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To Declaw or Not to Declaw?By Tina Seay Page 1 |Page 2
Cats don't like the feeling of certain textures, which can work to your benefit. Textures such as plastic wrap and foil can be placed on your furniture to repel your cat.
If over a course of several weeks, all these ideas have been exhausted and have not given you any positive results, the next step could be declawing. Many groups such as PETA and Cat Fanciers Assoc. do not approve of declawing. They state that scratching is a natural behavior for cats. They scratch to groom their nails, mark their territory and, most importantly, to protect themselves. If you have a cat that may go outside, declawing should not be considered. It would put your cat in a very defenseless position; they couldn't claw to defend themselves or climb a tree to escape. Also, many times, when There are two types of declawing procedures. Onychectomy is the most common procedure in which the end toe joint (imagine your end finger joint to the finger tip) is amputated. It removes the entire claw. This surgery poses risks such as infection and pain for a week or more after the surgery. The wound site is closed by sutures or surgical glue then wrapped with gauze. Sometimes the glue can come apart causing bleeding. Cats usually don't keep the gauze on for long. They will bite and rub it off which further exposes the fresh wounds to infections. Cats also run the risk of infection each time they go into the litterbox due to dirt, litter, and feces entering into the wounds. The second form of declawing is a tendonectomy in which the tendon that attaches to the end toe digit is cut. The cat still has his claw but can't extend it. Healing time is quick with lessened postoperative pain. The claws still will grow and will need to be trimmed regularly. However, because the cat still has its claws, it will still try to use them. Again, trimming the nails will curb the damage done from clawing and will also prevent the nail from curling under and in growing into the kitties paw pads. A possible negative long-term effect is arthritis. Declawing should be the last resort when all the other possible means of curbing the destructive behavior have been exhausted. Page 1 |Page 2 Additional Reading:
About the Author: Tina Seay is the author and webmaster of http://www.ForTheCatLover.com a website for cats and the people who love them. Her other websites include http://www.LearnSomethingToday.com a website that promotes quality of life and YourWeddingStory.net a site that helps the whole bridal party get ready for a dream wedding. . Her goal is to help others achieve a happy healthy lifestyle.
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Tidbits & Stuff was born on Thursday, March 9, 2006
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If these behavior modifications don't work, you can purchase a product called Soft Claws that is a plastic covering that fits snugly over the claws and stay in place with glue. A 40-pack supply will last about 3 months. You will have to reapply the caps every few weeks because the cat's nail will still grow and pop the caps off. A similar product called Soft Paws is available through your vet as well if you don't feel up to the challenge of putting the caps on your cat.
cats defend themselves after being declawed, they resort to biting which can be even more unpleasant than the clawing.
