Your Cat or Your Sofa? Is it fair to De-claw Your Cat?
Cats have claws for a reason. An integral part of their anatomy, they are not just used for scratching, but also to balance, exercise (stretch legs, shoulders, paws and back) and establish territory. Weakening to the shoulder, leg and back muscles resulting from removing claws can cause chronic back and joint pain. Most crucially, a cat’s claws are central to its defence, confidence and sense of safety.
Onychectomy is the medical term for a serious surgical procedure which not only removes a cat’s claws, but also all or part of the distal phalange, or end bone, in each toe. In a human, this would be equivalent to amputating each finger at the last knuckle. Surgery is performed under general anaesthetic: the procedure involves using a scalpel to dissect between the second and third phalanx. The distal interphalangeal joint is disjointed and the deep digital flexor tendon is severed.
Veterinary journals have reported more than 50% of cats having complications directly after surgery and others developing them after release. Cats balance on their toes (rather than their paw pads) and onychectomy changes the conformation of the foot, sometimes interfering with balance. Cats are stoical in showing pain when to do so might render them vulnerable. During recuperation they undergo considerable pain which is exacerbated by just walking, as well as jumping, climbing or using a litter tray (which they may now avoid, because of no longer being able to cover up their excrement – cats are instinctively clean creatures). Evidence suggests that, even after recovery, its new vulnerability can increase an animal’s tendency to bite in order to defend itself. Some owners reported their previously friendly feline becoming introverted and withdrawn. In a small number of cases a cat can become lame after undergoing this surgery. Other complications (which could lead to needing further surgery) include damage to the radial nerve, haemorrhaging and claws re-growing painfully, but invisibly, inside the paw. A de-clawed feline is also in more danger from predators if it ventures outside.
Some argue that if a cat is not de-clawed it will have to be destroyed. In such a case it might be the suitability of the owner rather than the state of the cat which needs to be questioned. It is easy to provide a cat with a scratching post, placed near a favourite scratching place, and teach it how to use it, or to create a ‘scratching area’ with off cuts of carpet or rug. Alternatively, it is possible simply to trim a cat’s claws or purchase round-edged vinyl claw caps for indoor cats. In many European countries, as well as in Brazil and Australia, the practice is illegal, or at least considered extremely inhumane. Is a cat a possession, and do we have a right to make such a decision about a surgery which is of no medical benefit to the animal but is purely for human convenience? Although this may be appropriate in chronic inflammatory conditions, such as tumours, it is hardly something to do simply to make your cat more furniture-friendly.