Love to know how to declaw a cat at home? Read this cat-friendly tips to to avoid unwanted scratches.
Is your cat the scratchy type? Do you always get rips on your things or your skin? Declawing a cat became controversial and had been banned in some countries. Considering to declaw a cat has its pros and cons, and this article will help you decide whether you should or should not declaw your fur friend.
Contents:
What is Declawing A Cat?
Before going to the step-by step procedure, we should know what it really means to declaw a cat.
Declawing or Onychectomy is the amputation of the last bone of each toe with a scalpel or guillotine clipper. The surgery can be risky and painful. After declawing, the wounds are usually closed with stitches or surgical glue, and the feet are bandaged. Now that you know what declawing really means, we can now go through this article to know more.
How To Declaw A Cat At Home: Step by Step Guide
(Declawing Procedure or Surgical Procedure)
Declawing a cat at home can be risky for both you and your cat. It is advisable to declaw your cat at the vet, and leave it to the hands of professionals. Nail trimming is one of the many alternative ways to avoid unwanted scratches from your feline friend.
So, let’s move forward to see how to declaw a cat at home.
Step-by-step procedure to trim your cat’s nail:
- Hold your cat in your lap and make sure they are calm and comfortable.
- Make them familiar with the clipper by letting them play with it for a while.
- Get one of their soft paws and massage it lightly. So that they will not become nervous and aggressive.
- Start trimming just the sharp point of the nail, be mindful not to cut the quick or the darker section inside the mostly clear, hard exterior.
- Give them treats after the first trim to make them more acquainted with the trimming.
Don’ts:
- Do not scold or punish them for resisting as they will only avoid future trimmings.
- And do not rush the trimming, it surely takes a lot of time (and energy).
- Do not try to trim pet’s nails all at once. You can schedule your trimmings so that they can be used to it.
- Try to avoid it to leave various complications.
For more tips, you can also visit https://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cat-nail-clipping-care
Reasons for Declawing A Cat
Some of the reasons others opt to declaw their cat is to protect their family (their hooman), and their home (their hooman’s home). Other than that, declawing is considered inhumane. There are many humane (and legal) ways to avoid unnecessary scratches that can be done to your fur friend. If declawing cannot be prevented, better to leave it to the hands of professionals.
Some Negative Effects of Declawing
As said earlier, declawing a cat has been a controversial topic and has been banned from many countries like the US. It is a surgery that provides no medical benefits to the cat.
Some negative effects are:
- Declawed cats had their natural defense inhibited.
- Their claws are their natural defense and can impair their balance. They also use their nails to climb.
- Declawed cats can be more aggressive.
- Declawing can also cause them chronic pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain.
The Truth About Cats and Scratching
We can’t deny that cat scratches can be sometimes troublesome; but we cannot prevent it as it is in their nature. It serves many purposes as they use it to “mark” their territory by leaving behind visual markers as well as scent markers from small glands in the pads of their feet. They also scratch to maintain their nails in better shape and to get a nice stretch after a long nap. It is advisable to train your cat if you don’t want scratches and to give them something to scratch to. All in all, we love our cats and we only want the best for them!
Scratches can be a behavioral problems both of victims & scratchers (cat’s nails). So many people do declaw surgery on a cat’s sticky paws nails. Cats scratch causes of nerve damage, arthritis; and need veterinary medicine & anesthesia (pain medication) to cure.
Alternatives to Declawing Your Cate Method
There are many alternatives to declawing your cat, including:
- Trimming their nails regularly
- Using soft paw covers or nail caps
- Providing them with a scratching post or other outlet for their scratching instinct
FAQs On How To Declaw A Cat At Home
To know more about cats declaw, you can read this FAQs section.
So, let’s move forward!
Q1. Can you humanely declaw a cat?
Answer: It is considered as inhumane, declawing is just for the benefits of humans, not the cats. See “Some Negative Effects of Declawing” section.
Q2. What can I do instead of declawing my cat?
Answer: Some other ways instead of declawing a cat are:
- Nail trimming
- Vinyl Nail Caps
- Training
- Feliway
See also: https://www.oldfarmvet.com/dont-want-to-declaw-4-alternatives-for-your-cat/
Q3. Is it cruel to declaw an indoor cat?
Answer: “Once a cat is declawed, it should be kept strictly indoors since the pet will no longer be able to defend itself or climb to escape a potential predator.”
Q4. How to train a cat not to scratch your stuff?
Answer: Give them something to scratch to.
How To Declaw A Cat At Home? Wrap Up
Scratching is one of the natural habits of cats, and declawing is not the only answer to stop them. As you have reached this far, we hope that you have learned many other ways to prevent unwanted scratches other than declawing. Cats cannot talk and say if they are in pain and such – so what we can only do if we opt to have a cat as a pet is to love and understand them genuinely as we should. Reading this far means you care a lot about your cat, thank you!