In article ,
enlightened us with...
I would never declaw my cats now that I've learned more about it, but way
back when, we had our cat declawed because that was the only way they would
allow her in the apartment we were moving into, and we didn't realize at the
time how harmful it was, or that it was actually amputation. I always
thought she did pretty well, all considered, especially because she still
scratches, which I figured helps her to keep her muscles intact. But now I
read it's still not the same as the exercise gained from actually tugging
with the claws during scratching. What kind of personality changes can
declawing cause? She is about 17 now and living with my ex, but I was just
wondering, as she was always a little aloof since having a litter of kittens
(another mistake we made), and has always been a bit distant and prissy, but
I wonder how much the declawing thing may have affected her. It's probably
been about a decade now, give or take, and she seems to be a reasonably
healthy and contented cat, but I was just wondering, as she's the only cat I
ever had that's been declawed, and the only one that ever will be.


Declawing is like russian roulette. It doesn't do permanent damage to
every cat. In fact, more cats deal well with the handicap than not. It
depends on the cat, its personality, the competence of the vet, and
other factors. I've known declawed cats that it didn't hurt at all,
relatively speaking. And I've known declawed cats that were never the
same. The problem is, you never know until it's too late. And you can't
take it back.

As to what can it cause - nothing or everything. The cat may not be
affected at all. The cat may be in pain and become defensive, biting and
hiding. The cat may associate the pain of the normal scraping after
using the litterbox to the box itself and avoid it. The cat may feel
vulnerable and become either more reclusive or more aggressive. It
really depends on the cat. The cat may be fine for months or even years
until the abnormal walking pattern degenerates its joints and muscles.
Cats don't like to show that they are in pain, so the effect humans see
may just be a sedentary, grouchy cat. Rarely, vets do a chop job and
botch the surgery, causing the nails to partially grow through the skin
of the pads. This is one of the worst things that can happen and
thankfully is also not that common. But it happens.

You'll never know if your cat would have had the same personality or
not. I have three clawed cats, one of whom is a prissy, somewhat aloof
girl, the other two are affectionate cuddle monsters.

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~kaeli~
Black holes were created when God divided by 0.
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion
that life is serious.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
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