Monday, October 12, 2009
When declawing is better option
On my roanoke.com blog, The Happy Wag, I like to write about my pets and I love to read the comments people share about their pets.
Last month, I used the blog as a confessional and finally shared with readers a mistake I made long ago.
This shames me, I wrote, because I made a decision that I deeply regret but can't undo.
I had both my cat, Thai, and my daughter's cat, India, declawed. Seven years ago, when I took them to the vet to have them spayed/neutered as kittens, I had their front claws removed.
It was a decision based largely on the fact that we lived in an apartment that did not allow pets. I justified the choice because I never planned to let them go outside -- traffic is dangerous -- and the landlord would see them and we'd be in big trouble.
Mostly I was afraid they would cause costly damage to our rented abode.
But when I fight authority, authority always wins.
Months later we ended up moving to a pet-friendly apartment because I could not keep Thai from sitting on the windowsills. Eventually the landlord spotted him -- and busted me.
Vet eased my conscience
Declawing a cat isn't just removing the front claws. It means amputating part of the toe. Think of cutting your finger off at the first joint so you would be rid of your fingernails.
If my cats accidentally get outside now, they are less able to defend themselves from predators.
The blog entry about my declawing confession got several comments from readers, most of whom decried the practice as cruel and unnecessary. Many readers mentioned terrible side effects that cats suffer after surgery, including infections in their toes and sepsis.
I did feel better, however, when I talked with Kimberly Jessup, associate veterinarian for the past 10 years at Veterinarians to Cats, a feline-specialized medical practice in Southwest Roanoke County.
Jessup said if your kitty is a determined shredder, declawing is a better alternative than sending the cat to the shelter.
"It's a trade-off for the cat," Jessup said. "They get to live the rest of their lives indoors and pampered. It's a reasonable sacrifice to make."
She said the modern procedure is to use a carbon dioxide laser to remove the bone and claw at the end of the cat's toe, instead of making an incision. She said with post-surgical pain medication, cats suffer virtually no problems.
While Jessup said it is much better to leave your kitten intact and get him or her acclimated to a scratching post, declawing may be the best answer for cats that just won't be deterred from raking the furniture or climbing the curtains.
The shredded home club
To help train cats to keep from scratching up everything, the ASPCA recommends providing sturdy scratching posts and keeping a cat's nails clipped or covered.
One blog reader, who has five indoor and three outdoor cats, wrote that despite attempts at behavior modification, his kitties still leave their signatures in all the wrong places.
"Our home shows the signs of damage that their claws can bring, which is the one downside to [not declawing]," John Holst wrote. "We give them several scratchers with catnip, but they still latch on to the couch, the chairs, and the box springs."
Even declawed cats can leave their unintentional mark. Jessup said that if you have leather furniture, you can expect back claws to leave little puncture wounds wherever kitty pounces.
A few of my blog readers shared that they, too, had their kitties declawed, and like me they expressed regret.
"Both of my cats have been declawed and unlike some other readers, mine did not have any bad effects like infection or being unable to walk more than a day or two afterwards," Kim Mollohan wrote. "Hopefully my babies will live for many more years, but when the time comes to get another cat (or cats) I will not have them declawed."
Deborah Milton said she had both of her cats declawed a dozen years ago but would never do it again. The cat she had before her current pair was not declawed.
"That kitty did claw my furniture apart," Milton wrote, "but I loved her so much, I didn't care."
