Retired now, Malcolm  was a veterinarian at Woods Humane Society from 2005 to 2012. He still resides in Morro Bay where he has found geographic fulfillment. Pictured here with his new side kick 'Annie' -  born last November - they are both from Woods Humane Society. Contact Malcolm

Let's Get the Kitty Declawed - Or Not

by Malcolm Riordan 

Chloe

Very often an owner's request to declaw their cat will fall by the wayside simply with the information that declawing is not something we, as veterinarians, do automatically or even routinely.

More minds change upon hearing the description of the declaw procedure – that it is a surgery under general anesthesia that involves amputation of all ten (front only) nails including the unit of bone tissue from which the nails grow.

Essentially it is an amputation of the finger tips by disarticulation, removal down to the first knuckle/joint.  No bone is cut or severed in the procedure - the first phalange of each front digit is removed (the tip end segment of each 'finger'). This small bone with the claw growing of it both grows out and anchors each of the awesome feline claws. Many folks are no longer motivated to declaw their kitty once they appreciate the physical/anatomical extent of the procedure.

Still more cat owners considering declawing will bail out upon realizing that after the procedure their cat would stay in hospital for 48 hours to monitor the bandages applied to prevent bleeding as well as to protect all ten healing areas. Being in a cage also restricts activity for those first 48 hours. Folks begin to suspect the cost of general anesthesia, surgery, anti-inflammatory and pain control medications, antibiotics, two or three days of hospitalization and so forth is not what they had in mind . . . "Gosh this isn't casual or cheap" . . . and they are right. It's neither.

The great weeding out of the initial notion to declaw kitty continues when we get down to the part about why it is that they want their cat declawed. A devilish kitten is raking skin or other personal property? Here it is time to discuss a few basic ideas of shaping or redirecting behavior, and to realize that a few months of maturing will decrease the intensity of these jihadist kittens and their claws. A young adult cat persists in shredding skin and other property? Then let's provide appropriate surfaces to terrorize, such as scratching posts or horizontal flat boards, and perhaps substitute/introduce some of those way fun cat-attack-play toys, the kind at the end of a rod or string. But the cat is scratching my child! If your child is not a fast learner on that, perhaps you may have to turn attention on to education of the victim. Seriously, teaching a child how to interact with pets is among the important lessons of life.

A fair number of would-be-declawers of their cat open to the idea of keeping the offending cat's nails trimmed, say every two or three weeks. Most owners can learn to do this at home after a couple sessions of observation with instruction while having it done by staff at the veterinary clinic. Further, some cat owners see the appeal of the available cat claw caps (Soft Paws – originally clear soft plastic nail caps, now available in an array of colors) Glue is placed into the cap before pushing a cap onto each trimmed nail. These are later replaced when they fall off as the nails grow out. Again, most owners can learn the skills in a couple of scheduled visits to their veterinary clinic to have the nail caps put on.

Willing cat owners can pick up on the nature of these various ideas that avoid the need to declaw their cat. Incorporating a few or even one of these ideas can be an alternate solution to the perceived need to have their cat de-clawed. Most cat owners find that it is actually possible to finesse their kitty into a peaceful yet still clawed coexistence, armed neutrality.

Beyond the shred of a doubt, there are feisty felines who are sharply and most pointedly unwilling to participate in these routine solutions mentioned here. Once we have narrowed the field of cat owners wanting their cat de-clawed down to a group with top-claw, bad actor, fractious felines that still shred skin or property, there still remains a cunning array of counter-terrorism techniques, deterrents and improvised devices that can - automatically in some cases - provide unpleasant consequences when a cat claws furniture: startling noise, a surprise dose of water, mini static-electricity shocks, etc.  Again, a number of willing, imaginative and committed cat owners are still able to circumvent a need to declaw even when we're down to certain dearly beloved yet devil-possessed cats.

In the course of pre-op consultation, which most veterinarians require, a small number of unredeemable cats stand out as egregious claw deployment specialists and the when the behavior of these relatively few cats gets to the point of being a  real challenge to the human-animal bond – these cats are certainly valid candidates for surgical declawing.

Importantly, and coming from a different angle are the cats that become legitimate declaw candidates in situations where the owner or another person in the home is immune-compromised by disease, viral infection, chemotherapy, the natural aging process or so on, to a degree where even a few – or any – cat scratch injuries can present unacceptable human health risk.

After careful patient selection, and in such dire straits as mentioned here, most veterinarians are willing (and have the surgical skill) to perform the veterinary service of declawing kitty for these earnest cat owners who feel desperate to preserve their relationship with their cat.

Woods Rafter Cat Image on Banner by Malcolm Riordan.

News, Editorials, and Commentary —Enns Blames Morro Bay for No Wastewater Plant —Mayor Irons Resigns from Power Plant Job —Rise in Tax Receipts Bolsters Momentum of Morro Bay Tourism Efforts Town Business —Community Events —Morro Bay Library	Slo Coast Arts —Atascadero Writers Group —The Elements of Life —Frustrated Local Writer —Genie's Pocket —Great Shots —Mostly Music —One Poet's Perspective —Opera SLO —Practicing Poetic Justice —Shutterbugs	Slo Coast Life —Ask the Doc —Best Friends —Beyond the Badge —Coastland Contemplations —Dear Abe —Double Vision —Feel Better Forever —Go Green —The Human Condition —One Cool Earth —A Roe Adventure —Surfing Through Life	It's Our Nature —A Bird's Eye View —California State Parks —Elfin Forest —Marine Sanctuaries The Business of the Journal —About Us —Archives —Letters to the Editor —Stan's Place —Writers Index

All content copyright Slo Coast Journal and Malcolm Riordan. Do not use without express written permission.