Nail Care in Cats

By Gary Pearson

If you are planning on declawing your cat, is it for your pet's health, or for the health of your furniture? Most people believe that declawing a cat is the best way to train a cat not to destroy your household items, but many people do not understand the circumstance they are putting their cat's in by declawing them.

Declawing a cat is best if your cat will never be going outside. If your cat even has the inkling of going outside, do not declaw them. This is their first line of defense and can affect your pet health by injury and infection. But not only is declawing your cat a physical change for them, but it can also leave them vulnerable to medical conditions later in life.

First, let's examine what exactly declawing a cat entails. It is not just trimming back the nails. It is not a trip to the nail salon to have them filed down. It is a surgical procedure in which the cat's bones are removed from their paw so that the nail bed does not grow anymore. Think of it this way, declawing a cat is the equivalent of having your fingers surgically removed up to the second knuckle. This procedure not only physically scars your cat, but can have long lasting affects on the pet health emotionally. How would you feel if you lost all of your fingers?

Secondly, most cats develop lasting medical conditions which deteriorate pet health. They can develop painful arthritic conditions, as well as aggressive behaviors due to psychological duress. Since claws are natural to pet health, cats can become quite confused on what is going on once their claws are gone. They will be unable to properly dig to cover their waste, so they may begin to urinate and defecate in odd places. This displacement is due to the fact that their natural behavior pattern is disrupted by being declawed.

Declawing is basically a procedure for pet owners and do not benefit their four legged friends at all. It is understandable for pet health to spay and neuter an animal, but declawing a cat serves no purpose other than to relieve owners from any destructive behaviors. If at all possible, avoid this act and develop over techniques to distract your cat or kitten from scratching. There are plenty of scratching posts and furniture designed for this case. Utilizing a water gun to stop a cat from scratching can be productive. You can also wrap furniture in aluminum to distract your cat. They will respond to the noise made by the foil and be confused by this. It also a good tip for cats that jump up on counters. Placing foil on counters will unnerve cats that jump on counters and scare them into changing their behavior. There are plenty of alternatives to declawing that are less damaging physically and emotionally to your feline, so before jumping into surgery, please try other alternatives. Your cat will definitely thank you.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about cat nail care visit American Short Hair Cats for current articles and discussions.