Your cat is driving you crazy. And not in the Python sort of way. In the chair is ruined kind of way. Or perhaps you are tired of your cat climbing your arm and leaving holes in you skin.

Declawing your Cat is illegal in the UK but is still a common practise in the US.

So you are considering having her de-clawed. Your friend has told you that it is a painless procedure and now her cat is so much more pleasant to live around. Your boyfriend/husband has suggested just putting her out of his misery. You have very little mental or emotional energy left to confront the problem and you just want it fixed. Breathe. Have a drink of your favourite beverage. Everything will be okay. One problem at a time.

Why do you want to de-claw your cat? This is the most critical issue. Sit down and write, on paper, the problems that you are having with your cat. Then call your veterinarian.

Your vet will be able to tell if the cat is sick. When you are sick, you do not act like you normally would. The same goes for your cat. Her behavioural problems may just be her way of letting you know that she does not feel good. If your cat is healthy, your vet can suggest the next step to a better life together.

Cats can have behaviour problems, too. Or, and this will shock you, cats can even have emotional problems. Any bored animal will find a way to entertain themselves. This is only reasonable. Cats are not domesticated animals like dogs, so you can not train them in the same way. Like dogs, though, sometimes a little intervention can go a long way.

Does your cat have enough toys? A cat needs to climb and use her claws. If you don’t provide a safe place to do this, she will use your furniture. She also needs something safe to play with during the day. In a later article we will discuss how to make very cheap cat toys.

Does she get to spend some time each day with you? Perhaps you just brought a new kitten home or made some other change in her life. You forgot to consult her. This is her place that you live in. You need her permission to bring a gerbil home! If there has been an upsetting event in her life, you need to reassure her that she is safe and loved.

Finally, if none of this has helped, consider the process of de-clawing. This is best done by going to the doctor and having her remove all your toe nails. As they slowly grow back, you will have some sympathy for your cat. Removing a piece off of a living creature hurts. Your cat will hurt. And when she goes outside, as she is always trying to do, you leave her at the mercy of every other creature.

Even a Chihuahua will be able to hurt her. She won’t be able to climb as well to get away, either. De-clawing is just cruel. Do you really think that hurting your cat will make her behaviour problem better? Would it make yours?

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This article may not be reproduced, copied or stored without the written permission of the author.
Author: National Missing Pets Register

I think it that nobody ever had put much thought into that. Thank you for giving me the heads up.

I consider de-clawing to be a barbaric and inhumane procedure that strips the cat of its main natural defence as well as injuring it during the procedure and risking complications of surgery. It can leave the cat because of the fact that it is now defenceless, with psychological issues that may never resolve.

All in all I think anyone who would consider doing it should not be allow to keep cats. I am proud to come from a country that bans it.

I would never declaw my cats, because they spend a lot of their time outdoors and there would be no way for them to defend themselves. I know some people who had declawed cats, one in particular enjoyed "punching" my dad's forehead while he was sleeping.

We don’t have a cat, but there is no way I would ever do this, totally out of order for this to be done.

It is absolutely barbaric. I look over at my cat right now lying on my sofa sound asleep and I can't even imagine hurting her that way. She doesn't scratch up furniture or cause any problems. We make sure to have enough scratching things around the house for her to use.

My cat scratches everything, all the freaking time. And I still wouldn't do it to the little guy. That would be like refusing your toddler water because they kept having accidents in their underwear. You don't not give them water, you put them in a diaper.

Give your cat a scratching post and hey-he might even choose to use it.

I cant believe anyone would even think about have a cats claw’s removed, they need them to survive. its right to compare it with us having our toenails pulled out ouch

Even that is a poor comparison! We do not use our toe nails to fight, or to climb. They are in no way a defence for us. Moreso, the manner in which the removal occurs would be more like having your whole toe removed, both in how the surgical procedure is performed, and in the effect it has on the animal.

The first risk the animal faces is the anaesthetic. This in itself can kill a cat. Secondly, there is the pain involved. The claw is attached to the last joint, and so the entire last joint is often removed (especially in older cats, whose bones are fully formed and hardened).

The recovery period can be hard, with the cat frequently splitting the wound open during normal activity. If the get ever gets out of the house again, it is defenceless, though it will not likely change its behaviour and still try to fight.

In an alternative procedure, the tendons that control the joints are severed. This renders the claws of little use to the animal, because they cannot retract and extend them, and keeping them clean and short becomes difficult. Infection may result.

Both procedures should be banned