De-clawing a cat? Cruel or okay?

Question

I have an old cat- is 'declawing' the removal of the claws, or is it cutting them short?

Our old boy, Oscar, -is apporx 12-14 yrs and not in great health, but he has such sharp claws.

We had a horrid accident a few days ago where he was looking out our large sitting room window, sat on the wide sil, and my daughter-who is 6- was next to him. He is very sweet natured and never hurt anybody; however he saw a Tom cat prowling on our drive and his tail started to bush out etc and his back arching...then my daughter who was playing tripped into him slightly (not much she basically bumped into him) and i believe he felt he was being attacked by the Tomcat and he clawed and struck my little girl. now i am not angry with him, as i watched what happened and understood what happened- and i could see Oscar felt bad when he too realised. but she main damaged occurred due to his inanely sharp claws; he drew a LOT of blood and his claws stuck in her ear and really ripped her bad.

On numeroud other occasions he jumps on us and sticks his claws in & draws blood- not viciously- so I wondered if i should have them cut for these reasons? But is declawing more than just cutting the claws?

What do you think?

I would like to itterate he did not ATTACK my daughter intentionally i fully eblieve that! Nor did she cause him any real harm...but the claws are getting to be a big problem

Answer 1

Absolutely cruel. Go to your local pet supply store and buy cats nail trimming clippers they are only about $6.00 dollars and trim kitty's nails about every 10 to 14 days. Make sure not to cut threw the quick because it will hurt him and make him bleed. If you don't know how to do it ask a groomer to show you most places like Petsmart have groomers in house. I suggest buying a bottle of quick stop to be put on the nails to stop bleeding just in case you do accident ly cut to close. After you do it a few times you'll learn how close you should cut be careful the first few times. If your kitty ever gets outside he will not be able to fight off an attacker so don't declaw.

Answer 2

Dont declaw.  It is not the removal of the claw.  It is amputation of the entire last part of his toe.  for you or me it would be losing the end of our fingers at the last knuckle.

it is incredibly painful, and requires extensive care afterwards to prevent infection.  It leaves a cat defenseless if he gets outside. Cats, especially older ones develop other lovely habits after declawing such as refuesing to use litterbox's.  The filler irratates the sensitive scars from amputation

either get a pair of cat claw clipers or a pair of reqular human finger nail clipers.  Hold your boy and clip off the sharp hook part of his nail every other week.  If you look at it from the side you can see the "quick" or sensitive part inside and you dont want to cut into that.  It hurts and will bleed alot.   Most cats learn to allow nail trimming  easily.

The other option  as long as oscar is a inside only cat is to get Soft paws.   Silicon sheaths that glu over his nails so he cant scratch

google declawing cats and read the host of articles by Vets and people about how inhumane this is  

Answer 3

cats claws can be trimmed regularly with a finger nail clipper. dont use the cat ones from the store, as they usually just crack the nail.

declawing is very cruel and can lead to serious health and behavior. it does not always, but it can. problems such as the cat wont use the litterbox anymore, develops a bad temper, etc.

plus if he ever got outside he wouldnt be able to defend himself against anything.

declawing isnt just trimming the nails either. hold up your hand. then imagine getting the first knuckle on each of your fingers removed. thats what they do to declaw a cat.

please just trim his nails! watch out for the quick though. you can have a groomer or a vet show you how the first few times if you dont know already.

Answer 4

CRUEL

Answer 5

You should look into trimming his claws or using the Soft Paws. Declawing a young kitten is bad enough but to declaw an older cat would be torture to the highest degree. You could also try using a Feliway diffuser to calm him. Declawing is much more than trimming claws-it is the amputation of the first joint of the toe. Here is a link with all the info you need on declawing and alternatives that work. Please read up on it.

http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/

Answer 6

Don't declaw your cat. Declawing the cat is not just cutting the claws short. It is a full removal of the claws, it is permanant, and it requires surgery. If your cat goes outside then he will need his claws to defend himself. Removing the claws can also make your cat distrust you. If his claws are too long then it is likely he is not scratching enough. If you don't already have one get him a really good scratching post. Make sure it's the kind with sisal, not the kind with carpet on the post. It is also important for your daughter to learn that the cat is independant and can get scared and angry just like people can, and should be treated with respect. The cat will have to learn that scratching people is not ok. I sugest that you talk to your vet or an animal behaviorist about how to change the problem behavior instead of declawing.

Answer 7

DO NOT de claw, get your vet to trim them

Answer 8

No its cruel.........its the removal of the claws!!! not very good when cats use them to climb, entertain them selves with toys, catch mice etc plus all that pain it would go through and trying to walk after the opperation..... Yuck

Cats are scared of children unless there brought up with them, tell him off give him a smake on the nose.. if he swipes her but also tell her to be gentle or just not to pat him for a while.they'll get used to one another as time goes

Answer 9

Declawing is cruel. It's an amputation of all 10 toes at the first knuckle. It shouldn't even be allowed to be called declawing because that's not what it is. It's detoeing. :o(

I understand your worry though and there are many kind things you con do to help Oscar not hurt with his claws.

You can trim his nails for one. Here is a guide on how to do that.

http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm

We trim all of our cats front claws. Just the teeny tip, so they aren't so sharp.

Or you can try something like soft paws... It's a cap you glue onto the nail and it doesn't hurt the cat at all but protects you from being cut or poked.

http://www.softpaws.com/

Answer 10

absolutely cruel!

Before you make the decision to declaw your cat, there are some important facts you should know. Declawing is not like a manicure. It is serious surgery. Your cat's claw is not a toenail. It is actually closely adhered to the bone. So closely adhered that to remove the claw, the last bone of your the cat's claw has to be removed. Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". When you envision that, it becomes clear why declawing is not a humane act. It is a painful surgery, with a painful recovery period. And remember that during the time of recuperation from the surgery your cat would still have to use its feet to walk, jump, and scratch in its litter box regardless of the pain it is experiencing. Wheelchairs and bedpans are not an option for a cat.

Answer 11

VERY CRUEL!  

Answer 12

Declawing is the removal of their claws, and part? of the toe, I believe. It's not good, necessarily, but your cat is really too old to have it done anyway.

There ARE things you can do, though. You can keep his nails cut short, and filed dull. Or you can buy those SoftPaws that glue on over the nails (they are colorful rubber things) so he can't hurt whatever he scratches.

Answer 13

I have a cat that playfully chases me and even jumps up on my back when I am at the computer. To spare myself the occasional bleed, I use a nail clipper (bought at pet store) to just trim off the sharp edge. They seem none the worse for it and I don't loose blood ! LOL. Be careful not to clip too deep, you can see the vein inside the claw, cut short of that and all should be okay. BTW there's a powder to stop the bleeding should the cut be a bit deep perhaps due to a the kitty jerking.

Please don't de-claw, you only need to trim their claws once a month or so.

Answer 14

Declawing is the removal of the toes at the first diget.  (Look at your fingers and think of removing them at the first knuckel below your finger nail,  that is declawing)     Also any surgery is risky especially when your cat is "not in great health"  There is also the risk of permanent nerve damage, chronic pain, the cat becomming a biter, and developing litter box issues.    You can simply trim your cats nails with nail clippers or apply Soft Paws which are nail caps that cover the nails (however if you use soft paws you will still have to trim the nails as the caps don't allow them of shed normally.  )