practice was almost driven underground where people did it themselves or paid someone to do it. A friend of men worked as a vet at the Camden PDSA in London. She would get so many puppies with infected tails where someone had inexpertly tried to do it. It was certain breeds and turned out that a man made his living through doing this. He was a Staffordshire bull terrier breeder. At least declawing is something that cannot be done without a vet surgery. Tail docking in dogs was fine in all sorts of ways from an elastic band tied to the puppy's tail to cutting it with a knife. Awful, disgusting and barbaric.

babiesmom5 said:

Declawing is mutilation. A good friend, who is also a Vet told me, "it's not a pretty sight...basically you have to cut off the first digit of their claw". Look at your own fingers...would you want your fingers cut off to the first digit? Don't think so.

Besides the awful pain the cats go through afterwards, there are often behavioral issues afterwards. They are more susceptible to infections in the paws; their paws are sore, so they sometimes go alternatively in softer places...like carpets, sofas, beds.

The solution is teaching them to use appropriate scratching places like scratching posts; also trimming their nails routinely. If they are a kitten, you start gently expressing their nails so they get used to your handling their paws. You start slowly, maybe a couple nails at a time offering them treats afterwards and play. It then becomes a routine.

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Bravo! Time and attention and some love with a few treats and tools like carpet tiles and scratching posts are a good start. I bought two really good posts that went untouched for ages because I'd made scratching things out of layers of corrugated cardboard sandwiches together with catnip inbetween. All the layers were then crammed into a rectangular box that I'd cut down to 10cm high. It worked perfectly and the boys love it. I should have made it first and saves the post money but they use them from time to time. They are spread out across the downstairs. Declawing is in the same ballpark as putting them on vegan diets and I'm thankful it's banned here in the UK

Declawing is amputation of each digit at the first joint. Cats walk on their toes, so when they're declawed, their weight gets shifted back to their wrists, causing early onset arthritis. Furthermore, declawing causes cats extreme pain when walking and digging through litter, so declawed cats are likely to start urinating inappropriately. The number one reason cats are relinquished to shelters is inappropriate urination. Both San Francisco and Beverly Hills have outlawed declawing, and since that ban, the rate of relinquishment to shelters has decreased. Declawed cats are also more likely to bite to get their message across. Do a quick google search and you'll immediately see that a cat bite is far worse than any scratch. Please read through the following article (this article was brought to my attention by @otto and it is an excellent resource): http://www.littlebigcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ADH2017.pdf

abyeb said:

Declawing is amputation of each digit at the first joint. Cats walk on their toes, so when they're declawed, their weight gets shifted back to their wrists, causing early onset arthritis. Furthermore, declawing causes cats extreme pain when walking and digging through litter, so declawed cats are likely to start urinating inappropriately. The number one reason cats are relinquished to shelters is inappropriate urination. Both San Francisco and Beverly Hills have outlawed declawing, and since that ban, the rate of relinquishment to shelters has decreased. Declawed cats are also more likely to bite to get their message across. Do a quick google search and you'll immediately see that a cat bite is far worse than any scratch. Please read through the following article (this article was brought to my attention by @otto and it is an excellent resource): http://www.littlebigcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ADH2017.pdf

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Thank you for those links. That post has really hit me thinking and reading more about it. I honestly thought it was an outdated practice that wasn't done anywhere anymore. Just comparing it to losing the last joint of our fingers brings it home. A cat would surely have to relearn everything from walking to jumping and every part of it s life would be affected. What angers me is that there is no benefit whatsoever to the cat. It's all about making the cat fit into its owners world and their desire to protect material posessions. It made me wonder what on earth makes someone do that to their pet and what sort of life it has. I can't see a declawed cat being treated a a member of the family where they are welcome everywhere. My cats don't run riot at home but are the dominant species! They have one out of bounds area, the kitchen worktop and all their sofas and chairs are covered with thick and claw proof throws. The only damage they could cause would be if one of them threw up in my Xbox or on my Mac or camera gear and it's probably survive! There will always be a few claw marks on sofa arms and fur in cushions. All I can do is keep hoovering and sweeping and giving them the time, attention, love, treats, dinners, games and maximum fuss and they'll do what they've been doing for 17 years for Carter and 3 for Hugo. They make my partner and i really happy and they can destroy all the sofas and it still wouldn't be a big thing (it would but there's nothing here that can't be replaced) thanks again for links

A bit of advice for anybody about to buy cat scratching posts! I bought several for my two and found that they were virtually ignored. They preferred the single carpet tiles I'd got at minimal expense that I placed in their play area. The scratching box made out of layers of old corrugated cardboard was also a hit. We found that every purpose built cat item from a play pen for Hugo as a kitten to material tubes to play in were all ignored and rubbish like old boxes and packing material were all the rage. Try out rubbish before spending loads!

Gaven Kent said:

A bit of advice for anybody about to buy cat scratching posts! I bought several for my two and found that they were virtually ignored. They preferred the single carpet tiles I'd got at minimal expense that I placed in their play area. The scratching box made out of layers of old corrugated cardboard was also a hit. We found that every purpose built cat item from a play pen for Hugo as a kitten to material tubes to play in were all ignored and rubbish like old boxes and packing material were all the rage. Try out rubbish before spending loads!

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I agree with all of this. Cats have different scratching preferences, so don't get discouraged if your cat ignores one kind of scratching post, just try another kind! A friend of mine has a Maine Coon who loves scratching the horizontal cardboard scratchers. Charlie, on the other hand, won't touch a scratching post unless it's vertical sisal rope. In addition to trying cardboard vs sisal rope posts, remember that some cats are horizontal scratchers and others prefer a vertical surface.

abyeb said:

I agree with all of this. Cats have different scratching preferences, so don't get discouraged if your cat ignores one kind of scratching post, just try another kind! A friend of mine has a Maine Coon who loves scratching the horizontal cardboard scratchers. Charlie, on the other hand, won't touch a scratching post unless it's vertical sisal rope. In addition to trying cardboard vs sisal rope posts, remember that some cats are horizontal scratchers and others prefer a vertical surface.

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A friend of mine bought a pair of Maine Coons, two brothers and spent hundreds of pounds on an amazing multilevel reinforced cat perch. It was huge and took a couple of days to put together. It took up half of his spare room! On finishing it and introducing it to the cats they took one long look at it and refused to go near it! He tried to entice them to use it but the brothers preferred just sitting in the window! He persevered for several months until it was taken down and given away on Freecycle. It was awesome but not these magnificent cats cup of tea!

Carter and Hugo love the DIY scratching box made from a cut down rectangular cardboard box stuffed with layers of corrugated cardboard inside. I cut the cardboard into strips the same length and height as the box and stuff them in so the corrugated edge is exposed. It provides hours of cat scratching fun! I also sprinkled cat nip inbetween each layer for an extra treat. It cost the price of the cat nip so under £1 as the boxes were free from the supermarket and about half an hour to put it together. Every six months I have to replace the cardboard

I think that you should consider declawing as the same as having some giant cutting off all your fingers. Because doing so makes the cat defenseless and will mar them mentally for life. Please don't do it.