Should You Declaw Your Cat?

What Are the Pros of Cat Declawing?

Cat declawing does have some obvious pros, including:

Prevent scratches on humans, including older adults or babies with sensitive, thinner skin
Prevent scratches on furniture, carpet, and other household surfaces
Prevent scratches and cuts on humans taking certain medications, including blood thinners, where cuts could present more issues than just discomfort

Sometimes people declaw their cat because it's been a common procedure for years, and it's just an automatic decision. Some cat parents might also worry if a new cat in their home with claws intact could be a danger to their current cats who are declawed.

A study from an Austin, Texas, animal shelter discovered that only 11.1% of cats were surrendered because of "destructive tendencies."2 Although cats were more often (56.9%) surrendered due to personal reasons (moving, medical issues of the adopter, or inability to afford basic care)2, the fact that cats are surrendered for destructive behavior at all, on the surface, seems like a last line argument for declawing.

What Are the Cons of Cat Declawing?

Over the past few decades, there has been more and more pushback on declawing. The original belief was that there were no consequences to declawing. Unfortunately, we now know that isn’t true. Aside from the post-operative pain and complications of toes opening up, research has uncovered some longterm complications with and consequences of declawing cats.