Onychectomy
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Onychectomy, popularly known as declawing, is an operation to remove an animal's
claws A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...
surgically by means of the
amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
of all or part of the
distal phalanges The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. ...
, or end bones, of the animal's toes. Because the claw develops from germinal tissue within the third phalanx, amputation of the bone is necessary to fully remove the claw. The terms ''onychectomy'' (origin: Greek , 'nail' + , 'excision') and ''declawing'' imply mere claw removal, but a more appropriate description would be ''phalangectomy'', excision of toe bone. Declawing is considered an act of
animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or Injury, harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...
in many countries (see "Declawing practices" below) as it causes physical and psychological suffering to the animal. Although declawing used to be more common in North America, it has less popular acceptance, and has been banned in New York in 2019 and Maryland in 2022 and is more widely considered to be an act of animal cruelty.


Medically indicated onychectomy

The amputation of the distal phalanx is indicated in case of chronic inflammatory processes, tumours, persistent and severe infections and gangrene that are limited to the distal phalanx. The procedure is usually limited to the affected claw, leaving the healthy claws (if any) intact.


Elective onychectomy

In North America, declawing is commonly performed on cats to prevent damage to household possessions by scratching and to prevent scratching of people. The surgery involves amputating the distal phalanges of all toes on the front paws, and sometimes the rear paws as well. Although no precise figures are available, peer-reviewed veterinary journal articles estimate that approximately 25% of domestic cats in North America have been declawed. Some privately owned apartment buildings in the U.S. ban cats unless they have been declawed. This is not the case in publicly subsidized housing, however, because in 2007 the U.S. Congress enacted legislation that forbids public housing authorities from having such rules. Laws have been passed in California (2012) and Rhode Island (2013) that ban landlords from requiring the declawing of cats as a condition of occupancy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control does not recommend declawing. Similarly, the National Institute of Health (NIH) suggests avoiding rough play.


Methods

Despite the prevalence of elective onychectomy in North America, no standard practices exist regarding the surgical techniques or surgical tools used, the administration of post-operative analgesics or other follow-up care, or the optimal age or other attributes of cats undergoing the procedure. There are three surgical methods: scalpel blade, guillotine trimmers, and laser. No technique or method has been proven to eliminate the many complications associated with declawing. The International Society of Feline Medicine states that "Even if future improvements in surgical techniques can negate some of the adverse effects associated with declawing, iCatCare and ISFM believe this procedure is unethical other than if required to manage a medical condition and should be banned."


Recovery, health and behavioral effects

Onychectomy is an orthopedic surgery involving one (or more) separate phalangeal amputations, which requires general anesthesia and multi-modal pain management before, during, and after surgery. A 2018 study by Martell-Moran, et al found, in a study of 274 cats, that "declawing cats increases the risk of unwanted behaviors and may increase risk for developing back pain. Evidence of inadequate surgical technique was common in the study population. Among declawed cats, retained P3 fragments further increased the risk of developing back pain and adverse behaviors. The use of optimal surgical technique does not eliminate the risk of adverse behavior subsequent to onychectomy." The study found that inappropriate toileting, biting, aggression and overgrooming occurred significantly more often in the declawed cats than the non-declawed cats (roughly seven, four, three and three times more often, respectively, based on the calculated odds ratio). A declawed cat was also almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with back pain than a non-declawed cat (potentially due to shortening of the declawed limb and altered gait, and/or chronic pain at the site of the surgery causing compensatory weight shift to the pelvic limbs). In a survey of 276 cat owners, 34% reported post-surgical discomfort in their cats while 78% reported primarily tenderness. Recovery time took from three days to two weeks. Increased biting strength or frequency was reported in 4% of cats, but overall, 96% of owners were satisfied with the surgery. Some other studies found lameness after onychectomy lasting >3 days, >1 week, 8 days, > 12 days, 180 days, and 96 months. At one veterinary teaching hospital, between 50 and 80% of cats had one or more medical complications post-surgery; 19.8% developed complications after release. Other studies have reported medical post-op complication rates as 24% (Jankowski 1998), 53% (Martinez 1993), 1.4% (Pollari 1996), 82.5% for blade and 51.5% for shear technique (Tobias 1994), and 80% (Yeon 2001). Reported medical complications include: pain, hemorrhage, laceration of paw pads, swelling, reluctance to bear weight on affected limb, neuropraxia (transient motor paralysis), radial nerve damage, lameness, infection, abscess, tissue necrosis, wound dehiscence, incomplete healing, protrusion of 2nd (middle) phalanx, claw regrowth, scurs (growth of deformed claw segments), retention of flexor process of third phalanx, chronic draining tracts, self-mutilation, dermatitis, lethargy, palmigrade stance (walking on wrists), chronic intermittent lameness, chronic pain syndrome, flexor tendon contracture, and cystitis (stress-associated bladder inflammation). Claw regrowth has been seen by veterinarians anywhere from weeks up to 15 years after onychectomy. In post-operation follow ups Yeon, et al. (2001) found six of thirty-nine cats (15%~) were house soiling and seven (18%) had increased biting frequency or intensity. The authors concluded based on this and previous studies that "behavioral problems following onychectomy were not pronounced". Follow-ups in this study were conducted an average of eleven and a half months after surgery. Behavior problems are a primary cause of cats being relinquished to shelters. Proponents of declawing argue that declawing reduces undesired behaviors (scratching) and thus reduces the likelihood of relinquishment. Opponents of declawing argue the surgery itself creates more behavioral problems leading to relinquishment of cats. A study by Patronek et al. (1996) found in a univariate analysis that declawed cats were only 63% as likely to be relinquished as non-declawed cats. A multivariate analysis conducted in the same study shows odds of being relinquished to a shelter were 89% higher for declawed cats. The authors concluded that the conflicting results of the two analyses made it difficult to interpret the effects of declawing. In a shelter setting, more declawed cats were reported by their owners to have problems with inappropriate elimination (house soiling). However, this study ultimately found no association between the declaw status of cats and their aggression towards humans or frequency of inappropriate elimination (house soiling). In another study, 16% of declawed cats developed behavior problems (12% biting), and more declawed (55%) than clawed (45%) cats were referred to a vet teaching hospital for behavior problems. This was the second-longest follow-up period (2 years) ever examined. Patronek, Glickman and Beck (1996) found no association between the declaw status of cats and the frequency of inappropriate elimination (house soiling). In another study of 275 cats, 11 cats (4%) developed or had worse behavior problems post-declawing; 5 clients (less than 1%) reported that their cats had developed litterbox and biting problems. Chronic pain syndrome of onychectomy has been described by a pain management specialist as leading to unwanted behaviors, including increased aggression. A prospective study comparing declawing with tendonectomy noted many medical as well as behavior complications. An internet survey found that declawed cats were more likely to jump on tables and counters and house-soiled more than non-declawed cats (25% vs. 15%).


Declawing practices

Laws and policies governing onychectomy vary around the world. For example, many
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an countries prohibit or significantly restrict the practice, as do
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is banned in at least 22 countries. The list below gives an overview of the situation in different parts of the world.


Australia

In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the practice of declawing is regulated at state level and there is a ban on the procedure in certain states, though not in New South Wales, where onychectomy is allowed in limited circumstance as an alternative to euthanasia. The Australian Veterinary Association's policy states: "Surgical alteration to the natural state of an animal is acceptable only if it is necessary for the health and welfare of the animal concerned. Performance of any surgical procedure for other than legitimate medical reasons is unacceptable."


Brazil

In
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, declawing is not allowed by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine.''


Canada

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association officially opposes the practice of declawing, stating "We strongly oppose (declawing) because from an ethical viewpoint, the surgery is unacceptable. It offers no advantage to the cat" and that "It is evident that felines suffer needlessly when undergoing this surgery as an elective measure". However it is up to the veterinary regulators in each province to ban the practice. Declawing has been banned by the Veterinary Associations of all provinces except for Ontario. All Canadian prohibitions still allow for declawing-type procedures in the case of medical necessity to treat an injury, deformity or pathology affecting the animal. That being said, these cases often only affect one digit, not all digits on all paws.


Israel

In
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the Knesset Education Committee voted unanimously to send a bill banning the declawing of cats for non-medical reasons. The bill has passed second and third readings on November 28, 2011, effectively making declawing a criminal offense with penalty of one year in prison or a fine of 75,000 shekels.


Europe

In many European countries the practice is forbidden either under the terms of the
European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals The European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals is a treaty of the Council of Europe to promote the welfare of pet animals and ensure minimum standards for their treatment and protection. The treaty was signed in 1987 and became effecti ...
or under local animal abuse laws, unless it is for "veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of any particular animal". Some European countries go further, such as
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where declawing cats for non-medical reasons is always illegal under their laws against
cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...
.


Austria

In
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, the Federal Act on the Protection of Animals, in Section 7, states, surgical procedures "carried out for other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes ... are prohibited, in particular ... declawing."


United Kingdom

In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, declawing was outlawed by the
Animal Welfare Act 2006 The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (c 45) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Overview It is the first signing of pet law since the Protection of Animals Act 1911, which it largely replaced. It also superseded and consolidated more tha ...
, which explicitly prohibited "interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of the animal, otherwise than for the purposes of its medical treatment." Even before the 2006 Act, however, declawing was extremely uncommon, to the extent that most people had never seen a declawed cat. The procedure was considered cruel by almost all British vets, who refused to perform it except on medical grounds. The ''Guide to Professional Conduct'' of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the v ...
stated that declawing was "only acceptable where, in the opinion of the veterinary surgeon, injury to the animal is likely to occur during normal activity. It is not acceptable if carried out for the convenience of the owner ... the removal of claws, particularly those which are
weight bearing In orthopedics, weight-bearing is the amount of weight a patient puts on an injured body part. Generally, it refers to a leg, ankle or foot that has been fractured or upon which surgery has been performed, but the term can also be used to refer to ...
, to preclude damage to furnishings is not acceptable."


United States

Declawing was outlawed in
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
, California, in 2003, the first such ban in the U.S. The ordinance was authored by West Hollywood Councilmember
John Duran John J. Duran is an American municipal politician and a former mayor of West Hollywood, California. Political career Duran was elected to the City Council on March 6, 2001. He succeeded outgoing City Council member Paul Koretz, who was elected to ...
and sponsored by
The Paw Project ''The Paw Project'' is a 2013 documentary film that focuses on the declawing of both exotic and domesticated cats in the United States. The film follows the crusade of veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad, who campaigns to have declawing bans enacted i ...
, a non-profit organization started by Dr. Jennifer Conrad based in Santa Monica, California. The California Veterinary Medical Association challenged the law in court. The CVMA maintained that West Hollywood had overstepped its municipal authority by enacting an ordinance that infringed on licensed professionals' state-granted rights. It did not directly address declawing as an animal welfare issue. The CVMA initially prevailed in Superior Court, but in June 2007, the
California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.
overturned the lower court ruling, thus reinstating the law banning declawing in West Hollywood. In 2004, California became the first state in the U.S. to enact a statewide ban on the declawing of wild and exotic cats. The bill was introduced by California Assemblymember Paul Koretz and sponsored by the Paw Project. In 2006, the
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
enacted a ban on declawing of all wild and exotic animals held by USDA-licensed owners. In April 2007, the city of
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, the city of the headquarters of PETA, initially outlawed declawing, but the law was amended immediately to prohibit declawing only by persons other than veterinarians (Municipal Code Sec. 6.1-78.1). In 2009, the California state legislature approved a measure, sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), intended to stop other cities from passing bans similar to West Hollywood's. The bill included all professions licensed by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, and it was signed into law by the Governor in July 2009. However, the law's effective date, January 1, 2010, provided enough time for seven more California cities to pass Paw Project-sponsored local bans against the declawing of domestic cats:
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Burbank,
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
,
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
,
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, and
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
. In 2012, a California bill, authored by Senator
Fran Pavley Frances J. "Fran" Pavley (born November 11, 1948) is an American politician who served two terms in the California State Senate and three terms in the California State Assembly. A Democrat, she last represented the 27th Senate District, which e ...
and sponsored by the Paw Project, was signed into law that prohibits landlords from requiring declawing and devocalization of animals as a condition of tenancy. In 2013, the state of Rhode Island enacted a law, similar to the California law, prohibiting landlords from requiring declawing as a condition of occupancy.
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, approved the first ban on declawing in a U.S. city outside California in November 2017. The effort was spearheaded by Aubrey Lavizzo, DVM, a veterinarian and Paw Project-Colorado Director. The ordinance was introduced by Denver City Councilmember Kendra Black. On July 22, 2019, New York became the first state to ban declawing except if necessary to treat a medical condition in the cat. In February 2020, Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl veterinary clinics announced that they would no longer offer elective declawing of cats. The decision applied to the over 2000 clinics in the US and Canada operated by Mars Veterinary Health, which employs over 10,000 veterinarians. Mars Veterinary Health is the largest owner of veterinary clinics in the United States and Canada. Dr. Jennifer Welser, Mars chief medical and quality officer, explained the decision in a statement: "At Mars Veterinary Health, we believe every pet deserves a safe, loving and supportive home that enables appropriate expression of natural behaviors. After careful consideration, medical leadership aligned on a new declaw position, and elective declaw surgery is no longer offered at U.S. Mars Veterinary Health practices." The veterinarian-run, nonprofit organization Paw Project maintains a list of veterinary hospitals and clinics that will not offer declawing.


Ethical viewpoints on declawing in the US

Declawing is widely practiced but ethically controversial within the American veterinary community. Some American and Canadian veterinarians endorse the procedure, while some have criticized and refused to perform it. Two animal protection organizations in the U.S., the
Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
and the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...
, discourage the procedure. The Humane Society of the United States has supported legislation banning or restricting declawing. Multiple surveys and polls taken from 2011 reveal that the majority of U.S. cat owners are against declawing, believing the practice to be cruel. These surveys also suggest that the U.S. public believes that the majority of veterinarians who perform declawings only do so because it is a lucrative practice. The founder and director of the nonprofit Paw Project, Dr. Jennifer Conrad, was presented with the 2019 Gordon Stull Lifetime Achievement Award by the Humane Society Veterinary Medical association for her dedication to the ban of cat declawing. The Paw Project’s stated mission is to educate the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, to promote animal welfare through the abolition of the practice of declaw surgery, and to rehabilitate cats that have been declawed. The Paw Project has over forty veterinarian directors representing states and provinces in the US and Canada. Opposition to attempts to ban or restrict declawing has come from veterinary trade organizations, such as the California Veterinary Medical Association. On the other hand, the
American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 99,500 veterinarians in the US. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicatio ...
states that declawing "should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents a
zoonotic A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...
risk for its owner(s)." Surveys suggest that 95% of declaw surgeries are done to protect furniture.


Alternatives to declawing


Surgical

Tendonectomy Tendonectomy is the surgical cutting of tendons, and is generally only practiced in veterinary medicine. In cats Performing a tendonectomy on a cat is an alternative to onychectomy Onychectomy, popularly known as declawing, is an operation ...
involves cutting the deep digital flexor tendon of each claw, resulting in the cat being unable to move its distal phalanges. Without the ability to expose its claws, the cat is unable to wear down or groom its claws. For this reason, the cat subsequently requires regular nail clippings to prevent its claws from growing into its paw pads. A 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association comparing cats undergoing onychectomy to cats undergoing tendonectomy found that, although the cats undergoing tendonectomy appeared to suffer less pain immediately post-operatively, there was no significant difference in postoperative lameness, bleeding, or infection between the two groups. A 2005 study found no evidence that tendonectomy is less painful than onychectomy. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) (french: Association canadienne des médecins vétérinaires, ACMV), founded in 1876, provides leadership on national veterinary issues, advocates for animal welfare, and works to encourage life b ...
explicitly do not recommend this surgery as an alternative to declawing.


Non-surgical

According to board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Gary Landsberg, "For most cats, appropriate client advice and a little effort is all that is needed to prevent scratching problems." However, many veterinary practitioners are unwilling or unable to offer solutions to behavioral problems such as scratching, other than declawing. A non-surgical alternative to declawing is the application of vinyl nail caps that are affixed to the claws with nontoxic glue, requiring periodic replacement when the cat sheds its claw sheaths (usually every four to six weeks, depending on the cat's scratching habits). Other alternatives include regular nail trimming; directing scratching behavior to inexpensive cardboard scratchers or
scratching post A scratching post is a wooden post covered in rough material that cat owners provide so their pets have an acceptable place to scratch. Cats have a natural urge to scratch: the action helps them remove old material from their claws, and they mar ...
s, or emery scratching pads that dull the claws; rotary sanding devices; covering furniture or using double-sided sticky tape or sheets such as Sticky Paws; remote aversive devices such as Scat Mats; or acceptance of cats' scratching behavior.


See also

*
Overview of discretionary invasive procedures on animals Numerous procedures performed on domestic animals are usually more invasive than purely cosmetic alterations, but differ from types of veterinary surgery that are performed exclusively for urgent health reasons. Such procedures have been grouped ...
*
Veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
* ''The Paw Project'' (film) *
Veterinary ethics Veterinary ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgements to the practice of veterinary medicine. As a scholarly discipline, veterinary ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on it ...


References


External links


Studies Pertaining to Feline Onychectomy
A summary of various studies and surveys *
Declawing and Its Alternatives
' from The Pet Health Library
"Indoor Cats, Scratching, and the Debate over Declawing: When Normal Pet Behavior Becomes a Problem."
fro

Humane Society Press.
The Paw Project
Non-profit anti-declawing advocacy group

anti-declawing site

Includes an anatomical chart for better understanding of the declaw procedure.
Declawing Alternatives
Alternatives to declawing. {{Cat nav Cat health Dog health Animal welfare Veterinary procedures Cruelty to animals