The Risks of De-Clawing Your Cat

When you are making the decision of whether to de-claw your cat or not there are a few risks that you should become aware of. There are medical, behavioral, and health risks associated with de-clawing your cat.

Medical risks of de-clawing cats:

· Your cat may have an allergic reaction to any of the anesthesia, medicines or instruments used during surgery that may not be noticed until later.

· Your cat may stop breathing while under anesthesia because of too much or too little oxygen.

· Your cat could not be fully under anesthesia and feel the full procedure.

· Your cat may not be monitored well during the surgery and could die.

· Your cat could have complications after surgery due to the surgery itself or the anesthesia.

· Your cat may experience bleeding that won't stop (hemorrhaging) at the de-clawing sites.

· Your cat may acquire a permanent limp because the surgery was not done well or because your cat is overcompensating for the loss of her claws.

· Your cat could end up with an infection that can't be cleared up because of the surgery or later on when they are home and cannot protect themselves.

· You may have to put your cat to sleep because of any of these risks due to de-clawing.

· Your cat may not have had the nail bed fully removed causing you to take your cat back to the vet for another de-clawing surgery.

Study the risks before de-clawing your cat.

· Your cat could end up with shattered bones when the de-clawing procedure is not done correctly.

Behavioral risks of de-clawing cats:

· Your cat may become anti-social when they were previously very social.

· Your cat could become more aggressive because they are trying to protect themselves the only remaining way they know how.

· Your cat may become introverted because of the fear they have that they cannot protect themselves.

· Your cat could become withdrawn because of the pain or because they no longer trust you.

· Your cat could exhibit nervous behavior because of the surgery or because they have lost their claws which are very important multipurpose tools for your cat.

· Your cat could become fearful of just about everything because they can't protect themselves anymore.

· Your cat can show signs of being stressed because they no longer have their claws to help relieve the stress.

Health risks of de-clawing cats:

· De-clawed cats can become more prone to disease because of the surgery or because of their new emotional state.

· De-clawed cats can become depressive and withdrawn after the surgery for a multitude of reasons, some being the pain of the surgery and another reason because they are missing part of their paws. Depression in animals is not easily recognized or treated and can lead to the animal starving themselves or going off somewhere to die in peace.

· De-clawed cats use their teeth more as protection causing them to sometimes get too close to an attacker.

· De-clawed cats cannot protect themselves very well when outside and could end up being severely hurt or dead.

· De-clawed cats can end up losing muscle tone in their backs and necks because they are not stretching as well without their claws.

· Cats that are de-clawed walk differently then cats that have all their claws intact putting unneeded stress on the cats' joints and bones.

· Your cat will become less agile and graceful. This is because your cat uses her claws in order to gain some traction before running or jumping and then uses those claws again to land. This can lead your cat into falling more or not being able to run away from an attacker.

More Cat Care