Declawing

     I am owned by many cats, all but one fully clawed.  Here is some information I gathered along the way and why I feel the way I do about declawing.

     We got our first kitten in 1994.  She was a little terror then.  I played rough with her with my hands all the time.  (I didn't know any better then, I do now!)  She is a polydactyl with 7 toes on each front paw.  The extra claws did not retract.   I was covered in scratches from her trying to climb up on my lap.

     My (ex)husband and I took her to the vet for her last kitten shot and asked about declawing.  Neither of us knew what the surgery entailed and just figured it's what is always done to indoor cats, no big deal.  The doctor explained the surgery to us (removing the last bone in the toe, equal to removing the tips of your fingers at the last joint).  He also explained that their office didn't even mention declawing unless the client brought it up as they preferred not to declaw.  We both decided then and there that we would never do this to an animal and decided to work on training.

     We bought a scratching post for Syxx (well, we thought she had only 6 toes on each front paw) and taught her to use it.  Whenever she scratched something she shouldn't, we told her NO and took her to the post.  I scratched the post to show her how good it felt.  Once she scratched the post herself, something just clicked.  She realized that it felt GOOD to scratch this thing.  It didn't really take more than a few days for her to get the idea.

     As we acquired our other cats, one by one, we went through the same routine.  But it became easier the more cats we had.  Young kittens LOVE to mimic the older cats.  I have a few that I never took to the post and have never touched anything but the cat furniture.   They just KNEW!

     Our second cat is also a polydactyl, 6 toes on each front paw.   Her extra claws also did not retract.  When we made the appointment to have them spayed (they were around the same age) we asked if we could have the claws removed from the extra toes as they were constantly breaking them off very short and getting them stuck in things, regardless of trimming.  The vets office acted as though this was a completely foreign idea.  The doctor said we may as well fully declaw them and that they'd charge me the same price even if they just did the extra toes.  I was annoyed and told them I did NOT want them declawed, only the extra claws removed.  The day of the surgery, it was noted in large letters to declaw the extra toes only and I had to initial the page.  It was written all over the place so the doctor didn't just do a front paw declaw on them.  I was so afraid that when I picked them up that they would be fully declawed.  Luckily, they did what I asked and the girls did fine.

     When I took them in to have their spay sutures removed, the vet tech and doctor told me that once they got a look at the extra claws, they completely understood why I wanted it done.  They had only charged me $20 per cat instead of full price.  Now remember, these are extra toes and the cats DO NOT walk on them nor do they bear any weight.  I still felt bad, but I knew it was best because of the problems they had with the nails. 

     I think that if I can train this many cats to use a post without a problem and clip nails on all of them about once a week, then anyone can.  If they just make the effort and seriously train the cat, anyone can do it.  The most common excuse I hear is "I'm not home all day to be consistent".  My (ex)husband and I both work full time jobs so we were not here constantly to correct them, yet they learned anyway.  We did not squirt them as this does not show them where it is appropriate to scratch.  The key is to be consistent when you are there.

     I do not want my cats to be defenseless if they get outside.  They are all indoor cats and really don't try to get out.  But if a burglar came in and let them out, or we had storm damage which left the house open, I'd prefer that they have the claws to give that warning swipe to any animal they may encounter.

     I don't want to take the chance that my cats become biters.  Cat bite wounds are much worse than scratches.  I know that vets say there is no evidence that declawing makes some cats bite, but I've also seen plenty of declawed shelter cats who were turned in because they bite.  I know they say that it doesn't cause litterbox problems but I've seen many declawed cats who have litterbox problems which presented themselves after the surgery.

     Complications can cause serious damage.  I have a friend whose cat's feet are quite deformed from a botched declaw surgery.   A second surgery was done to try to correct the damage, but the results were not any better.  There is nothing she can do at this point to help her cat and she would never declaw again.

     These are not risks I'm willing to take with my cats.  I will not mutilate them for my convenience.  I will not take away their defenses.  I will treat them with the respect they deserve and spend the time to clip their nails.

     My one front declawed cat (Shawn) came to me that way.  He is the one and only biter in my home.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  He was returned to the shelter TWICE before I adopted him.  No reason was given, but the fact that he would bite very unpredictably had to factor in there.  He also has a tendency to fall off of furniture from time to time because he can't grab on with his claws.

     I feel that vets should educate their clients about the alternatives and offer declawing ONLY as a last resort.  I think that all vets should encourage clients to attempt training and nail clipping BEFORE they even consider offering the surgery as an option.  Too many automatically schedule spay-and-declaw or neuter-and-declaw surgery.  It seems that the two are not considered separate procedures in some offices.  Declawing is considered mutilation in many countries.  I don't understand how the practice became acceptable here but I hope that someday it will be banned in the US as well.