Cat Declawing! What Does it Mean?

Cat declawing is a very controversial topic, that causes a lot of discussion as to whether it is the humane thing to do.

One side of the discussion is that declawing your cat is a barbaric practice from the dark ages. That it is inhumane, cruel, and an old fashioned practice that needs to be discarded.

The other side of the coin is that cat declawing provides a way to prevent your kitty from scratching and destroying your furniture and shredding your curtains and other unwanted behavior. Many cats are abused and harmed or just dropped off along the road because of this. So often declawing is recommended to help save the lives and well being of many wonderful cats that otherwise would be mistreated.

Scratching is a natural behavior for your cat. Cats scratch to remove the dead husks from their claws and isn’t really a behavioral problem but an instinctive and normal way of life for you kitty. Most cats will leave your furniture and other things alone if you learn how to divert their natural instinct to scratch things to other more acceptable places in your home.

Keep in mind that cat declawing is a procedure that is irreversible and should only be done by a well qualified veterinary doctor. If you do decide to have your cat declawed, do your homework, get references and make sure the vet knows what they are doing.

Cat declawing is also known as onychectomy and entails much more that just romoving your cats claws or nails. The declawing operation involves the amputation of each of your cats toes at the first joint. Like any operation great care must be taken afterwards so that your feline friend doesn’t get any infections.

Like anything else in life we encourage cat owners to be responsible for their decision to have a cat as a pet and act accordingly. Our little friends count on us for food, shelter and protection and when we chose to have a pet we took on a big responsibility.

Take the time to get to know your cat. Learn why they do what they do, and you’ll be much better able to enjoy your kitty cat and have him or her have a peaceful enjoyable life also. Isn’t that what we all really want anyways?