DECLAWING CATS

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The declaw procedure for cats is VERY PAINFUL!!! Many cat owners do not realize what is involved in this surgery. It is often thought that the cat's nails are "simply" clipped too short (as if even THIS would be simple and painless). That is not, however, what happens. It is important to understand the anatomy of a cat's paw in order to understand the process involved in declawing cats.

The anatomy of a cat's "finger" is very much like your own. Look at one of your fingers. There are three distinct sections.

The first section, at the tip of your finger, includes the nail and area down to the first bend (joint).

The second section is from that first joint down to the next joint which we often call the knuckle.

The third section of your finger runs from the knuckle down to the next joint where your finger joins the palm of your hand.

These three distinct sections are actually three distinct bones. The name Phalanx (plural phalanges) is commonly given to these bones. In cats, we refer to these 3 different bones as P1, P2, and P3 with P3 being at the tips of the fingers and P1 closest to the hand.

To reiterate, the declaw procedure for cats does not involve just clipping nails too short or all the way to the nail bed. Doing that would just result in pain and then regrowth of the nail. A cat's claw grows out of germinal (growth) cells located in a specific area within the bone, P3. This region must be removed completely or the nail will regrow and often does so in a deformed way that may lead to infection. The only way to be sure the nail doesn't regrow is to amputate the entire P3 bone (the first bone at the tip of the toe all the way to the joint.)

Therefore, the process of declawing cats involves not just amputating the claws, but all of the bone (P3), as well as the ligaments, tendons, nerve, and joint capsule.

I hate to be so graphic, but the best way to understand this, and everyone needs to understand this, is to explain it in human terms. If a person were to have the equivalent of a declaw, they would have all ten fingers amputated at the last joint of each finger (the joint below your finger nail, WELL below your fingernail.)Declawing cats reminds me of a torture scene out of a James Bond movie.

Age To Declaw Cat

Declawing an older cat is worse than declawing a kitten. It is more painful, takes longer to heal, is psychologically more difficult for the cat, and has more post-op complications. In my opinion, an older cat should never be declawed. If doing something about the nails is absolutely necessary, there are more reasonable alternatives than declawing cats. Summary

Before you have a cat declawed, consider how painful the procedure is and try alternatives. There are several. (1) Learn to clip your cat's nails, (2) give Soft Paws a try, (3) supply lots of scratching posts and encourage their usage and discourage scratching anywhere else. (4)If all that fails, consider tendonectomy before thinking of declawing your cat.

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