Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Declawing Your Cat? - Things You Should Know

Scratching is a natural cat behavior.
Unfortunately, the often liberal use of a cat's
claws can lead to a certain amount of damage to
things around the house. Often, cat owners who
are worried about the furniture will take the cat
to be declawed. Most cat owners do not actually
understand just what the implications of
declawing their cat may be.

When you take your cat to the veterinarian to be
declawed, there are several different techniques
that may be used. Regardless of the method, the
outcome is the same: the bones towards the end of
the cat's toes connecting the claws will be
surgically removed. These bones are where a
cat's claws are attached, and by removing the
bone, the claw is also removed.

Veterinary research has indicated that cats may
experience a great deal pain during the operation
and certainly after it as well. So far, there is
no studies to confirm the degree of pain the cat
is suffering from, however many owners have
observed that their cats refusal to put weight on
their declawed paws. A cat may continue to
experience pain in the paws for days afterward.

Based on the above, why would a cat owner choose
to declaw his cat? One of the most common
reasons is the damages that the cat has inflicted
to properties, or worse people. But what many
pet owners don't realize is that scratching is a
very normal behavior for cats. It serves several
purposes:

- Defending against predators
- Marking territory (Some studies have shown that
cats may have scent glands in their paws)
- Strengthening leg and back muscles
- Removing old tissue from the claw

Even if a cat is successfully declawed with
limited pain, the lack of claws and bone may
result in poor balance, a weakening of muscles,
and in many cases distress as the cat realizes it
can no longer scratch. Many cat owners reported
that their declawed cats developed behavioral
issues and refuse to use the litter box.

Further risks do come with declawing. A cat may
respond poorly to medications it is given, the
surgery could be performed improperly;
hemorrhaging might be one of the problems that
led to profuse bleeding. Some cases of paralysis
due to tourniquet use have been reported as have
incidents of increased disease brought on by
stress and reduced immune system function.

Luckily, there are a couple of solutions to help
a cat who loves to scratch. The best option is
simply to train your cat not to scratch on
anything but special surface, like a scratching
post. Most cat owners do not know that they can
train a cat too. Using rewards and positive
reinforcement is often effective in getting a cat
to avoid certain behaviors.

Another option is simply to keep your cats claws
clipped regularly. This might not be feasible
for all cat owners as cats generally do not like
to trim their nails and most owners have
difficulties doing so. This method does not
entirely fix the problem as it simply lessen the
damages.

You may also decide to apply nail caps to your
cat's claws. These plastic caps need to be
replaced every month or so, and will only reduce
the damage your cat might do to your property or
person.

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