Cats may be adorable and cuddly pets, but their scratching habits can make them a nuisance to most pet owners. As an answer to scratching problems, some people go for declawing. This is a procedure that removes the claws of the cat surgically. Without the claws, it is less likely that the animal will scratch walls, furniture pieces, and even humans.
CostFacts.com estimates the cost of declawing from $100 to $450 only. Even though the cost of declawing a cat is not that much, this procedure is being questioned because of its nature of being inhumane.
No to Declawing
There are a lot of reasons why declawing is considered brutal. Declawing is not merely similar to trimming the nails of a person. It actually is amputating the first joint of the toes of the cat. Hence, this procedure is really very painful in the part of the cat. With 20 joints to amputate, the cat suffers from 20 painful amputations during declawing and the pain does not go away up to several months until the nerve endings heal.
Moreover, declawing offers no benefit to the cat. It can even lead to biting and litter box problems. Plus, without claws, you snatch away the main weapon of self-defense of the animal.
Declawing Alternatives
Declawing is oftentimes accepted when medically necessary. However, for scratching problems, this really is not a good solution.
For scratching problems, you can consider humane alternatives to end the problem. One thing you can do is to regularly clip the nails of the cat. Properly-trimmed claws cannot cause serious damage even when used to scratch furniture and human skin.
Furthermore, there are kitty nail caps available nowadays for this purpose. Have your cat wear caps over his claws. You may even want to purchase scratching posts and teach your pet to use them all the time. This way, the cat will never have to use his claws on other things in the house.
There is another kind of procedure called tendonectomy that can be used to end scratching problems. This is a surgical procedure that is more humane than declawing. This process involves preventing the cat from extending his claws. This is not only a quick and easy procedure but most importantly, a painless one.
Declawing is indeed an inhumane solution against scratching problems of cats. If you want to deal with scratching, consider the friendlier and kinder alternatives. You’ll even get a bonus of saving some money because these alternatives are not that much expensive as compared to a declawing procedure.
