|
Many veterinarians do not explain the reality of the declawing operation
to cat owners. Physically, realistically, it is ten amputations. Moreover, it is ten complex amputations. The cat must remain under an anesthetic quite a long time. Anesthetizing a cat fore even a short time is, as everyone knows, chancy. The claw is harder to remove than the tip joint of all ten of your fingers because you do not retract your fingertip. Your fingertip is not set into the joint below in a complex fashion. A cat's claw is. Someone once described declawing to me as "cutting pieces out of animals' bodies for convenience." I was absolutely horrified by the starkness of the way she faced this reality. People prefer not to discuss this so graphically in polite company. I apologize to those who already know the reality for reminding you of it and for bringing into your conscious mind again something so painful. But I have met too many loving owners who were never told, or who had the operation misrepresented to them only to find out, perhaps years after it was done, the truth about what they had actually done to the animal they adored. There are several veterinarians in New York City who refuse to do the operation and are happy to explain why. The Physical effect of declawing is gradual weakening of the muscles of the legs, shoulders, and back. Balance is impaired. The cat is 75 percent defenseless. Cats don't defend themselves with their teeth, they defend themselves with their claws. The long-range effects are both physical and emotional. A declawed cat is, in reality, a clubfooted animal. He cannot walk normally but must forever after move with his weight back on the rear of his pads. Posture is irrevocably altered, and gone is the easeful grace that is his birthright. because they are defenseless, declawed cats live in a constant state of stress. This is very draining and, because of the constant stress, these cats a re more prone to disease. (See "Stress," page 197.) Declawed cats bite sooner and more often than cats that have their claws because they are more tense and nervous and because they no longer have their claws to use as a warning. The claws are their first lines of defense. With that gone, they must resort to desperate measures-- the use of their teeth. For that reason, a declawed cat is not one you would want to have around your children. Newborn kittens until the age of three weeks or so have not yet learned to retract their claws. But once cats have reached that age, they begin to have control of their claws and can be trained to use them on toys and the post but not on human flesh. I call the first eight months or so of a cat's life the rambunctious months. During this time kittens are learning to use that wonderful body nature has given them. Just as a little human baby uses his teeth on everything in site when he is teething, a kitten will try his claws on drapes, furniture, and everything within reach during the rambunctious months. Many cats are mutilated with a declawing operation at this time because owners don't realize that just as human babies eventually out grow the desire to chew on buttons and fingers, kittens grow out of their desire to claw everything and are easily satisfied with a workout on their scratching post. Declawed cats are much harder for a groomer or veterinarian to handle because of their nervous sate and their proclivity for using teeth. Cats use claws as a mode of expression. We humans have sounds and words and laughter, but cats say, "Mmmmm, this feels good" by gently kneading their claws. When I'm grooming cats, frequently they will say to me, "Hey, stop that, wait a minute" by hitting me with their claws when their patience is running out. They do not scratch or harm me in any way. They are simply making a strong statement. I know that "claws out," in this case, means that I have not listened when they tried to warn me with a meow or a wiggle. Cats are polite, they give a warning before they hurt you. If you declaw cats, you have taken away from them this means of being polite and giving warning first. In a way it could be likened to removing a person's larynx. Even if you promise that that person would always be protected, certainly never have to cry for help, even if you promise that that person would always have anything and everything that he might desire (and in real life you can never be sure you can fulfill such promises), still, the larynx is gone. The choice of communicating in the normal way is no longer that person's choice. Many times I have encountered owners who, after realizing what a declawing operation really means, vow never again to allow a cat of theirs to be declawed. Inevitably when they begin living with a normal cat they are amazed and enchanted by their pet's athletic prowess and grace and they point out to me how very unusual their cat is in this respect. I have to explain to them that their cat is simply normal. All cats leap and bound like super ballet dancers if their feet have not been mutilated. If you would like more information about claws and declawing, see "Claw and Cuticle Problems" on page 290 and the section "Foot and Claw Problems"in Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. From THE NEW NATURAL CAT by Anitra Frazier and Norma Eckroate, Copyright© 1981,1983,1 990 by Anitra Frazier and Norma Eckroate. Used by permission of Dutton, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc. |