DECLAWING

Understanding Declawing (Onychectomy)

The anatomy of the feline claw must be understood before one can appreciate the severity of declawing. The cat's claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone (distal phalanx) in the cat's toe. Contrary to most people's understanding, declawing consists of amputating not just the claws, but the whole phalanx (up to the joint), including bones, ligaments, and tendons! To remove the claw, the bone, nerve, joint capsule, collateral ligaments, and the extensor and flexor tendons must all be amputated. Thus declawing is not a “simple”, single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe. A graphic comparison in human terms would be the cutting off of a person's finger at the last joint of each finger.

Many countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have banned this surgery and deem it as animal cruelty.  Read more about the declawing procedure at www.declawing.com.

 

This painful procedure is often inflicted on cats and kittens as a precautionary measure against destructive scratching.  Many cats, however, will never engage in destructive behaviors and many more could be cured of destructive behaviors using methods that are much simpler and painless:

 

· Purchase a scratching post – every cat should have one.

· Trim your cat’s nails or take them to a veterinarian or to Furry Friends Refuge for nail trimming.

· Be informed by reading about the ways to keep your cat from destructive scratching.

Consider Soft Paws –an alternative that covers the cat’s claws so they cannot scratch.

 

I understand that declawing is a very painful procedure and I will attempt all of the other options necessary to prevent destructive scratching, if needed, with the cat or kitten that I am adopting from Furry Friends Refuge.

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