Claws At Risk
De-clawing your cat is not a simple procedure as many think. There are plenty of risks involved when you decide to de-claw your cat.
De-clawing your cat is a surgery that requires your cat to go under anesthesia. When an animal or human is put under anesthesia there are many risks that are involved. Allergic reactions to the anesthesia can happen to animals just as well as humans. However, with a cat or other animal it may not be as easily noticed and other problems can occur with your cat. While under anesthesia your cat may have too little or even too much oxygen circulating throughout their body which can cause them to have other bad reactions during surgery or even die.
De-clawing involves many risks to your cat.
After the de-clawing surgery your cat may have a problem with the bleeding or even hemorrhage. This can lead to lifelong health problems or possible death for your cat. Cats cannot converse with you or the vet to let you know where the problems lay like a human is able to which leads to many things being overlooked until it is too late to fix any of the problems.
Cats that have been de-clawed are more prone to depression. This is because they may feel they have no way to protect them anymore and are in fact fearful. Depressed animals become more prone to diseases and attackers.
If the de-clawing surgery is not done well your cat may end up having to go through surgery again. Sometimes the claw and bone are not fully removed from the cat making it necessary to go back and take out the rest of the claw and bone before it becomes a bigger problem. There are instances of the bones being shattered when the vet tries to take out the claw and part of the bone. This could also lead to lifelong health problems for your cat. Permanent limps have also been known to happen when the de-clawing surgery does not go well.
During surgery there may not be enough of the anesthesia given to your cat and they may feel the whole painful surgery opening the door to behavioral or emotional problems for your cat. Your cat may become very anti-social where they were previously very social. This is because your cat now has a fear of humans after the painful surgery. Cats will hide away to protect themselves from any harm that can happen again. Your very social cat will become introverted and no longer seek out your companionship because of their fear.
Your cat may also be fully aware that he is missing part of himself which also leads to many behavioral problems. Your cat has no way to protect himself now and may overcompensate by becoming overly aggressive to any one he comes in contact with. Your cat will begin to use his teeth more and more to protect himself from attackers, putting him dangerously close to those attackers.
Because your cat no longer has their claws it will become hard for them to stretch out and release any stress. Cats use their claws more for stretching then to ruin your good furniture and curtains. The claws on your cat give them traction to grasp onto any surface and stretch out their back and neck muscles. As your cat stretches, its paws are making a kneading action and releasing calming scents that will relax your cat. When a cat does not have their claws it will become hard for them to get a good stretch for relaxing and releasing their stress.