Kitten, kittens, kittens!

We are definitely seeing a lot of new kittens at the vet office these days — and they are certainly bringing a lot of joy and whimsy to our lives at a time of such uncertainty and stress.

With the influx of all these bundles of fluff, I also find I am having more conversations about what it’s like to have feline companions share your space — both for the first-time cat owner, and for those of us who forget what a challenge these feisty trouble-makers can be!

For many years, declawing was simply what was done at the time of spay. Most kittens, and cats, that were going to be indoor pets would be admitted to the hospital for a spay (ovariohysterectomy) and declaw (partial digital amputation or PDA). It was exactly what responsible pet owners would do and were TOLD to do.

In more recent years, we have come to realize that declawing has been associated with some long-term side effects, namely neuropathic pain, similar to phantom limb pain in people. We thought that we were helping cats become great companions and were improving the human-animal bond by removing one of the most frustrating behaviours owners report: inappropriate scratching behaviour (destroying your furniture!)

We now know better, and it is our job to help educate cat owners on alternatives to surgery. It is easy to do things because that is the “way they have always been done.” But it’s important to constantly re-assess and rethink our procedures, protocols and motivations.

That is exactly what the Paw Project has done. Their goal has been to educate the public on the harmful effects of declawing — which is in fact an amputation of the last joint of the toe.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association published their position statement on declawing or “partial digital amputation,” stating that “scratching is a normal behaviour in cats. The CVMA views non-therapeutic PDA as ethically unacceptable when performed without comprehensive client education including a thorough review of available alternatives, as the surgery has the potential to cause unnecessary and avoidable pain and alternatives to PDA are available.”

There are many alternatives to surgery.

Feline pheromones can be very useful for redirecting a cat to scratch on the appropriate materials. Having a proper scratching post is important (the taller the better), as are frequent nail trims. Ask for help from your favourite veterinary technician on this! There are also many YouTube videos to help.

Vinyl caps for your cat’s nails are also a great option. They protect your furniture and can be very helpful if cats are living with immunocompromised individuals who would be sensitive to any scratch. These caps can be applied at home, or at veterinary offices and grooming facilities.

Ultimately, declawing is an example of where the veterinary profession was misguided. Twenty years from now, there may be another procedure we do now that we will be perceived as being incorrect or inappropriate. This is true in many other professions of course … and frankly, in life.

What’s important is that we continually re-evaluate, we continually update, we continually do the best we can to stay up to date and informed. Be sure to ask your veterinarian about alternatives to declawing, and let’s let our cats do “cat things!”