Question 19

What are the pros and cons of getting my cat de-clawed?

The problems with de-clawing:

1. It requires a surgery, with all the attendant risks of any surgery.

2. If the surgery is not performed correctly there are a myriad of painful medical problems that can develop, such as nails re-growing inside the paw, which prevent healing, increase pain, and often to lead to other behavioral changes like aggression, litter box issues and anti social behavior.3. It permanently limits the cat's ability to defend itself from threat or climb to heights necessary to avoid a threat.

It goes without saying that feral cats should NEVER be de-clawed for they rely for their survival on their claws. Nor should a housecat that also ventures outdoors.<p>

For these reasons, I don't recommend de-clawing and consider it a last resort. Why?
Because the benefits of a de-clawed cat are much more limited and can usually be achieved in less drastic ways. Basically, a de-clawed cat cannot scratch people or furnishings. These issues can be pretty successfully addressed with frequent nail trimming, training, alternative scratch site and toys, and products such as Soft Claws, vinyl caps that glue to your cats claws to protect against scratching. If someone has tried all this and the problem persists to the point where they are about to give up the cat, or turn it into an outdoor cat, exposed to threats of cars, coyotes, dogs and disease, at that point, I'd sooner see the cat properly de-clawed.