Pros & Cons of Declawing Your Cat | Cat Care

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Have you ever thought about de-clawing your cat or wondered why people did it? Well, you probably know that it's a pretty controversial topic. In fact, in some countries de-clawing isn't even legal; however, in the United States you can still legally declaw your cat as long as it's done with a veterinary professional. You do have to keep in mind though that many veterinarians while they perform this behavior a long time for many years don't really do it anymore because of the controversy surrounding it.

Thankfully though, if you are thinking about getting your cat de-clawed, there are nice procedures as far as compared to before that help control for pain like, local nerve blocks and pre and post operative pain control or pain medication that they give before and after the surgery. The important thing to know about de-claw is that it does remove a portion of your cat's finger essentially. It removes the first digit section right here. This is one of the reasons that people are opposed to de-clawing because it's considered to be a mutilation of the cat's normal anatomy.

However, declawing can save a cat's life especially in the case of a cat that's very aggressive and uses its claws as part of its aggressive behavior. Cats can cause a significant amount of damage with their claws and if it's possible to save the cat's life by de-clawing, it might be worth having a serious conversation with your veterinarian about it. However, if your major concern is scratching, there are many other ways that you can help your cat scratch on appropriate items rather than ruining your home or touching your body and injuring you with those claws.

There are paw caps that can actually go right over the nail and make the claw really soft. There of course is the ability to nail trim at home which you can learn to do relatively easily and you can make sure that you teach your cat appropriate places to scratch. So, if your cat's not dangerous with his claws, you might consider leaving them in and letting him be a normal guy. However, if you are concerned about it be sure to talk with your veterinarian. So, that's a little bit about the controversy surrounding de-clawing cats.

[christophelemaire]

I feel lucky to live in a country where declawing a animal, not only cats, is illegal and stated as animal cruelty. Someone doing this in my country faces up to two years of inprisonment and a hefty €30.000 fine.

[KL-xsqq]

If you can’t handle cats scratching, don’t get a cat. It’s that simple. It’s super easy to train a cat to use a post.

[Catinthecosmos]

Do not and I mean DO NOT declaw your pet cat, we had my first cat declawed because he would claw up the furniture. He went missing and he probably was killed by a coyote and couldn’t defend himself. I am so sorry Ollie, please don’t declaw a cat

[ericamd]

It's all cons for the cat.  All pros for the vets.  Cash cow.

[Strawberrykoal]

There are no cons, if you’re willing to mutilate your cat for some furniture, you don’t deserve to have a cat.

[MRDR]

cons of declawing:

-comes with all the usual risks of surgery, and unlike spaying/neutering, declawing has absolutely NO benefit for the cat, and is only done for the owner's convenience.
-declawing is a misleading name as not only the claws are removed, but the toes as well. it's essentially SEVERAL painful amputations. its kinda like if you were to remove the last part of each finger, and all the toes, from a human
-even if laser surgery is slightly cleaner, you're still removing an important part of your cats paws and a slightly less messy surgery doesn't make the lifelong complications disappear
-cats without claws obviously have a much harder time defending themselves, or even climbing a tree to escape a predator. essentially, you can never let a declawed cat outside without keeping it under strict supervision. this is the ONLY con i ever see brought up by pro-declawing folks, and they always claim that "if your cat is purely an indoors cat it doesn't matter". however...
-cats walk on their toes. when you remove their toes through declawing, they are forced to shift their weight backwards unnaturally and walk on their big paw pad, which is completely unnatural for them. they are NOT built to walk this way, and because of this, declawed cats will often develop early arthiritis, back pain, etc.
-declawing will often bring the cat a life of chronic pain. i see people say "well i had a declawed cat who seemed fine", well remember that cats are EXPERTS at hiding their pain. they're not like dogs who whine when hurt, your cat could be in constant pain and you'd never know.
-declawing also has a bunch of psychological effects and is likely to cause behavioral problems. scratching helps cats relieve stress and release tension. a cat who can't scratch will be more anxious, not to mention...
-claws are a cats first line of defense. a cat who doesn't have claws will resort to its only other defense, teeth. a declawed cat is MUCH more likely to bite you. so declawing a cat will not make it any safer to be around, quite the opposite. also cat bites hurt more and are way more likely to get infected than scratches.
-cat paws will hurt a lot after declawing. when they first go use the litter box, stepping in, and digging in the litter will be very painful. therefore a lot of declawed cats will stop using the litter box (even after they have healed, they will still associate litter box = pain and wont wanna go there again), meaning you'll probably be trading scratched furniture for pee and poop everywhere

-if a cat owner can't tolerate a bit of furniture scratching, they will most likely NOT tolerate litter box avoidance and biting
-theres more than this, but these are the ones i can think of off the top of my head

-if you even try a little, most cats can be pretty easily made to not scratch furniture or people, no need for an expensive and painful procedure! here are some tips:
-example: if a cat scratches/attempts to scratch you while playing, make an "oww" sound (even if it didnt really hurt), and walk away. repeat. eventually most cats will get the hint that "scratching humans = bad". if a cat scratches you while not playing, you might be doing smth your cat doesn't like. if you pay attention to the body language, most cats will show you they're uncomfortable long before the claws come out. this is especially important if you have kids, teach your kids to treat the cat well and respect its boundaries.
-for furniture, getting a good scratching post usually helps (remember to try to get a post that will satisfy your cat specifically. for example, if it's scratching tall furniture, get a tall vertical post. if it scratches carpet, get a horizontal one), you can also try sprinkling a bit of catnip on the post to make it more appealing! reward the cat with affection/treats when it uses the post. also make sure to have at least one post for every room in the house
-daily play sessions will keep ur cat from getting bored and make it less likely to get into mischief.

-some more things that can help: clipping your cats claws regularly, claw caps, putting sticky tape on furniture you don't want scratched, to name a few

but if you can't be bothered, here are the pros of declawing:

-hey at least your precious sofa won't have claw marks! and since you obviously care more about inanimate objects than the LIVING being YOU chose to bring into your home and care for, i guess that makes it worth crippling your cat for life!
#pawsneedclaws

[TotalMasterPiece]

There is no “Pros” for the cat itself. Do people seriously make cats go trough that much pain just for the sake of a couch?

[Austin-dose]

There are no pros. Declawing is cruel and is equivalent to cutting off YOUR fingers at the first joint!

[Nstone]

I've been looking at apartments in a major city, and I found a really like place but they wont allow my cat unless I have her declawed. I'm furious. She's not much of a scratcher only doing it on her cat tree when she stretches and I trim them regularly but they wont budge. I'll have to look somewhere else because I'm NOT declawing my cat. It should be illegal to put that as a requirement.

[obnoxiousNoxy]

Just wow. Punishing your cat for behaving like a cat. Some people really need to have their pets taken away from them.

[katarina]

Declawing is nothing more than an extremely selfish and inhumane act people perform in order to make things a little more efficient for themselves. If you can't handle and/or take care of a cat properly the way it is, you should not get a cat.

[anotherrandompersononyoutu]

more cons: Declawing can cause paw pain, back pain, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death) and lameness. Removing claws changes the way a cat's foot meets the ground and can cause pain like wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes. Improperly removed claws can regrow, causing nerve damage and bone spurs.

[sofiakaleb]

I would never in a million years declaw my kitten. Thats horrible and disgusting and completely against human nature, its cruel and unfair towards the animal as a whole. Of course cats do make a mess but you know consequences will come along with that cat! Deal with it.

[ohno]

Wow, there's still people in the world who think declawing is okay

[microwavewaffles]

My cat is declawed, it wasn't my choice, my mom choose to after I got clawed in the eye by my cat, I didn't see that as a valid reason to declaw the cat as it was my own fault for getting my face too close to the cat, but I had no say in the matter. This was about 4 years ago, I do think declawing is cruel, however my cat in specific has never shown any signs of being bothered/uncomfortable due to it, once again I still think it's a cruel act, she is in no way an outdoor cat, she is actually terrified of being outside, I've taken her out before but she just runs back inside with all of her fur standing up, she can still climb and jump around and play like she always had, I still may never know if she truly is annoyed by her absence of front claws, but as of now, she is in no way changed by it. I still would not recommend declawing your cat, it is cruel in the long run, and you also need to buy new litter for a month while your cat recovers, and if your cat is anything like mine, will not like this change and resort to pooping on the floor for a month. It's easier to just trim your cats claws.

[scaner]

If you cant handle a cat scratching DON'T GET ONE!

[alyssaisko]

my mom wants me to declaw my kitten once he gets older.. i was perfectly fine with it until i started looking more into it. i cant do that to my baby now that i know the truth of it😢

[giselle]

I dont declaw my cat, i just trim em.

[davidcr]

Unless the paws have a severe gangrene on the finger tips or there's a malignant tumor located there that cannot simply be removed. I don't see how in any way does declawing save a cat's life.

[marks]

If you want a declawed cat adopt one at a shelter. They need a home so it's all good.