Cat Claw Retention
- by: Bret Glass
- recipient: Cat Care Providers; Veterinary Clinics
Cat claw retention supports and advocates for the preservation of feline anatomical form and function (keeping the paws, claws, and toe digits intact as nature intended).
Scratching is a normal, natural, healthy, functional species-specific behavior that can easily be redirected with behavioral methods that are humane and effective.
Declawing (also known as onychectomy or phalangectomy), on the other hand, is an elective, unnatural, medically unnecessary amputation and alteration of a cat's anatomy that results in a wide array of outcomes (paw sensitivity; altered gait; impaired balance and agility; phantom pain at the amputation site; displaced elimination; arthritis; muscle atrophy; chronic pain; etc.). Post-surgical outcomes, prognosis, and rehabilitation are as varied as it would be for human amputees recovering and readjusting to a lost extremity due to accident, injury, or congenital birth anomaly. Some recover well under the circumstances, some have complications that are reoccurring, some live a life in chronic pain and discomfort.
Declawing is NOT an accident, injury, or a surgical procedure that offers any benefit to the cat...It is a deliberate, misguided attempt to eliminate a species-specific behavior that is unwanted, inconvenient, and incompatible with another species home habitat. Why take the chance of inflicting pain on another being and creating a permanent change when behavioral alternatives and the right scratch surfaces provide solutions that allow human and feline to share space without anyone getting hurt.
Some claim that if cats were not declawed they would lose the opportunity at a home and be euthanized. However, reports from direct care providers in shelters find that the majority of cats relinquished are those who have been declawed. Many times because the pain, trauma, and feelings of vulnerability associated with claw removal lead to exaggerated attempts at self-protection (fear of people, biting, decreased tolerance for handling and petting due to discomfort) and changes in urination and elimination (litter box avoidance and displaced elimination due to painful associations with moving litter with sensitive paws).
Why do cats need to be left paw-claw intact? Cats are digitigrades, meaning they walk on the tips of their toes. When the tips of their toes are amputated in declawing, it changes the way they maneuver, ambulate, and balance. Imagine attempting to walk after your toe ends were all removed or attempting to grasp and engage in the fulfillment of daily essential needs if your fingers were amputated past the knuckle. Your experience would never be the same.
Cats also use scratching behavior as a form of communication indicating personal boundaries, their presence in an environment, their identity within a multi-species household, their happiness in response to your arrival, and the need to create secure physical boundaries through visual and olfactory cues. They also use scratching to eliminate stress that occurs as a result of unexpected changes in the environment; as a means of exercise (stretching that conditions the muscles, ligaments, and tendons within the shoulders, spine, legs and toes for health and vitality); and as a method for giving themselves a natural manicure that strips the outer sheath or layer of the claw for hygienic purposes. Imagine if you were experiencing stress and could not talk about it to anyone...You would eventually act out right? Cats who are declawed and do not have the natural means to express their frustration, stress, or have full access to their natural method of scratch communication will inevitably act out.
It's time that we celebrate the wholeness of cat, provide them with the freedom to express themselves, and discover new creative ways to integrate cat scratching behavior into our homes for their sake and for ours.
It's unjust to penalize a species for doing what comes natural.
Let's get claw evolved, promote pawsitive behavioral solutions to cat scratching, and make cat claw retention standard veterinary practice.
Resources for helping a new feline family member establish scratch practice on designated "claws-on" items and surfaces AND current feline family members redirect their established scratch practice from "claws-off" items and surfaces to designated "claws-on":
The Cattress Mattress Declaw Intervention Checklist
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.