To declaw or not to declaw?
March 4, 2008 Sofas were reduced to shreds, shoes to tatters. The cats
inflicted three serious eye injuries on each other. And then,
Johnson and her boyfriend couldn't find an apartment without
proving the pets were declawed.
Finally, last month, they were - during a routine surgery that
removes the nails and part of the bones they grow from. For
Johnson, ultimately, it was necessary. For animal-rights activists,
it was nothing short of torture.
Such is the polarizing debate over cat declawing. Veterinarians
across the country perform the procedure daily, sometimes marketing
it in conjunction with spaying or neutering. But the opposition is
vocal: "It's permanently crippling and it should never be
performed by anyone," says Laura Brown, an animal care specialist
at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Some proponents see laser declawing - more widely used in the
last five years - as a good compromise. It simplifies the surgery
and minimizes recovery time and pain. But that hasn't quelled the
debate: A portion of the cat's toes still has been removed.
Statistics on veterinary treatments other than rabies
vaccinations are hard to find, according to the American Veterinary
Medical Association. But the declawing surgery, while common, "has
slowly been considered less acceptable" in recent years, says Gail
C. Golab, director of animal welfare for the AVMA.
New research in animal behavior has led to other methods for
eliminating destructive scratching, she says. And anti-declaw
activists may be dissuading some veterinarians from offering the
procedure. One group lists the names of doctors who declaw in an
online "hall of shame."
Pet owners seeking hard facts about declawing - the technical
term is onychectomy - will find much conflicting data. Opponents
say cats are permanently disfigured, unable to walk properly, and
likely to suffer severe joint and back pain. They also mention high
rates of depression, aggressive biting and post-surgical
complications among declawed cats.
But according to the Humane Society on its Web site, "there is
just as much evidence to support the case against declawing as
there is research to support it, with some studies finding few or
only short-term adverse reactions to the surgery and others finding
medical complications and significant differences in behavior."
Anti-declawing activists say the procedure often causes cats to
refuse their litter boxes. But "there's not a cause and effect
relationship that's been demonstrated there," says Golab.
Both the AVMA and the Humane Society suggest that pet owners try
as many other options as possible before declawing. But neither
organization wants the procedure banned.
"In a situation where either the cat goes or the claws go,
there's so much at this point in terms of improved surgical
technique, with laser surgery and with pain control, that you
really can do the procedure with a minimal amount of discomfort to
the cat," says Golab. "I don't think there's any comparison
between cats enjoying a life in a household and putting them in a
shelter to avoid declawing."
Nancy Peterson, feral cat program manager for the Humane
Society, urges vets to educate cat owners about destructive
scratching.
"Cats start to scratch at a very early age, about 8 weeks or
so, which is often the age they're being adopted into a family,"
she says. "If that family, right from the get-go, is providing
acceptable scratching objects and making the couch or the chair not
so inviting," she says, it often solves the problem.
But Peterson says many vets reflexively offer surgery and give
little information about alternatives. "It has become so routine
that oftentimes a client will think, `Oh, this is just a routine
surgery. What could be wrong with it?"' she says. "Many people
don't realize exactly what this surgery is."
Johnson, though, realized fully. After exhausting other options,
she researched the procedure and even sought information on the
rate of depression among declawed cats. She then chose a
veterinarian with care, opting to drive two hours from home to use
a doctor she trusts.
She also bought extra treats to smooth her cats' recovery.
Declawing isn't something she wanted to do, but she's comfortable
with the decision and believes her cats will remain happy.
"They need to stay together," she says. "I've had people tell
me when I've mentioned declawing them things like, 'You should give
them up to a no-kill shelter' rather than declawing them. Why would
I put my cats into an environment where they'd be living in cages?
... They have a very loving home."
Before declawing, Johnson spent much of her free time spraying
the cats with canned air to stop their scratching. Now, she says,
those hours can be about play.
"We don't have children and don't plan to have children," she
says, "so they are our children."
---
On the Net:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet-care/cat-care/