Whats wrong with declawing a cat?
Declawing is equivalent to removing the first bone in each of your fingers. It’s a painful procedure that takes a long time to heal and is not always 100% effective (sometimes the nails will continue to grow if they have not been removed completely). Declawing can sometimes lead to behavioral problems like biting and refusal to use the litterbox. There may be times when declawing is appropriate (example: some polydactyl cats may need to be declawed to prevent the nails on their extra toes from growing into their paw pads), but declawing should NOT be a preventative measure to keep your cat or kitten from scratching your possessions. Having a cat that draws blood by scratching itself or its owners is one thing, but declawing a cat before you even know if it will have a scratching problem is unneccessary and cruel. Scratching is a natural and healthy behavior that allows the cat to stretch the muscles in its back and shoulders and also sharpen its claws (cat nails have layers they can sh
