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Please take a few minutes to read some of the following articles to learn
more about declawing:
http://www.maxshouse.com/Truth%20About%20Declawing.htm
http://www.declawing.com/
http://amby.com/cat_site/declaw.html (this site provides tons of links)
http://www.cfainc.org/health/declawing.html
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Please don't declaw your cats! It's cruel and inhumane. Most industrialized
countries ban this procedure as part of their animal protection laws.

Here's a description of how the declawing procedure is done. Judge by
yourlself:

"The claw is extended by pushing up under the footpad or by grasping it with
Allis tissue forceps. A scalpel blade is used to sharply dissect between the
second and third phalanx over the top of the ungual crest . The distal
interphalangeal joint is disarticulated (disjointed), and the deep digital
flexor tendon is incised (severed). The digital footpad, is not incised. If
a nail trimmer is used, the ring of the instrument is placed in the
groove between the second phalanx and the ungual crest. The blade is
positioned just in front of the footpad. The blade is pushed through the
soft tissues over the flexor process. With the ring of the nail trimmer
in position behind the ungual crest, the blade is released just slightly
so that traction applied to the claw causes the flexor process to slip
out and above the blade. At this point, the flexor tendon can be incised
and disarticulation of the joint (disjointing) completed. Both techniques
effectively remove the entire third phalanx. If a larger segment of the
third phalanx is left, it should be dissected out with a scalpel blade. A
surgeon's knot of absorbable suture material is sometimes used to
decrease hemorrhage and to act as a "guiding suture" for second intention
wound healing in large cats. " Slatter D; Textbook of Small Animal
Surgery 2nd ed vol I, p.352 W.B. Saunders Company Philadelphia.

The following is a clinical report published in the journal of Veterinary
Surgery:

Vet Surg 1994 Jul-Aug;23(4):274-80
Feline Onychectomy at a Teaching Institution: A
Retrospective Study of 163 Cases.

Tobias KS
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences,
Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine,
Pullman 99164-6610.

"One hundred sixty-three cats underwent onychectomy from January 1985 to
November 1992. Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications
immediately after surgery. Early postoperative complications included
pain (38.1%), hemorrhage (31.9%), lameness (26.9%), swelling (6.3%), or
non-weight-bearing( 5.6%).

Follow-up was available in 121 cats;

19.8% developed complications after release. Late postoperative
complications included infection (11.6%), regrowth (7.4%), P2 protrusion
(1.7%), palmagrade stance (1.7%), and prolonged, intermittent lameness
(0.8%)".

The following clinical report was published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association:

J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998 Aug 1;213(3):370-3
Comparison of Effects of Elective Tenectomy or Onychectomy in Cats.

Jankowski AJ, Brown DC, Duval J, Gregor TP, Strine LE, Ksiazek LM, Ott AH
Department of Clinical Studies, Veterinary Teaching Hospital,
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia 19104, USA.

"OBJECTIVE: To compare short- and long-term complications after Tenectomy of
the deep digital flexor tendons or onychectomy.
ANIMALS: 20 cats undergoing Tenectomy and 18 cats undergoing onychectomy.
PROCEDURE: Cats undergoing Tenectomy or onychectomy were monitored for a
minimum of 5 months to enable comparison of type and frequency of
complications. Type and frequency of complications did not differ between
procedures.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Owners should be aware of the high complication rate
for both procedures."

The Cat Fanciers' Association unanimously approved this guidance statement
on the declawing of cats:
"CFA perceives the declawing of cats (onychectomy ) and the severing of
digital tendons (tendonectomy) to be elective surgical procedures which are
without benefit to the cat. Because of post operative discomfort or pain,
and potential future behavioral or physical effects, CFA disapproves of
declawing or tendonectomy surgery."

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Director of
the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and
internationally known specialist in domestic animal behavioral research,
explains declawing:

"The inhumanity of the procedure is clearly demonstrated by the nature of
cats' recovery from anesthesia following the surgery. Unlike routine
recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly
peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the
recovery cage because of excruciating pain. Cats that are more stoic
huddle in the corner of the recovery cage, immobilized in a state of
helplessness, presumably by overwhelming pain.
Declawing fits the dictionary definition of mutilation to a tee. Words such
as deform, disfigure, disjoint, and dismember all apply to this surgery.
Partial digital amputation is so horrible that it has been employed for
torture of prisoners of war, and in veterinary medicine, the clinical
procedure serves as model of severe pain for testing the efficacy of
analgesic drugs. Even though analgesic drugs can be used postoperatively,
they rarely are, and their effects are incomplete and transient anyway, so
sooner or later the pain will emerge."

No, no, no!!!  Please do not have your female cat declawed.  It is a myth to
think she will "hurt" your older cat.  It is too late to salvage his claws,
but please read up on this and do not declaw her.

Declawing is partial amputation.  It is unnecessary mutilation, and there
are far more behavioral problems in declawed cats than in cats with their
claws (problems including inappropriate urination, spraying, and biting).
About 1/3 of declawed cats will have one or more of these problems.
Declawed cats also are more likely to develop arthritis and nerve pain.

Here are a few links on declawing.  Please read them as soon as possible.
Some are graphic, but it is important for you to know just what this
procedure involves.  It is NOT simply "removing" a claw, as some people
think.  The nailbed of a person's fingernails is not the equivalent of a
cat's claws.
http://www.stopdeclaw.com
http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/declaw.html
http://www.cara-adopt.org/declaw.html
http://declaw.lisaviolet.com/declawvettch.html

MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Photos of Duffy and Holly:      >'o'<
http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly)
http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in")