If you live in Australia, you may be wondering what declawing is; because the practice of removing a cat’s claws is illegal here and considered both cruel and inhumane. However, there are places in the world (including the United States) where declawing cats, is legal and even commonplace.
We discuss the controversial practice of declawing cats, the risks and how it hurts cats, and other ways to manage a cat’s natural behaviour to scratch.
Declawing is a surgical procedure
It’s a common misconception that declawing is similar to a cat manicure. Have you ever trimmed your cat’s claws and cut too far down and nicked the quick? If so, you’ll know that it’s painful for your cat and causes bleeding. That’s because the quick is full of nerves and blood vessels.
Declawing is a surgery known as ‘onychectomy’ and is done under anaesthetic. The procedure involves removing the cat’s claws and each front toe from the last joint or knuckle. The usual method of declawing involves using a scalpel, guillotine clipper or laser surgery. The wounds are closed with surgical stitches or glue and bandaged.
Now take a moment and look at your own hands. Imagine how you’d feel if your fingers were amputated at the first joint. When you declaw a cat, it hurts them – it is certainly not just a manicure!
How declawing hurts cats
Declawing involves amputating part of the cat’s toes. To start with, there are risks with any anaesthesia or surgery, including bleeding and infection.
Removing a cat’s claws can be very painful after surgery. It doesn’t just hurt for a few months, declawing can lead to chronic pain and life-long medical and behavioural issues.
Balance and walking
Cats naturally walk on their toes. So, when you declaw a cat, they are forced to adopt a different way of walking. This is not only painful, but can impact their balance and lead to lameness, back pain and even arthritis in later years. Think how you’d walk if you had your toes amputated from the first knuckle! It would be like wearing an ill-fitting and very uncomfortable pair of shoes.
Declawed cats may also suffer from nerve or tendon damage, abscesses, and extremely sensitive or painful paw pads as a result of claw regrowth. That would be like walking with a small stone permanently stuck in your shoe.
Movement and defending themselves
Declawed cats also have no way to defend and protect themselves. If they are let outside and attacked by a dog, cat or larger predator, they simply can’t fight back. Without claws, cats are unable to escape by climbing a tree or may not be able to out run their attacker.
If your cat has been declawed, they must be kept indoors at all times for their own safety.
Pain related behavioural issues
Cats scratch for many reasons including stretching, playing, hunting and marking their territory. When you remove a cat’s claws you take this natural behaviour away from them. This can cause immense stress and psychological problems, leading to behavioural problems such as aggression, refusal to eat or inappropriate toileting.
- Litter tray problems – can be caused by the pain and discomfort of digging certain types of litter when they’ve had the end of their toes amputated.
- Biting issues – if a cat can’t use their claws, (not just to attack/defend, but to hold onto things), they’ll often compensate by biting more often.
Declawing cats is cruel, so why do people do it?
Although there is a growing movement to end the practice of declawing in the United States, it’s still permitted in many states. New York became the first state to outlaw it in 2019, and the state of Maryland made cat declawing illegal in 2022. There are also a number of US cities that have now banned declawing.
The most common reason for people declawing their cat is, sadly, to stop them from scratching the furniture – a behaviour that’s very fixable.
Other reasons people put their cat through the amputation is to stop fighting in multi-cat households. Cat owners with suppressed immune systems due to certain illnesses also opt for declawing to prevent any risk associated with contracting cat scratch disease.
Alternatives to declawing cats
In over 40 countries including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and the United Kingdom – declawing cats is illegal. It is classified as animal cruelty. Cat parents are required to look at solutions that involve training and changing the cat’s environment rather than an unnecessary elective surgery.
Scratching the furniture is the most common reason cat owners seek to declaw their cats. But, there are effective options to curb this behaviour without having to resort to declawing.
Try these humane alternatives to declawing:
- Trim your cat’s nails regularly.
- Provide lots of scratching posts, and use training (eg. with a catnip spray) to encourage your cat to use them instead of the furniture.
- Purchase vinyl nail caps to cover your cat’s sharp claws and prevent them from damaging the furniture.
- You can also use natural deterrents like double sided tape, and spray deterrents. You can make your own spray with citrus or eucalyptus oil diluted with water which is usually effective.
Declawing cats is cruel, painful and unnecessary. If declawing is not yet illegal where you live and you want to help stop this inhumane practice, please share this article to help raise awareness. You can also join your local animal protection group and advocate to change the laws to ban declawing in your community.
Question. So if declawing is cruel shouldn’t the caps be? How would a person feel with hard plastic covering their finger tips. If you glue them on. What happens when they retract their claws? If they can retract. How uncomfortable is it to have these plastic things hanging there? Isn’t that more confusing or more difficult?
I’m not saying declawing is right. I’m actually curious.
Thank you for writing on this topic. I do hope it will be outlawed everywhere before too long. I’m not active in any movements. I wonder if there are any. I’ve had cats most of my life and, luckily, have never had shredded furniture. I do have scratching posts around though, so that must be why. Thanks for what you do. Take care!
My latest rescue cat is a poster child for the anti-declaw movement. He is 14+ and was probably declawed as a kitten. He was found as a stray, and his ears are ragged from the fights he had no weaponry to win. He has a painful-to-watch walk that involves hunching his back, probably from arthritis due to his changed gait. And when he gets upset about something, he bites. That’s why he wasn’t able to find a home in the shelter, until I took him.
Declawing is cruel and evil, and should be outlawed. Thank you for this informative and very truthful article!
I was against declawing cats before I even knew what it meant!
Seems so barbaric and cruel. I am amazed that vets would still do it anywhere. Thanks for sharing as I am sure people do not understand how bad it is.
*sigh-h-h* we kitties hope that SOME day the USA becomes as civilized on this issue as Australia.
I really appreciate your write up – I’m not sure people really ‘think’ about it as much as dey just do it. It’s great informative info and I’m going to share it wif my followers!!
They’re trying to make it illegal here in my state but I think there’s still some loopholes.
Sadly, my mother and my sister both had their cats declawed years ago. My sister’s cat has since passed away of other causes, but my mother’s cat, Tootsie still has problems from the surgery. She refuses to use the litter box and will only go potty in the nice smooth bathtub. My mother’s veterinarian assures her that this is not because of the declaw surgery, but I know better. I’m sure that Tootsie’s feet hurt too bad when she has to walk on cat litter. I would never get my kitties declawed. My furniture doesn’t mean that much to me. Even so, when provided with alternative scratching areas, they don’t bother my furniture.
Fortunately is also illegal in Portugal. In fact, before starting to read international cat blogs I had never even heard about declawing.
Just think how it would feel to have your all of your fingers cut back to the first joint. Some people just don’t understand how painful it is for a cat. If they want a cat but don’t want their furniture scratched up, then either don’t get a cat or buy them everything they need to sharpen their claws. I taught my new kitty that using the cat tree with a scratching post is the first order of business to start the day. My vet told me to use regular human nail clippers on my new rescued kitty and she has no problem with it. Starting early with them as a kitten helps a lot. She is now 6 months old and has never used anything but her cat tree to sharpen her nails. This should be banned as a cruel act to cats.
Despite the info about de-clawing and the anti-de-clawing movement in the U.S. it remains a political hot potato. If we can’t get the AVMA to agree how can anything get changed in congress. Sadly, at the root $ and profit trumps kindness.
Like Lola, Gramma’s first cat was declawed. As soon as she came home from the surgery, Gramma felt terrible and said she’d never do that again. Faith didn’t have any emotional scars or litter box issues. I wish it would be illegal in the US but vets are still encouraging it.
Many, many years ago Mommy had two cats who were declawed. She didn’t know then what she knows now, but she feels guilty that it happened. There were no negative side effects, thank goodness! But she still feels bad and would NEVER do that again.
My wife’s cat was declawed when I met her. She didn’t know it was bad at the time but her cat, Sneakers, would occasionally show signs of pain in his paws for the rest of his life.
I really wish declawing was illegal in the United States – it is such an awful thing to do to a cat! Thank you for making people aware of the alternatives.
It’s illegal in Switzerland too, and Mum was shocked to hear that it was legal in the US. Declawing is cruel and awful, and we have to educate people again and again to make it stop. Great post ! Purrs
I wish it were illegal to declaw everywhere.
Thank you so much for this article! I never heard about declawing before entering the cat blogosphere, and I’m still having difficulties to believe that this is common practice in some countries.
I am incredibly sad that declawing is still legal here. I truly believe it’s a horrific practice. I would never get it done to my cats and I am a huge advocate for not doing it.
Declawing is EVIL! My human is galled it is legal in the U.S. – and that has been so hard getting it outlawed. AND that the reason it’s so hard is that the anti-declawers are having to fight the big veterinary organization to outlaw it. That’s right, the veterinary profession is trying to stop making it illegal. Awful.