Help: about declaw

[loraandjeff]

Originally Posted by Amandaofcols

I have heard that declawing can cause litterbox problems. Is this true? I must admit that I did have Rotten declawed when she was much younger and I greatly regret doing so now. Not because she suffered or has issues, other than her annoyingly nasty litterbox problem, but because I have more information and am better educated on the procedure.

Hi Amandaofcols, yes declawing can and very often does cause litterbox problems. Litter is very hard, and once declawed, stepping on tiny rocks and getting them embedded in their raw toes is extremely painful for them.

Even after healing, some cats remain sensitive to regular clay & crystal litters and may have to use only newspaper pellets. Others also have a tough time adjusting to litter because they have difficulties "burying" it since they can no longer "scoop" or "dig" with their paws anymore when trying to scratch in their litter since part of each toe was amputated.

Hope this helps. And I'm very glad to see that you are reading up on this issue. Good for you! I'm sure Rotten (love that name LOL!) is going to be one very spoiled kitty!

Lora

 

[emb_78]

I'm with you!!

 

[valanhb]

Here is a list of countries where declawing is illegal: http://www.declawing.com/list.html

Ravit, here is another source with great links about declawing: http://amby.com/cat_site/declaw.html I'm sure there are duplicates of what we have on SPA, but I'm sure they have some we don't.

 

[shambelle]

Originally Posted by loraandjeff

Hi Amandaofcols, yes declawing can and very often does cause litterbox problems. Litter is very hard, and once declawed, stepping on tiny rocks and getting them embedded in their raw toes is extremely painful for them.

Even after healing, some cats remain sensitive to regular clay & crystal litters and may have to use only newspaper pellets. Others also have a tough time adjusting to litter because they have difficulties "burying" it since they can no longer "scoop" or "dig" with their paws anymore when trying to scratch in their litter since part of each toe was amputated.

Hope this helps. And I'm very glad to see that you are reading up on this issue. Good for you! I'm sure Rotten (love that name LOL!) is going to be one very spoiled kitty!

Lora

Hello.

I have owned 3 cats, and can attest to the fact that they all have had some litterbox issues. All 3 were declawed by previous owners and then just dumped at local shelters/rescue groups because no one seemed to take the time to get to know them and realize what they needed to do for them after being declawed. All of them have needed to use only soft litter (compared to hard crystals), and they all preferred covered litterboxes. One, PJ, doesn't bury most of her stuff in the box and the other, Teddy, ends up with litter in his paws all the time.

That being said, they are wonderful kitties. They're the most loving, friendly, active cats, and I wouldn't trade them for anything else. While I'd never declaw a cat, I do plan to adopt mostly declawed cats in the future because so many are just dumped because their owners didn't take the time to try different litters or boxes, or to help the declaws deal with their situations.

So my thing is - if you're interested in a declawed cat, don't get one and declaw it - instead, check out your local shelters and rescue groups - almost every one in my area has declawed cats who are wonderful and are just waiting for homes!

Jen