Why You Shouldn’t Declaw
FIRST, I want to say, PLEASE do not berate people who have a declawed cat. Sometimes they adopt the cat in that state, or otherwise inherit it. Sometimes they declawed a cat in ignorance. Berating does nothing but raise hackles, and done is done.
The important message to spread is WHY declawing in a bad idea. I just had a post on a local neighborhood forum that someone’s beloved (declawed) cat had escaped and is lost.
One defense people present for declawing is that their cat is wrecking furniture and/or endangering a new baby...and is an indoor cat who’ll never go out. So what’s the harm?
Exhibit A: Lost cat.
You cannot guarantee your cat will never wind up outside, either by a Houdini escape, or if something happens to you and the cat goes to someone who simply doesn’t care. My neighbors across the street in my former house had a declawed cat who was partially outside. They didn’t see a problem. Their expensive furniture counted more than the cat’s claws.
Many declawed cats (especially outside) will develop “conversational hissing” as a form of defense. I mentioned this to my neighbor, who denied that Elvis ever hissed...while Elvis was hissing at me. (These neighbors were problematic in so MANY ways, this was just one manifestation....)
Anyway, the NUMBER ONE reason for not declawing your cat isn’t fear the cat will wind up outside. That’s a big one, but not the main reason.
The main reason is what it means to have a cat declawed. Too many people don’t understand cat anatomy. To declaw a cat literally means cutting into the top knuckle of their “fingers,” where the claws are embedded. Claws aren’t fingernails. You don’t “pull them out” under anesthesia. (What one owner told me before I enlightened her otherwise.) Claws are deeply set in the cat’s bones. The only way to “declaw” is to cut off the end of the digit.
How’d you like that done to you?
Like any amputation, declawed cats have phantom pain all their lives. They also know they’re disadvantaged, hence the “conversational hissing” I mentioned. Not all declawed cats exhibit this, but I’ve met waaaaay too many who do to claim it’s unrelated. A cat’s hiss is a warning. If the cat feels safe, it won’t hiss. But take away its main form of defense, and it’s vulnerable. Of course it hisses! Even if you don’t seem dangerous. “I don’t have my claws, and I don’t know you, so I’m gonna warn you off!”
People have lots of reasons for declawing. Some are legitimate fears. I have a friend who’s husband was badly mauled by a cat as a child. The only way he wanted to adopt one was to have it declawed (before either knew what that meant). They’ve changed their tune since ... and this is a good example of why yelling at people doesn’t help. They had a reason + ignorance of what it entailed. Knowing now what it is, they haven’t declawed a cat since (adopting two more).
Some cat owners decide to declaw later with a change in life circumstance: fear of large cat claws and young children (or elderly parents with thin skin). That’s legit, man! Would you rather have the person surrender the cat to a humane society that’s possibly a kill shelter? Or dump the cat on the street? IME, cats are generally pretty good with little kids, but not all cats like kids and even the best cat, if the kid pulls a tail, will strike.
Their ARE solutions, especially claw covers. Relatively cheap. Some cats hate them and, yes, get them off, but try them. Please. Try them more than once.
I think the real solution is education about cats and babies, but--again--yelling at people with legit fears doesn’t help. Most don’t know alternatives exist! Cats can be extraordinary babysitters. I was essentially “raised” by an old Siamese who was keeper of all my secrets and fierce defender against bugs (including scorpions) in my playpen. He even saved me from an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. I loved that cat. By contrast, when my son was born, our Balinese (long-haired Siamese, no, not a Himalayan) HATED babies and the best thing I did for him was find him a loving home with a grad student...baby free.
So yeah, I totally get it. How cats respond to a new baby can be a crap-shoot. It’s not a terrible thing to worry about scratching, or decide to re-home for the cat’s own sanity. (Just, please, don’t auto-surrender to a shelter unless you know it’s not a kill-shelter.)
Last...the DAMN FURNITURE. I’ve had cats all my life. Cats will claw. Here are some hints.... Don’t buy furniture with a “rough” cloth texture. Velveteen or similar, IME, rarely/never invites scratching. Yeah, maybe it’s not your top fashion choice. Live with it if you have a cat. (I have a very lovely velveteen designer couch, so don’t tell me they’re all tacky!) Leather, also, believe it or not, is not a big draw...too smooth. Again, ROUGH textures are the draw. Avoid them.
SISAL is your friend. A nice big cat tower with some sisal posts is great to head off scratching at the pass. I recommend Armarkat brand. Buy online, shipped to you, much cheaper than the pet store and easy to assemble. Trader Joe’s double-wide scratching post also, ime, works (and is cheap). Most cardboard scratching posts just aren’t *wide* enough. Cats like vertical, so set them UP, if you can.
But some cats are gonna scratch. I have a lovely secretary who’s legs were pretty much mauled/destroyed by a cat who I couldn’t make stop. It’s now in the corner of my living room, legs hidden by my (velveteen) couch.
In the end, the question is pretty simple. Do you love your (living) cat more than your (inanimate) furniture?
