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.
Another pro is that declawing cats may mean fewer cats end up in shelters. However, the cons of declawing far outweigh the benefits in most cases. Declawing cats removes their natural ability to climb, jump, fight, and ultimately, protect themselves. Outdoor cats should never be declawed.
Declawing cats is illegal in most states within Australia, and for good reason. Veterinarians will not undertake this procedure unless it's within the best interest of the cat's wellbeing.
Additionally, declawing can have long-term health effects like nerve damage, regrowth of improperly removed claws, bone spurs, lameness, and back pain related to changes in the way a cat's paw meets the ground after claw removal. Cats may also develop adverse behaviors after a declaw procedure.
Declawing can cause infection, abnormal claw growth within the toe, inflammation, arthritis or behavioral changes such as increased aggression, biting, emotional trauma or litterbox avoidance issues.
Cats that have been declawed often suffer from prolonged, long-term anxiety, stress, depression, are more fear, have no ability to protect themselves, and sometimes are more prone to biting if scared, as their first line of defense–their claws–have been removed.
Many groups, including the ASPCA and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), discourage declawing and suggests non-surgical alternatives. This major surgery has the potential to result in chronic, lifelong pain, and a change in the animal's gait.
Declawing of cats is illegal in Australia and is not ethical.
Benefits of Declawing
As an owner, the biggest benefit of declawing a cat is that you won't have to worry about painful scratches anymore. Declawing a cat also prevents damage to household items like a rug or a piece of clothing. Some pet owners report better behavior from their cats after declawing.
Feeling defenseless without her claws, Kitty may become hostile to people (including you), and to other cats and become more apt to bite. Some cats develop an aversion to their litter box because of the pain associated with scratching in the litter after a declawing procedure.
Declawing and the Feline Psyche
It makes them happy. “Declawing takes away all of this as well as their integral means of movement, balance and defense,” the vet explains. A lot of declawed cats do eventually adjust, more or less.
There are some rare occasions when a veterinarian may recommend declawing, such as "when a cat's excessive or inappropriate scratching behavior causes an unacceptable risk of injury or remains destructive despite conscientious attention to behavioral modification and alternatives," according to the AVMA.
In a study of shelter cats, no significant correlation was found between declawing and biting. Finally, a study addressing risk factors for relinquishment of cats to animal shelters28 did not observe a statistically significant difference in aggression or inappropriate elimination between declawed and clawed cats.
The estimates of the prevalence of declawing vary considerably. It seems that 25%–43% of all cats in American homes are declawed. The reason for this high number is that many veterinarians actively market and recommend the procedure without disclosing the details of the procedure to their clients with cats.
Declawing is very common in North America and it is done for a human's convenience without regard for their animal. Declawing is illegal in many European countries and is considered an act of animal cruelty.
The AVMA discourages the declawing (onychectomy) of cats as an elective procedure and supports non-surgical alternatives to the procedure. The AVMA respects the veterinarian's right to use professional judgment when deciding how to best protect their individual patients' health and welfare.
Sick of your cat scratching your furniture and thinking of getting it declawed? There is a better solution to this; make sure you offer your cat a variety of scratch toys and surfaces to scratch! Did you know declawing cats is illegal in Qld under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001?
Finally, declawed cats often stop using their litter boxes. They may associate the pain they feel in their paws when trying to cover their waste with the litter box itself. They seek a less painful place for elimination, such as the carpet or bathtub or even the bed or piles of laundry.
Are nail caps safe for cats? According to Mary Molloy, animal behavior counselor and founder of Nirvana Tails in NYC—yes, absolutely. “[The caps] do not prevent the cat from retracting his claw, and if properly applied, they do not cause any pain or damage to the claw bed,” she reports.
Right after being declawed, the cat will be in pain. Vets will prescribe medicine to help manage the immediate pain. There may also be bleeding, swelling and infection. One study found that 42% of declawed cats had ongoing long-term pain and about a quarter of declawed cats limped.
The recovery time varies with each cat. Most cats will be healed in 2-6 weeks. If you cat is limping more than 5 days after surgery please call. Larger older cats may take longer to heal.
According to research published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, declawing increases the risk of long-term or persistent pain, manifesting as unwanted behaviors such as inappropriate elimination (soiling/urinating outside of the litter box) and aggression/biting.
Declawing is a “painful procedure,” the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) writes. Some cats will take several days to recover from the surgery and hesitate to bear weight on their declawed feet. (The AVMA discourages vets from declawing cats.)
For this reason, most veterinarians recommend that a cat be declawed at the same time as their spay or neuter – or between 5 and 6 months of age. However, the most ideal period to declaw a cat can be between 3 and 6 months of age since kittens can recover quickly and the trauma experienced may not be as severe.