Declawing: To de or not to de
by
The Tracker,
the dog & cat lost & found for Los Angeles County & City
Over twenty-five years ago, on a grey, cold and alienating Sunday, alone and lonely in my wonderful rent-controlled apartment, I decided to adopt my first cat. I made my way against the cold chill to the New York City SPCA, an institutional building resembling a city jail.
A kitten of unknown ancestry made its demands on my heart the minute I saw it, along with what seemed dozens of duplicates in various colors and patterns in the steel cages - the last place many of them would call home. Some how, that little blue-eyed, tan, tabby ball of fuzz demanded the loudest. After doing the bureaucratic paper dance, I went home with Audrey safely confined in a cardboard container. Named after my favorite screen star, Audrey Hepburn, I was sure this was a match for a lifetime. It was, but not as Audrey. Audrey was an Aubrey and to prove it, he spayed his gender all over my old collection of Mark Twain.
Aubrey was a learning experience for me. He suffered the tutoring, but his resilience proved him to be a great teacher. First, he almost expired due to my not knowing how to properly feed a little guy like him. The vet and I pulled him through. Second, I had him declawed not knowing that the alternative took education and real commitment. The vet never advised me differently.
How could I risk Freddie Kruger-sharp nails slicing their way into my upholstery? I am giving this little guy a home for ever, isn't that honorable enough? Saving him from the heaven where all the unwanted ones like him go, isn't that enough? Yes, to all these questions, I answered.
Why is it human beings are always altering all things, natural and otherwise, to fit into their imperfect lives? Why is it that the only compromises made are to ourselves and not to that which is equally important - the environment and the animals which share it with us? Why is it that to save a non-sentient piece of furniture, we, accepting the guardianship of an innocent, voiceless creature then proceed to surgically mangle it? We are ego-driven as a species to assume any decision we make is rightful. Well, it is time for all of us who claim to love the creatures we surround ourselves with, to educate ourselves about the pain they suffer, the emotions they feel, and the reasons we want them around.
Today, I would no sooner de-claw a cat who shared my home and furniture, than surgically remove the last digits on the fingers of my own hands. It is one and the same thing. For us the pain of such a procedure would be unendurable, and we would let the world know through much complaining and use of many pain-altering drugs. A cat, on the other hand, has the enviable ability to suffer the pain with much nobility and stoicism, giving us the impression he is not suffering at all. He is. And, will for days. This, just to save a piece of furniture.
There are alternatives: Self-education, training, scratching posts, or, buying them their own sofa. Our den sofa, upholstered in a heavily textured fabric is no longer our den sofa. Just a replaceable piece of furniture, we gave it to our cats - 5 in number - and they allow us to sit on it. Cats can be trained. It takes commitment, love and patience - and understanding the mistakes. There are books; there are cat-wise people; there are vets; there is the internet, all willing to assist you in your humanitarian goal. And there is the option to recover or purchase a new sofa in a non-textured fabric.
There is a post script to this article. If in the event, you have failed in your very many attempts to avert your cat from his favorite scratching area, which is your favorite and expensive something-or-other, and you have doomed your cat to a shelter or worse, then de-clawing is an option. Just consider this, your cat will then have proven he is smarter than you.
Update: There are now four cats in our household, having lost Matilda to cancer. We now have a new sofa with the above suggested non-textured fabric. And to assure compliance, we covered the arms in throw blankets that are attractive and fit well with the theme of our den. We are all happy now though finding room to sit on the cats' sofa remains a problem.