Before You Declaw Your Cat, Read This!

May 26, 2017

It’s hard to talk about declawing cats without getting all worked up about it. But declawing cats is right up there with cropping ears and docking tails. While one is all about vanity, the other is all about sanity and keeping your furniture intact. 

Declawing Cats Could Soon Be A Criminal Offence

Thankfully Europe and the UK have banned such activities, along with San Francisco and LA, and now it looks like New Jersey may be following suit. The State could be the first to make declawing cats a criminal offence in animal cruelty with a heavy $1,000 fine. How long will it take Canada to catch up?

When you start looking at declawing cats, why people do it and how vets perform the operation, it becomes more evident how wrong it is. Unless your cat has a tumour in his claw or some other medical complication, there really is no good reason to declaw your cat. If you’re worried about your furniture, then you can set up designated areas where your pets are allowed access with the right toys and scratch toys to keep them happy. Better yet, get a gold fish. They don’t have claws.

Declawing Can Damage Your Cat

A cat’s claws are their first line of defense. They hold great significance for your cat in forming his identity. When you remove your cat’s claws, you take away his raison d’etre and this can cause immense emotional damage, not to mention injury and possible permanent lameness.

There are two ways to remove a cat’s claw and each one requires ten separate amputations. Each procedure is painful and requires a long recovery period. Only the front paws are declawed and the regular method is to slice through the claw, the tip of the bone or first knuckle it’s attached to, and the tip of your cat’s paw. It takes weeks to recover, during which time your cat will not be able to walk. 

Some cats do not recover emotionally from this procedure and become withdrawn, depressed, and prone to biting. Others suffer so much damage to their feet, they never walk the same again. So please, think twice before declawing your cat. 

Sign The Petition To Ban the Declawing of Cats in Canada

If you feel really strongly about this issue, sign the petition to Ban the Declawing of Cats in Canada.