Some months ago when I was fostering a couple of very scared, semi-feral, kittens who were a little prone to scratching I was chatting to a workmate whose instinctive response was, 'Why don't you just get them declawed?' This wasn't said with any sarcasm or indeed any malicious intent it was just a matter of fact solution. Turns out she had grown up with cats, all of whom had been declawed and she had no idea, as many people don't, about what declawing actually entails.
Declawing, or, let's call it by its proper name, partial digit amputation, is by no means a solution to anything. Though it may sound like a routine procedure almost akin to nail trimming, this extreme surgery is far from routine. During the operation the last bone of each of the cat's front ten toes is surgically removed, meaning that muscles, nerves, tendons and blood vessels are irrevocably severed. In human terms this would equate to having the last joint of your fingers chopped off. Doesn't sound so great does it? As you can imagine, this is extremely painful, so painful in fact it is sometimes used as a tester for the efficacy of new pain medications for animals.
Following declawing surgery the cat's feet are bandaged up to prevent the animal from bleeding to death and this is unfortunately just the beginning. What follows is a brutal period of 'healing' which can involve abscesses, necrosis, lameness, lack of balance, suppressed immune system and of course extreme pain and distress. The risks of post operative complications are high and apart from the physical symptoms, almost equally as devastating are the psychological symptoms. Some cats simply never regain the trust they had for their owner (and remember we have a whole network of people to love and support us, for cats, we're all they have in the world). It's a familiar story, a declawed cat, who was once trusting, happy and playful then turns into a morose, fearful creature who often has litterbox problems due the pain of standing in the litter tray and biting problems due to an overwhelming fear of any human contact. Many of these cats then end up in shelters.
There are some vets who refuse to declaw at all but there are many who still do and of even greater concern is the number of vets who ignore their responsibility to educate and properly inform people of the risks and the effects of declawing surgery. Vets after all make a huge amount of money from carrying out this procedure. It is saddening to think that economics may in any way be an influencing factor in the fight to end this cruel practice.
An embarrassing fact is that Canada and the US are the only two countries that really stand out as not having taken a stand and banning this procedure. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Israel, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, these are just a few of the countries in which declawing is banned or restricted. The United Kingdom even goes so far as to call declawing an 'unnecessary mutilation'. One very positive sign in the US, thanks to an organization called the Paw Project www.pawproject.org in California, is that municipal bans have been agreed in various cities such including West Hollywood, San Francisco and Santa Monica.
So what can we do? Well if you have a cat who scratches furniture, or know a friend who does, make sure they research and invest in a good scratching post. Encourage the cat to use the post by placing it by the furniture the cat normally attacks and try rubbing some cat nip onto the post for further encouragement. It may take a little time but your cat can easily be trained to use the scratching post instead of your sofa! Make sure your friends and colleagues who own cats are fully aware of what declawing entails so that if they or anyone they know were to think about the procedure they would at least know the full facts. Ask your vet where he or she stands on declawing. Ask them if they recommend it and whether they explain to people about the level the pain and the high chances of complications. Choose a vet to treat your cat who does not accept declawing as a justifiable course of action for a cat who may like the side of your sofa more than a boring scratching post.
Let's change this right now, let's call declawing what it is and make it history.
Helen Whitehead is a partner in Diamond Dogs Petsitting who provide a range of pet care services to the Vancouver, BC region. Check out their website on http://www.petsittingvancouver.com/
