What is the purpose of declawing?

Generally, declawing is performed for non medical reasons to prevent the cat scratching furniture or family members (both pet & human).

Are there any side effects to declawing?

Any surgery performed under anesthetic carries risks.

It is often commonly assumed that declawing is the removal of your cat's claws, however it is a little more involved than that. Declawing involves the amputation of not only the claw, but this extends up to the first knuckle.  This will lead to some pain & discomfort after surgery.

Other possible problems with declawing include;

• Infection
• Bleeding

Are there any alternatives to declawing?

There are several alternatives to declawing but the main goal is to prevent your cat clawing & damaging furniture. This may involve;

• Providing your cat with a scratching post & working with the cat to encourage it to use that instead of your furniture. If space is a problem, you can buy small scratching posts that you hang over door handles that take up no room at all. For more information on training your cat to use a scratching post, read here.
• Using Soft Claws.
• Trimming your cat's claws regularly. Read here on how to trim your cat's claws.
  

Is there any reason to declaw:

Occasionally there are medical reasons in which it will be of benefit to the cat to declaw but these are few & far between.

If you must declaw your cat or adopt a cat who has already been declawed then please keep it indoors.

People often use the argument that it is better to declaw than risk the cat being taken to the shelter for inappropriate behavior. I like to think that cat owners would accept their cats behavior warts & all & would hope that people consider that cats come with claws prior to adopting them. Almost every country worldwide bans declawing & these countries have managed to accept their cats claws intact.