Say No! To De-clawing Cats
By Dr. Michael W. Fox
Many veterinarians routinely de-claw young cats. It’s part of the package when they come in to be spayed/neutered. Many cats suffer as a consequence. The operation entails more than simply removing the claws, (onychectomy) under general anesthesia. It entails removal of the first digit (digitectomy, or de-knuckling). It’s like you having your toes and fingers removed at the first joint.
Cats are very dexterous, and this operation essentially eliminates their dexterity, greatly reducing their behavioral repertoire when it comes to grasping and holding. It also hampers their ability to groom and scratch themselves normally. Their ability and self-confidence when it comes to climbing and general agility are similarly crippled. Their first line of defense---their retractable claws-- is eliminated, which could make some cats more anxious and defensive.
De-clawed cats tend to walk abnormally back on their heels rather than on their entire pads because of the chronic pain at the end of their severed fingers and toes. They often develop chronic arthritis and as the front toe pads shrink, chronic bone infections are common.
Many cats find it painful to use the litter box, develop a conditioned aversion to using the box, and become un-housebroken. This is why many de-clawed cats are put up for adoption or are euthanized. They may also bite more, and become defensive when handled because their paws are hurting and infected.
In 2006, the U.S. federal government outlawed the de-clawing of big cats in captivity, such as lions and tigers, on the grounds of extreme cruelty and suffering. Similar legislation is long overdue for domestic cats, who can suffer for their entire lives after such cruel mutilation.
My friend Jean Hofve, DVM, has reviewed the harmful consequences of onychectomy, the amputation of the digits or first phalanges (not just the claws) of cats (Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, October-December 2006, p 34-39). She notes that: 33 percent of cats develop behavior problems after surgery, notably house-soiling, biting and changes in personality; formerly outgoing and friendly cats becoming fearful and reclusive. While laser surgery causes less pain and swelling than other surgical techniques in the first few days after surgery, the long-term consequences of the procedure remain the same.
Post-surgical complications include abscess formation, chronic infection (aggravated by cat litter) and chronic or intermittent lameness. Human amputees often suffer from painful “phantom” limb sensations from the amputated part, a condition that cats may well experience, since their nervous systems are virtually identical to ours. We may not know when some cats are suffering because of their stoic nature, and the fact that some cats in great discomfort may actually purr and seem to be half-asleep. Such self-comforting, so-called displacement behaviors are indicators of stress. Cats may learn to cope with the chronic pain of onychectomy, but the absence of overt pain does not mean they are pain-free. The tendons that control the toe joints retract after surgery. These joints essentially becoming “frozen.” The toes remain fully contracted for the life of the cat. In order to keep weight off the tender amputated toes, cats shift their weight backward, the altered gait stressing the limbs and spine, which could lead to arthritis later in life. I have received a few letters from some cat owners who claim that their cats never developed any problems after being de-clawed. But have received many more letters to the contrary, so why run the risk?
Surely it is time for the United States to step up to the plate and emulate the European Union's 1987 Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals that prohibits, for non-medical purposes, ear cropping, tail docking, de-clawing, de-fanging and de-vocalizing of companion animals.
I strongly advise all prospective cat owners, and those people with cats who are contemplating having the entire first digit---not simply the claw---removed surgically from their cats' paws---never to have this operation performed on their felines. People with de-clawed cats have written to castigate me for questioning their love for their cats, and insist that their cats never had any complications once their feet healed. But you never know if their will be complications, so why run the risk in the first place when there are ways of accommodating cats with claws, as by the provision of scratch posts and boards.
Cats need their claws to be cats, and the routine surgical amputation of all their first digits is considered unthinkable in the UK and many other countries where people love and respect their cats. They know that properly handled and socialized cats quickly learn not to scratch people, and will learn to enjoy using a scratch post and not destroy upholstered furniture.
According to the Paw Project (www.pawproject.org), de-clawing has become fairly common in the US and Canada in the past three decades. Before that time, it was rarely performed. In most countries, de-clawing is considered unethical and is not performed by veterinarians. De-clawing is illegal in many countries, including Austria, Croatia, Malta,
Israel, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
I wrote the following letter on this topic to my colleagues was published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Feb. 15, 2006, pages 503-504.
Dear Sir,
The article by Drs. Curicio, Bidwell, Bohart, and Hauptman (JAVMA, January 1, 2006, pp. 65-680) provides an "Evaluation of signs of postoperative pain and complications after forelimb onychectomy in cats receiving buprenorphine alone or with bupivacaine administered as a four-point regional nerve block." While the consideration given to pain alleviation in this surgical procedure is necessary and laudable, the ethics of performing this procedure as a routine practice to the extent that almost a quarter of the cat population in the US, (14 million) is declawed, according to these authors, surely need to be examined. This is especially pertinent considering the evidence of the painful nature of this procedure, and associated postoperative complications of chronic pain, infection, and suffering. Surely the justifications for performing forelimb onychectomies trivialize concern for cats' welfare and psychological well being. Part of being a cat is to have claws. Out of respect for the nature of cats and their basic behavioral requirements in the confined domestic environment, caring and responsible cat owners effectively train their cats to use scratch-posts, scratch-boards and carpeted "condos" rather than resort to routine declawing, that amounts to a mutilation for convenience.
As a profession, are we not giving a mixed message to the public in advocating companion animal health and welfare on the one hand, and not abandoning such practices that are considered unethical by veterinarians and their clients in many other countries?
Michael W. Fox, D.Sc., Ph.D., B.Vet.Med., M.R.C.V.S.
De-clawing cats as a routine preventive measure, just incase they might scratch people or damage furniture, is a service of convenience to cat owners that I consider professionally unethical for veterinarians to offer and perform as a routine procedure on all cats that come through their doors. It is nothing less than a mutilation that takes away from cats a part of what makes them cats---a form of physical deprivation with often profound behavioral and psychological ramifications, the risk of which far outweigh the benefits to uninformed cat owners and lovers.