Declawing Information and Links


Last updated: Saturday, January 08, 2005


According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 57 million cats live in homes across the United States. With four paws to a cat and four or five claws to a paw, billions of cat claws are within scratching distance of furniture, rugs, draperies, clothing, and other household goods. Many cat owners, frustrated by their cat's propensity for scratching, banish the cat outdoors rather than subject valued furniture and possessions to damage. Others may give their cat away to friends, neighbors, or the local animal shelter. Some may even resort to having their cat declawed. Is a battle between the cat's itch to scratch and a household's need to be preserved inevitable? Must you sacrifice couches, chairs, and rugs to the resident feline?

Thankfully, the answer is no. Although it takes work to deal with the natural feline desire to scratch, success stories are plentiful and include the cat, the claws, and the happy owner.

It's important for all cat owners to understand exactly what scratching means to a cat and to realize that it is a perfectly normal feline expression, rather than a personal attack. "Some cat owners may think that a cat who scratches is displaying unhappiness or restlessness," explains Melanie Adcock, D.V.M., HSUS director of Farm Animal Protection. "In reality, she is simply expressing a natural behavior, much like stretching, yawning, and grooming." Through scratching, a cat is conditioning claws, stretching front limbs, and marking "property." Some cats scratch as a way to say hello when their owner enters a room. No one really knows why some cats use this form of expression more frequently than do others. A cat may scratch once a day or 10 times a day or prefer one type of surface to another; in any case, the cat is exhibiting a perfectly normal and natural behavior. The key to controlling a cat's scratching is not to focus on eliminating the behavior, but rather to redirect where the behavior is being exhibited. "Once the cat owner realizes that a cat needs to scratch and that a cat can be taught where to scratch, he or she is halfway down the road to solving the problem," Dr. Adcock says.

Just like dogs, cats need to be taught the rules of the house. To a cat entering a new household, all surfaces, including rugs, chairs, and sofas, look like potential (and inviting) scratching areas. Since scratching is as natural as rubbing up against furniture, a cat assumes that both behaviors are equally acceptable. A cat needs to be taught where to scratch, and with proper teaching and training, these places will become preferable to other ones.

Naturalness notwithstanding, there are many times when it seems a cat's favorite scratching place is that expensive couch in the living room. The first question you should ask may seem obvious: Does the cat have an alternate place to scratch, such as a scratching post? If not, the problem may be solved by purchasing or constructing a scratching post or board. "Many cat owners who contact The HSUS with cat-scratching problems don't realize that their cat has to have someplace to scratch; by not providing a scratching post, any object in the owner's home is fair game," explains Janet Hornreich, HSUS associate for Companion Animal Care.

Determine your cat's favorite scratching surface and scratching-post materials. Many cats are finicky not only about what they eat, but also about what and where they scratch. Some cats love to scratch wood but reject carpet, which is, ironically, the covering used for many commercially made scratching posts. Other cats prefer a tall and sturdy scratching surface that allows stretching of the entire body. Some cats prefer the scratching posts, made out of corrugated cardboard, that lie flat on the floor. Sisal rope and the back of old carpet fragments are also enticing. (Using the carpet's pile side may confuse a cat who is discouraged from scratching carpet on the floors of the home.) Until a cat is given a satisfactory alternative, however, a sofa, chair, or rug may become the scratching object of choice.

Offer positive reinforcement for appropriate scratching and discourage scratching in areas that are off-limits. Once you determine the type of surface and structure your cat prefers, training can begin. You must be consistent (without consistency, training will be virtually impossible); you must be firm; and you must be supportive, providing plenty of praise for "correct" scratching. The preferred scratching place must be the most enticing -- from the cat's perspective -- in the entire house, the place where your cat sleeps, eats, or plays. Rubbing catnip on the post can help. Gently moving the cat's paws up and down the post in a scratching motion while offering praise is another positive method of training. (This is especially effective immediately after a cat has been sharpening claws on a favorite living-room piece.)

There are many ways you can discourage your cat from scratching your prized possessions. Temporarily placing aluminum foil, double-sided sticky tape, or inflated balloons in the contested areas can help deter a cat from scratching. Loosely covering ends of sofas or backs of chairs with cotton throws can also help. Other deterrents can include a spray from a water spritzer when you catch your cat in the act (not later). Simply moving furniture from a preferred sunning or snoozing spot may make the piece less appealing.

Your cat doesn't know it, but scratching serves an important function -- it removes the old and loose layers of claw and exposes the healthy new claw underneath. Regular clipping sessions will decrease the need for this claw upkeep. Clipped nails will also cause much less damage if a cat strays from the designated scratching place. If you are unsure how to trim your cat's nails, ask your veterinarian to show you. Most cats aren't crazy about having their paws held and their claws clipped. You can make it easier by familiarizing your cat with the process early on. By just touching and holding a cat's paws, you can acclimate your cat to such handling. By the time the cat is comfortable enough for claw trimming, it won't be such a struggle. After gently holding your cat's paws, offer a reward of a small treat or catnip. Once a cat is used to paw holding, clip just one claw at a sitting. Using human fingernail clippers or specially designed cat-claw clippers (found in pet supply stores), clip just the transparent tip from the claw. Be especially careful not to clip the quick of the nail, which is pink; this can cause bleeding. If this happens, use a styptic pencil to stop the bleeding. It's a good idea to clip claws when your cat is relaxed. Once one or more claws have been done, clipping comes more easily to both of you, and you can clip both the front paws and the back paws in very little time. This ritual should be performed once a week.

Too often people lose patience with the clawing challenge and ask their veterinarian to declaw their cat. Unfortunately, the procedure is seen by many cat owners as routine. This is far from true. If you are considering declawing, you should be aware that the procedure involves surgery (called an onychectomy) in which the entire claw and end bone of each toe are amputated. It is a highly controversial operation whose physical and psychological effects are in dispute. Any surgical procedure presents risks, and declawing is no different. Think long and hard about whether such a procedure is really necessary for your cat. Have you made an effort to redirect scratching habits or is the surgery solely for your convenience? Cats should be given every chance to learn proper scratching habits. Declawing should be the very last option.

To a cat, claws aren't destructive. They are essential body parts, part of what makes a cat a cat. Cats who are banished outside because their scratching can't be tolerated not only face outdoor dangers and live shorter lives, but they also spend less time bonding with their human companions. (Although The HSUS recommends that all cats live indoors, it is essential that declawed cats never be allowed outdoors.) By allowing your cat to keep those claws and by teaching proper scratching places, you will be truly accepting your cat as a marvelous creature, claws and all.

By Rachel Lamb


If you're still thinking of declawing a cat, please take the time to read these links first.

  • Stop Your Cat From Scratching Your Furniture Without Declawing -Dr. Christianne Schelling
  • Scratching Furniture -Perfect Paws
  • DECLAWING CATS: Issues & Alternatives -Amby's
  • Helping Your Cats Claw Their Way to Success -Paws
  • Destructive Scratching in Cats -Denver Dumb Friends League
  • Scratching, nail trimming and declawing -Champaign County Humane Society
  • Trimming Claws -Cindy Tittle Moore
  • Instructions for Building Scratching Posts & Cat Trees -Amby's
  • How To Build A Scratching Post -Cats International
  • Destructive Scratching -The Humane Society of the United States
  • Declawing Cats: More Than Just a Manicure -The Humane Society of the United States
  • The Problems With Declawing -Paws
  • Declawing Cats -Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
  • Declawing Cats: Making a Humane Decision -Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
  • Declawing -The Humane Society of Delaware County
  • Declawing of Cats -CFA Guidance Statement
  • The Truth About Declawing -Cats International
  • The Facts About Declawing� (Feline Digital Amputation - Onychectomy) -Max's House
  • De-claw your cat? -Safe Haven For Cats
  • Declawing and Its Alternatives -Cats Only Home Page
  • You Can't Declaw with Love -By Paul Rowen, D. V M., Carole Wilbourn
  • Declawing is not recommended -Defiant Breeders
  • Paws Come With Claws - That's One Of Natures Laws -by Friends of Animals
  • Declawing: A Veterinarian's View -by Dr. Christianne Schelling
  • Is Declawing Cruel? -By Suzanne Bucciarelli
  • Soft Paws: An effective, safe and humane alternative to declawing. -Soft Paws
  • Soft Paws FAQ's -Soft Paws

  • Return to Jeff and Diane's Cat House

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