While I am no cat and know that I get to keep my toes, I hear people talk about declawing. My brother, Kuroi cat, has all of his toes. He gets his nails trimmed about every 3-4 weeks and he has several scratching posts. I have never had a problem with him attacking me with his claws. Many people don’t know that declawing is actually amputating the first knuckle. Many people also don’t know that scratching is a normal behavior for cats, it’s their way of marking territory, stretching and grooming. An alternative to declawing is keeping their nails trimmed, having scratching posts, using catnip or pheromones to encourage proper areas to scratch or even using something called “soft paws” which are little caps to cover the claws. If alternative training methods don’t work it is important to talk to your veterinarian to discuss the declawing procedure, side effects, and recovery period. Some complications include bone chips causing arthritis, “phantom” toe pain, holding feet up due to changing the way they weight bear, and all of these pain related issues can cause behavioral issues (aggression, inappropriate urination, etc). It is a decision that should not be taken lightly! I know that it is definitely not something I would want done to me and I think Kuroi enjoys having all of his toes!
American Veterinary Medical Association and Declawing
