Where Best Friends Meet! The Truth behind Scratching, Declawing, and Shaping Your Cat’s Scratching Practice
“Declawing is an inhumane, unnecessary procedure that has many alternatives. It is never in the cat’s best interest. With declawing, we are interfering with a species’ nature because of our own whims, misconceptions, misinformation, and sometimes, laziness.”
--Neil C. Wolff, D.V.M.
Why do cats have to scratch?
Scratching is an instinctual form of communication that all cats use. The main reason cats scratch is to mark their territory. Cats have scent glands between their toes, which leave their distinct scent wherever they scratch. A scratched surface also visually announces a cat’s presence to everyone who sees it. Scratching is also hygienically important—it pulls off the sheath, which is the old outer layer of the cat’s nail, and is great exercise, particularly in stretching out the shoulders and spine, and keeping the cat limber and healthy. Because a cat’s foot is designed to keep the nails retracted, the scratching motion allows them to also stretch the tendons and muscles in their toes. And finally, and maybe most important, cats scratch when they’re feeling happy and upbeat because its fun!
What is declawing, and why is it so bad?
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Many people become frustrated about their cat’s scratching practice, and because they are uniformed about how to shape that practice, their first thought is to the inhumane procedure of declawing their cat. While many Americans see nothing wrong with the practice of declawing, the United States is actually one of the few countries in the global community that still lags behind in its attitude towards declawing. In many other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Brazil just to name a few, the practice of declawing is either illegal or in the process of being banned. Even in some counties of the state of California , declawing procedures are being brought under review and banned from practice.
Many organizations within the United States see declawing as an inhumane and cruel practice, such as Tree House Animal Foundation, The American Humane Association, The Humane Society of the United States, Friends of Animals (the national organization), and The International Society of Animal Rights . The reason declawing is seen as cruel and inhumane by these many countries, counties, and organizations is because declawing is actually multiple amputations of the claw digits in a cat paw (5 amputations per paw). There is no simple way to just “take out the nail or claw” – actual skin, tendon, nerve, and blood vessels have to be severed and removed from the paws. This is done because the claw actually grows from the bone, and the surgery is comparable to the amputation of human fingertips at the first knuckle. The following illustration shows exactly where the cut is made on each digit of the cat’s paw:
The possible outcomes of declawing your cat
After a declaw procedure, recovery from the surgery is a slow and painful process. And since cats are digitigrade (they walk on their toes) this procedure can hamper if not destroy the sensations, enjoyment, and natural activity involved in walking, running, springing, climbing, stretching, scratching, and using the litter box.
While you may think that getting your cat declawed will solve the scratching problems you are having, the fact is it can actually cause psychological and behavioral changes that will manifest if not shortly after the declaw procedure, then later on in the cat’s life. Numerous case studies confirm the fact that many cats suffer irreversible psychological damage when their natural defense system is removed. Veterinarians, feline behavior counselors, humane workers, and cat owners who have the opportunity to observe clawed and declawed cats in their home environments have noted that declawed cats often exhibit one or more of the following problems:
- Peculiar litter box preferences (e.g. smooth or soft surfaces) resulting in the cat using surfaces and items other than the litter box to urinate and defecate. This is called inappropriate elimination or litter box avoidance.
- Unprovoked biting.
- Impaired balance and agility.
- Extreme timidity, especially when strangers or other animals are present.
- Lack of playful and vigorous activity in adulthood, resulting in obesity. Obesity, in turn, often leads to several health problems such as arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and other heart- and organ-related illnesses.
Two of the saddest, but unfortunately not rare, developments that can manifest from declawing are: 1) The owner dumps the cat outside, or 2) The owner has the cat euthanized due to behavioral issues the cat develops after the declaw. Owners will take these options because they are frustrated and will not take the time to help solve the cat’s litter box issues, or do not know enough to help their cat overcome the issues that declawing has manifested. In either case the declawed cat loses – either its life through euthanasia, or it is out on the street with no defenses and will eventually die through a fight, the inability to escape a situation (because it can no longer climb to get away from a predator), or by contracting a contagious disease from another animal.
Alternatives to Declawing
There are many alternatives to declawing, and a knowledgeable veterinarian can help you explore these alternatives further. What follows is a short description of alternatives which work well, and can be used alone or in combination to help discourage the scratching behavior that may cause you to declaw your cat:
- Trim the nails frequently – weekly if necessary, depending on how fast the nails grow.
- Train or retrain your cat to use a scratching post. A post which has sisal on it is best to use. Not only do cats favor sisal posts, but a carpeted post can be too similar to the flooring and furniture textures in your home, thereby actually encouraging your cat to scratch the very surfaces you want to keep him away from. It is best to place the sisal post by the furniture or item your cat likes to scratch, and if this is an inconvenient place, you can try slowly moving it away from the furniture to a new location over time. You should keep it by the furniture for a few weeks if not months, to help the cat learn to use the post rather than your furniture or curtains.
- Use Sticky Paws, a double-sided tape especially made for discouraging inappropriate scratching, which will not harm your furniture. You apply this to the surfaces your cat likes to scratch (e.g. the side of your couch). When the cat goes to scratch at that area, their paws will feel the sticky texture and the cat will be discouraged from using the area to scratch. This option can work well in combination with a sisal post. If the sisal post is right by the place the cat used to scratch, the cat will see the sisal post as a positive alternative to the now-sticky-feeling couch.
- Attach a product called Sofa Savers, which is clear plastic that attaches to the corners of your sofa. Or for a more “homemade” version, you can apply a plastic runner that is usually put on top of carpets to protect them to the sides of your sofa instead. Make sure you have the knobby side up (the side that usually grabs “into” the carpet).
- Place a room freshener with a citrus scent (which most cats don’t like) near the item you do not want the cat to scratch. Just make certain the scratching post you DO want them to scratch isn’t too close to the air freshener, or it will discourage the cat from using the scratching post.
- Apply Soft Paws® directly to your cat’s nails. These are vinyl nail-shaped caps, which are glued to your cat’s nails and last approximately 1 – 1 ½ months, available through your veterinarian or pet store. They are highly suggested for homes with small children and are extremely useful for people who work all day and can't watch their cat so as to train it to use a scratching post. They come in clear or different colors, which have the added advantage of being more visible when one finally comes off. You can then just replace the worn one. This is an especially good solution while you are trying to “retrain” your cat to the appropriate area to scratch, or in the early years of having a baby. In most cases, however, Soft Paws® are not a lifelong solution.
Copyright 2005 by Tree House Animal Foundation. All rights reserved.
