Friday, August 8, 2014

Declawing: The Consequences And Why You Should Never Declaw your Cat



Picture property of www.all-creatures.org.


Decalwing is a common practise in North America and one that is unnecessary, painful,  and damaging to your cat physically and emotionally.
 
Declawing is the procedure of amputating the first joint of each toe on the cat’s paw; this includes claw, bones, nerves, joint capsule, collateral ligaments and the extensor/flexor tendons (Becker, 2011). This is a huge problem for cats because not only is it painful for the cat, but also because claws are extremely important for cats. Cats are digitigrades which means they walk on their toes not the soles of their feet (Becker, 2011). Most mammals use the soles of feet, walking from heel to toe (Becker, 2011). In addition, they use their claws to engage in natural behaviour that positively stimulated them mentally.

Decalwing is not harmless, it is very detrimental to the cat and many countries have banned the procedure. The link below is a list of those countries.


Cats have claws for multiple reasons:

-          Marking territory
-          Stretching their muscles
-          Balance
-          Protection against predators
-          Nail trimming
-          Exercise
-          Hunting

Declawing cats is an inhumane procedure that leads to a whole host of problems physically and in the cat’s personality.


Physical Consequences that can be caused by declawing:

-          Chronic small bone arthritis (Becker, 2011)
-          Lameness (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Back pain (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Tissue necrosis (Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure, 2014)
-          Degenerative joint disease (Becker, 2011): imagine walking on in high heels without ever being able to take them off. The pressure on the middle phalanx is not designed to solely support the weight of the cat when walking or running.
-          Neuralgia (Becker, 2011)

Picture property of www.all-creatures.org.


Emotional Consequences that can be caused by declawing:

-          Aggression
-          Feelings of stress and anxiety
-          Biting behaviour cause by the insecurity of lacking their primary form of defence
-          Urinating outside of the litter box to mark their territory on things they can no longer scratch; this behaviour is serious and difficult to break once it becomes habitual for the cat. Cat urine is extremely potent and nearly impossible to remove completely from furniture and floors.


Alternatives to Declawing:

-          Start training the kitten at a young age where they are allowed and not allowed to scratch. In addition, train them at a young age to accept their nails being trimmed. Always use positive reinforcement when doing this!
-          Different materials and types of posts or pads can make a difference. Find a cat scratcher that appeals to your cat and place multiple in different areas of the house. The more scratching posts, the more likely they with not seek out your furniture. (My cat ignores tall scratching posts; he loves and engages frequently in the flat, cardboard, scratching posts.) *Some cats may lose interest in old, tattered, scratching posts; replace them when this happens or they will search for other things to scratch.*
-          Cut the cat’s nail regularly so it does not need to seek something else to trim them.
-           There are commercially available nail caps for cats. I’m not familiar with anyone ever using these, nor do I know if they are effective. If scratching is a problem that is not being solved by any of the solutions above, it may be a consideration for extreme cases.


Resources:



Bibliography:

Declawing Cats: Far Worse Than a Manicure. (2014, May 12). Retrieved July 24, 2014, from Humane Society: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/declawing.html
Becker, K. (2011, November 15). Declawing: Why You Should Never Subject Your Cat to This Torturous Procedure. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from Healthy Pets: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/11/15/declawing-torture-cats.aspx

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