Emily Kinney - B&W to Color  [31 / ? ]

Please for the love of god

Do not declaw your cats. Today my friend who works at a local rescue received an application for a cat adoption. There’s a section for “Do you plan on declawing your new cat?” and the person checked the box for yes and wrote “We have expensive furniture.”

ok then don’t get a cat

sorry but if you’re going to mutilate your animal to avoid ruining your expensive furniture then a cat is not the animal you need

So many reasons not to do this

-it’s EXTREMELY painful. they don’t just remove the claw, they remove the TOE up to the first joint.

-if your cat escapes your home, they have absolutely ZERO way of defending or feeding themselves (not that your cat should be allowed outside for any reason but that’s a whole separate rant)

-your cat will be in pain while walking. because they removed that actual bone, your cat’s weight is now balanced on that second bone in their toe, not the first as was designed. Painful.

-Your cat may even lose the desire to be touched. literally we adopted this adolescent cat whose owners abandoned him because he was an escape artist. they had already declawed him and for the longest time he wouldn’t even let us get near his feet. like we couldn’t touch him if it wasn’t his head or the base of his tail.

do. not. declaw. your. cat.

Alternatively:

-buy little nail caps. they sell them at pet stores and they come in all sorts of cute colors

-buy furniture guards. figure out where your cat is most aggressive with scratching. buy a furniture guard and place a cat tree or scratching post nearby and use some catnip or treats to attract their attention to it

-literally just trim the nails with nail clippers. be careful not to quick them. if your cat starts fussing, take a break and come back later to avoid accidents due to them moving around

don’t declaw your cat

[insp.]