Upon the recent acquisition of a cat, I was surprised to find such a vast and adamant opposition to the declawing of these animals. While many, if not most I have encountered, offer the procedure in a humane and painless way, almost every adoption agency had stipulations of adoption contracts and/or agreements with vets not to declaw their animals. The main argument against declawing seems to be (a) The procedure is cruel, (b) the animal will be unable to defend it self against other cats or predators. While I am not a vet, allow me to present some rebuttals for these arguments.
-
Declawing is inhumane and/or cruel: The animal suffers little to no pain form the operation, as it is under anesthesia. It's less complex than spaying a female animal. Recovery time is minimal, and the paws are bandaged for only a day or so. Also, more advanced and lower impact surgeries are available now, such as laser claw removal. As far as the animal is concerned, it has no idea it's claws are missing. In fact, it continues to behave as if it still had claws (the behavior of sharpening and scratching).
-
The Animal will be unable to defend itself: This is only true depending on the procedure done. The most common (and accepted) form of declawing is "front claws only". In the wild, the front claws are used for a very narrow purpose: killing prey, and "challenging" other animals. In a domesticated their is no need for killing prey (and I have had cats that often still did after being declawed). As far as confrontations with other animals, the front claws serve only as a means of challenging other animals (swating, hissing, arching the back). The claws are not needed for this. If you observe two cats who do actually begin to fight, you will notice the hind claws are used instead, and the defensive position of the animal involves putting the posterior end towards the attacker and swiping, allowing for a quicker get away. The animal can still climb trees (all the way to the top!) as I've personally seen numerous times. The hind claws are used for gripping, while the front paws "hug" the tree, stabilizing the cat.
So, the removal of the front claws gives the animal no disadvantage under
domestication. The removal of the rear claws is usually not done or needed, as the animal will not tear up your furniture with them. If the cat is 100% an indoor animal, then rear
declawing is usually not a problem. The advantages are numerous, as it won't shred your furniture, accidently hurt small children, or develop ingrown claws. for people with small living spaces, the animal won't require a
scratching post, or need scolding when it decides to use your
leather couch instead. There are legitimate concerns with botched surgery by incompetent vets. However, if a vet is regularly malpracticeing, it will probably reflect in the the health of his/her patients. For anything related to the health of your animal, you should always choose an experienced vet you know and trust.