Cat Information

How does declawing benefit a cat's health?

I know that spaying and neutering have health benefits for cats. It helps prevents cancers and removes the urges that cause them to roam and fight, among other things. However, I have yet to discover what benefits declawing contributes to a cat's health. So, my question is what does declawing do to benefit the cat? So, if there is no benefit to the cat, then why would people do it their cats? Surely it couldn't be for selfish reasons, could it? I would like to hear from people who believe there are benefits to the cat. Or, perhaps there aren't any?

Public Comments

1. it really doesn't.
2. there is no health benefit for declawing a cat.
3. it doesn't, don't do it, its evil.
4. Declawing a card does not benefit its health or anything else in any way. I think it is a cruel practice for humans who don't want their kitty to scratch their stuff up.
5. I used to work at a vet hospital for 3 years back when I was in high school. Although the vet will tell you that de-clawing is a good idea, it honestly does nothing for the health of your cat. The surgery itself is also INCREDIBLY painful because they amputate the first joint on each toe (like the first nuckle on your finger where you nail is at. Most people have their cat declawed to save their furniture/children from scratching. However, there is an amazing product called Soft Paws, which are little nail covers that you glue on your cats nails., WHen the cat tries to scratch he won't leave marks on the furniture or your hands!!
6. Declawing a cat does NOT benefit a cats health. Declawing is a brutal procedure that removes the first bone that includes the nail of the cats paw.Even if the procedure is done by laser, the cat is still in a great deal of pain. Without its nails a cat is left defenceless, even an indoor cat has a risk of escaping outside. Instead of declawing a cat try soft paws. I have used them on my indoor cat since she was a few months old. They glue on to her trimmed nail and grow off as the nail does, then are replaced (usually every month or so). www.softpaws.com. They are available at petsmart or online. Some people do it to ensure that their homes and furniture stay unscathed. I don't agree with it.
7. Two part answer: 1. it does not benefit the cat's health, nor does it hurt the cat's health. 2. if the choice is having the cat declawed or not having the cat at all, I think that declawing is the better choice. Yes, there are alternatives, but quite frankly, they are not practical for very many people. Declawing is absolutely NOTHING like the horible disfiguring torture that the anti-declawing Zealots claim it is. Even if it were, given the choice of living with the tips of your fingers amputated or not living at all, I'll choose the amputation for me. Again, it is NOT like an amputation, that is just a red herring meant to evoke emotion. Actually, I'm puzzled as to why you ask this since you have consistently posted answers here that are 100% anti-declawing. For example http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtGDbtTBCyk1WghmzVwtGg4jzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20090407183246AAgQ7on and http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Av_E5yHuX4QceHPXPaZPECMjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20090410113311AArXRrd. If you could elaborate on your question so that we can understand why it is different than those posts of yours, we could give you a more detailed answer.
8. People do it so cats will not scratch up their couches and carpets. There is no other reason to do it. Most cat people find it cruel. Its basically like amputating the last knuckle of your fingers off.
9. There is no benefit for the cat. It might protect the furniture, but not the cat. The cat will definitely need to be an indoor cat after it is declawed. I personally don't think cats should be declawed.
10. I had a cat growing up and she never really got the whole retract the claws thing down. She would get them stuck in the carpet and couch and even my socks! The poor thing would scream when she'd get them caught in something. She would bleed and and have red puss around some of her claws. I took her to the vet about it, and they recommended to declaw because she didn't know how to retract her claws. It was about cartilage development that she didn't have. I got her declawed and even though it sounds like it is a bad thing, she started jumping and playing like I never saw before. She was a much happier cat after not having to worry about ripping out her own claws. Now my poor kitty has passed away after a full and healthy life. I miss her a lot. Just my experience.
11. The reason people declaw a cat is so that the cat won't scratch them. It is totally selfish! If the cat escapes or get's into a fight, 90% of their fight comes from their claws and 10% from their teeth so they would die in an extremely violent episode because their owners where scared of a few small scratches. Also, they may fall because if their surface areas suddenly tips over for a weird reason, they would fall instead of digging into the surface area with their claws. Please don't declaw your cat!!!
12. It's not a pleasant thing for cats, but there are actually a bunch of reasons to do it. The most common really is to protect furniture and carpets. Back in the day, getting a pet declawed was sometimes written into leases (and for all I know, might still be) or would get you a break on your pet deposit for just that reason. Another reason people do it is if you've got a small child in the home, or an especially aggressive cat. When I was little, my family had to declaw our cats because one was very aggressive and fond of picking fights with the other cats. Since she was a former alley cat and the other cats were pampered and spoiled and had never even been outside, the fights were particularly one-sided, and she actually did hurt the other cats (one had to get stitches, another lost sight in one eye). Since all our attempts at keeping them apart failed, we had to choose between giving her up or declawing her so that she couldn't actually hurt the others. She was declawed, the fights became more even, and the cats actually started to get along better. Of course, that was twenty years ago. These days, soft paws are a much better solution, but I think people just don't know that they exist or are too lazy to deal with them or just don't know that declawing isn't the harmless thing people say it is.
13. There is no benefit to the cat whatsoever. They were born with claws, they know how to use them and taking them away in a mutilation surgery is NOT beneficial at all. The only "benefits" are to the owner if they value furniture over the welfare of their cat.
14. It benefits the cat's health by minimizing the times and severity of swattings it gets for clawing up the furniture. Sounds to me some people are wanting to have their cake and eat it, too.
15. De clawing, any cat is like cutting off our fingers and toes so how would survive. their are no benefits to a cat being declawed ,people don't think how much harm it can do to a cat . Because a cat needs there claws to help them Survive and Protect them self cats used their claws for every thing that's their fingers and toes that's their survival skills. God gave them claws for a reason.
17. It eliminates the risk of claw cancer. Oh wait, there's no such thing as claw cancer. Then nope, no benefits. It's done because people are selfish and/or unaware of the nature of the procedure. For some reason vets who do the surgery don't seem to tell people what it really entails and what the repercussions are. But that's because they're selfish too and look at toe removal as a source of money. When I was a kid my family had two cats declawed (20+ years ago). I can honestly say that it did not benefit them at all. It did nothing to make their lives happier or easier. They didn't show obvious suffering, but that doesn't mean we didn't cause them to live with constant pain. I wish we would have known the truth about the procedure instead of letting the vet talk my mom into it. No one in my family will ever declaw again. And if I ever go to a vet that suggests it I will get a different vet.
18. it dosnt
19. there are no benefits to the cat. claws are used the same way we use our fingers, except they cant wrap around things to hold or pick up. they use the claws to hold or pick up. if you watch a cat play, you will see the claws use to hold the ytoy, and pick it up. the claws prevent falling. used for grooming. trac tion.defense. everything. just like our fingers. people do it because they they are stupid, ignorant, lazy or just dont know any better. my vets requires you to meet with him before the declaw. he explains what is done, and asks why you want it done. he told me that fully half of the people change their minds and dont have it done after they find out how much pain the cat goes through or because they just thought you were supposed to have it done.