You love your cat’s cuddles, how cute she looks perched on top of the mantel, and the sounds of her purr.
What you don’t love is how she is shredding your curtains, couch, and love seat.
It’s natural for cats to scratch, but it’s also natural for you to not want everything you own to get destroyed. And no, unfortunately the solution is not as easy as, “Go buy a couple scratching posts and sprinkle catnip on them.”
So is declawing something you should consider?
And if so, when?
And if not, what other options work?
Let’s find out.
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✅ What Are Alternatives To Declawing A Cat?
Colorful Cat Nail Caps
Anti Cat Scratch TapeCat Scratching Post with Hanging Ball
Let’s discuss alternatives to declawing your cat first, because if one of these suggestions appeals to you, it can save you a lot of money and your cat a lot of pain, and you may not even need to read the rest of the article.
- Nail trimming — This doesn’t really keep your cats from clawing up your furniture, but it may slow them down a little. Get a good nail clipper and trim their nails at least once every two weeks.
- Scratching Posts — Some cats go for these more than others. We’ve had a couple cats that also go crazy for those round cat scratchers with a ball that circles around it.
- Anti Cat Scratch Tape — Many years ago we tried coating our soft furniture with making tape as a deterrent, but it was so ugly that we decided we’d almost rather have the cats scratch it all up than have our living room look like that for the rest of our lives.
This double-sided tape was created specifically to getting cats to stop scratching.
I’ve never used it myself, but what appeals to me about it the most is that, unlike masking tape, you can barely see it once you peel off the white backing.
Amazon reviewer VetteBB says this stuff works pretty well, although it may drive you crazy at times:V
I have two cats who think everything in the house is a scratching post, except their scratching post. I’ve lost much expensive furniture. I’m not interested in screwing those plastics guards to my furniture so I thought I would give this a try.
It works. The kids aren’t scratching and it’s pretty much unnoticeable on the furniture. I have it on the legs, arms and back of the couch and the scratching has stopped. And when I’m ready, it easily pulls off. The only draw back is getting the tape off the backing. It takes many tries and much patience. I found that it’s easier to try to pull the backing off from the middle of the tape rather than a corner …
- Furniture Shields
- Nail Caps — We tried these years ago, and I remember them falling off constantly. Like, almost every day we were finding them around our apartment, having to find the newly unprotected claw, and put a new one on.
Still, that was a long time ago, and there are literally thousands people on Amazon who love these, including CatMom:
I’m so amazed! My cat was shredding all of our furniture and carpet apart. We tried double sided tape, spraying essential oils and no scratch sprays on our furniture. We bought her multiple scratching posts/boards that she did not touch even after sprinkling with catnip. She just continued to shred our home … I knew I had to figure something out ASAP.
Boy have these done it! She still attempts to scratch throughout the house but does not destroy anything with these on! It took lots of treats and distracting to get them on her. She licked/bit at them profusely the first few days but was unsuccessful in getting any off. We are almost to 3 weeks and she still has every one of them on!! I will be purchasing these for the rest of her life. These are the greatest purchase we’ve ever made for her.
Plus, if you get the colored ones, they look pretty cool.
- Pet Deterrent Spray — This spray uses a scent that cat can’t stand but that humans [supposedly] don’t mind. You spray it on the furniture you want your cats to steer clear of.
To be perfectly honest, this product did not get great reviews. But it DID get slightly better reviews that some of the other similar products out there. (You can read all the negative 1-star reviews here.)
— If the idea of using tape bothers you, try these shield furniture protectors. They’re 100% transparent and NOT sticky on the outside, so it won’t annoy you or potentially ruin your furniture.
It none of these alternatives worked the way you hoped (or if you’d just like to learn more about declawing), then keep reading …
Our Experience with Declawing Cats
We have had many cats over the years, and yes, we have declawed some (but not all) of them.
I know saying this might lead to me not only losing readers, but also getting angry comments and emails. However, I think it would be disingenuous to write a post on the topic of declawing without putting that out there from the beginning.
Don’t worry, though: I have no interest in persuading you one way or the other. In [supposedly] true journalist style, I’ll simply try to lay out what I’ve discovered, while weaving in a bit of our experience.
How Are Cats Declawed?
It turns out that there are a few different declawing methods:
- Guillotine nail clippers
- Scalpel blades
- CO2 lasers
According to The Spruce Pets, most veterinarians opt for the CO2 laser procedure because the bleeding is not as intense as it is in the other two procedures.
Regardless of which method is used, the last digit of the toes are surgically amputated to remove the entire nail bed of the claws while the cat is under anesthesia. The results is not only no claws, but also smaller feet. (Although not visibly so – at least not to us.)
This is done while your cat is under anesthesia, of course. The surgical sites may be closed with sutures or skin glue, and your cat’s feet may be wrapped in bandages before they wake up.
How Much Does It Cost To Declaw A Cat?
Depending on where you live, the cost will be somewhere between $600 and $1800 (which is a wide range, I know.) When we had it done on one of our cats a few years ago, it was almost exactly $1,000.
The total cost includes not only the procedure itself, but a physical beforehand, anesthesia, antibiotics and painkiller medications, and possibly an overnight stay. It’s a good idea to ask if there will be extra costs if there end up being any complications.
At What Age Can A Cat Be Declawed?
Vets will tell you that the ideal time to declaw a cat is between 3-6 months of age, and they often suggest that you do it at the same time that your cat is spayed or neutered.
Young, immature cats will
- Heal faster
- Experience less pain
- Have a lower risk of complications
Of course, there are many people who will tell you that the ideal time to declaw a cat is “Never!” We’ll get to that more in a moment.
Are Declawed Cats In Pain?
While the procedure is being performed, they are usually given anesthesia; however, your cat will be in pain after it is done.
Why? Because a part of their body was just amputated, meaning it will never grow back. Besides the pain, they may experience swelling, bleeding, and infections. Your vet will prescribe some painkillers for your cat to take the edge off.
How Long Are Cats Paws Sore After Declawing?
How long it takes your cat will take to heal depends on their age, health, and overall temperament. Some kittens are usually able to walk the day after.
Lakeshore Pet Hospital says that, for younger cats, pain should lessen after 10 days and limping should improve after a week. For older cats, recovery usually takes a little longer.
Note that it may become chronic if this pain is not managed aggressively. That’s because the toes’ nerves are cut. It will therefore experience neuropathic pain that comes with sensations, including feeling burning or electrical pain.
Do Cats Change After Being Declawed?
You might have heard that a cat’s behavior will change after they get declawed, but Aspen Grove Vet, claims those are nothing but myths and/or anecdotal reports:
In the past few years, a number of behaviorists, pet psychologists and epidemiologists have studied the effects of declawing on the car, the owner, and the cat-owner relationship.
At least 10 scientific studies have examined the consequences between the pet and the pet-owner relationship. These studies show that it does not alter the cat’s behavior. In fact, cats may continue to scratch furniture after but cause no damage. There is no increase in behavior problems. Declawed cats are not at greater risk of getting bitten or injured in catfights. Owners of declawed cats report a higher number of good behaviors than the owners of clawed cats …
From my family’s own personal experience, we have seen absolutely zero changes in our cat’s behavior, habits, or personality after they’ve gotten declawed.
✅ Is It Really Cruel To Declaw A Cat?
Honestly, it depends on who you ask.
First of all, there are two main concerns regarding the cruelty of declawing:
- The cat’s physical and emotionally pain
- The cat being defenseless and put at risk if they get outside
Believe it or not, the second concern isn’t much of an issue, which we’ll talk about in a minute.
The Humane Society has this to say:
Medical drawbacks to declawing include pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain.
Removing claws changes the way a cat’s foot meets the ground and can cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes. There can also be a regrowth of improperly removed claws, nerve damage, and bone spurs.
On the other hand, you’ll see and hear plenty of cat owners with this kind of experience:
Most cats I’ve had have been declawed in the front … Not one of my cats has ever had problems after being declawed. They were back to running and playing within a day after surgery.
No scars that I can see, no blood, no limping, no psychological problems, nada. I have friends who have had their cats declawed and have never heard any horror stories from them about it. Maybe I’ve been fortunate to have a terrific vet to perform the surgery …
Even more interesting is this reply from someone who worked at a vet clinic:
I worked at a vet for many years and have observed hundreds of declaw operations, and without getting too personal …. let me just simply say – it’s not as bad as you think it is.
In fact (and I expect to get a lot of flak for this one) I think it’s FAR more cruel to let your cat go outside than it is to declaw them…
… Declawing is without a doubt a highly painful surgery, and yes, it is akin to removing the tips of their fingers. Declawing is also a surgery with a really high “whoops!” factor, so much of the long-lasting effects you may see or hear about are because of bad/poorly trained surgeons. If they don’t get the entire claw – it can grow back many years later and cause the cat excruciating pain. If the surgery is done poorly or sloppily – it can lead to arthritis in later years. But please understand – the exact same bad side effects can come of ANY surgery – including spays/neuters …
I’m a life-long cat owner, and have declawed ALL of my cats – every one of them … No, they don’t even miss their claws, and I’ve never had a post-declaw complication. I think it’s also important to stress here that many of the complications that result from a even a good declaw surgery can be attributed to the owner not following the vet’s instructions when it came to post op care, or to a bad reaction from the pain meds, which (again) can happen with ANY surgery …
… Cruel is knowingly putting your cat’s life at risk by opening that front door. Of the hundreds of cats I saw come through the vet clinic door, maybe one in one hundred came in due to declaw complications (every single one of them due to a botched surgery done at another clinic), but about 1 out of every 3 or 4 came in sick, injured or dead from being let outside …
Do Vets Recommend Declawing Cats?
CBS News cites a survey conducted in 2016 about declawing and whether it should be done, veterinarians were divided:
- 72% were okay with doing it
- 24% were against it and considered this procedure a type of mutilation.
We resisted declawing for a long time, and tried every alternative known to man (or so it felt) without any success. What finally made me cave when was my vet casually said that all of her own cats were declawed. She knows a lot more about the procedure that I do, and I figured that if she was totally fine with it for her own kitties, that was good enough for me.
Here is the American Veterinary Medical Association’s official stance of declawing:
AVMA discourages declawing as an elective procedure and supports non-surgical alternatives. Declawing is a major surgery involving amputation and is not medically necessary for the cat in most cases. There are, however, some situations in which declawing may be considered, such as when a cat’s excessive or inappropriate scratching behavior causes an unacceptable risk of injury or remains destructive despite conscientious attention to behavioral modification and alternatives.
The decision whether to declaw a cat should be made by the owners in consultation with their veterinarian. Veterinarians should provide complete education about the normal scratching behavior of cats, the procedure, and potential risks to the patient.
However, Dr. Jennifer Coates at PetMD has a less extreme view:
Some [veterinarians] will perform declaws whenever an owner requests while others refuse all such surgeries on ethical grounds and chastise owners for even bringing up the topic. But most vets — and owners, I suspect — fall somewhere in the middle, but avoid speaking up lest the wrath of the two opposing camps come crashing down upon their heads. Let’s call these folks the muzzled majority.
Can’t we all agree that declaws are justified under certain, limited circumstances? Consider a cat that is quickly becoming an unwelcome member of a loving family because he or she has destroyed virtually every chair in the home. Is it better that this cat be confined to the basement or relegated to the outdoors? Should we send it to a shelter where its chances for adoption are slim at best? …
I’ll admit it. I’ve performed declaws, but only after heartfelt discussions with the owners …
Properly done, a declaw does not have to be any more painful, disfiguring, or risky than a spay or neuter. It is a valid option when it offers potential benefits to the pet in question …
**IMPORTANT NOTE** Almost no vet will declaw a cat’s back claws unless there is some medical reason. That is when a cat would be defenseless.
Our vet told us that if cats are in danger in the wild, they either:
- Use their back claws to climb a tree; or
- Roll onto their back and use their back claws to fight
So (again, according to my vet) removing a cat’s front claws doesn’t make a big difference in their ability to defend themselves.
Are There Medical Reasons To Declaw A Cat?
Yes. If, for example, your cat has an infected paw that is not improving despite using the prescribed medicine, declawing would be the best option. Some medical reasons will only require a claw or two removed, depending on what took place.
For cat owners with cats that constantly scratch them to the point that they have to seek medical attention, declawing is your long-lost solution. It should not get to the point whereby you are getting stitches; if you don’t seek help soon, things will get out of hand. You can also seek de
Is a Tendonectomy Better Than Declawing?
According to Wiki, a tendonectomy is when a small portion of the tendon in each of a cat’s toes is surgically removed to prevent the cat from extending the claws. Thus, the cat is no longer capable of scratching.
Even though it less painful than declawing, it can lead to many complications later on.
A tendonectomy is NOT recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). It is also illegal in many countries.
Are There Any Benefits To Declawing A Cat?
There have been indications that declawing cats with conditions such as paronychia and neoplasia of the nail bed are beneficial to them.
Probably the main way that a cat benefits from declawing is when it’s the reached the point that their owner is starting to feel resentful toward their cat and is even thinking of getting rid of it because they’re so frustrated by the damage being done by the claws. The tension that declawing can dissolve benefits both the owner and their cat.