x
Breaking News
More () »

VERIFY: Can declawing your cat lead to chronic pain for your pet?

The debate continues as many question whether or not declawing your cat is inhumane and can lead to chronic pain. A viral video from Seeker Media is claims this is true, so we set out to verify.

SPOKANE, Wash. — The debate continues as many question whether or not declawing your cat is inhumane and can lead to chronic pain.

A viral video from Seeker Media claims this is true.

The claim comes from Paw Project founder and director Dr. Jennifer Conrad.

"So when you declaw a cat, most people think that it's some sort of fancy manicure and they don't realize that it's actually amputating every one of a cat's last toe bones," Conrad said in the video.

"When you amputate this toe bone, a cat is actually gonna shift backwards and walk differently and they're gonna have chronic back pain or chronic arthritis," she continued.

KREM 2 wanted to see if this was true, so we set out to verify.

At the SouthCare Animal Medical Center on the South Hill, veterinarian Dr. Annika Benedetto said some owners will choose to declaw their cats to protect furniture inside their home or even their kids from cat claws.

She said veterinarians at SouthCare Animal Medical Center rarely perform the procedure, and only do so if owners have exercised all other options and cats face re-homing.

"With any major surgery like that where you cut nerves and anything really, if you are amputating a leg as well, there is the potential for chronic pain and that's what we are controlling, wind up pain, before we even do the surgery is the most important," Benedetto said.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, a 1994 study suggested "61 of 163 cats exhibited signs of pain for one to 42 days after declawing; however, the median duration of signs was two days."

"There are some cats afterwards who do experience pain and you can even associate the pain they feel when they are in the litter box on those raw toes, and start avoiding it," Benedetto said.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said in a statement that "the surgery involves the risk of anesthesia, excessive bleeding and postoperative complications, including infection, and is accompanied by pain that may last from several days to much longer unless appropriate pain control is provided."

"Despite our best efforts it's possible that they would experience pain afterwards, or soreness at least, though we do try to manage that as best we can," Benedetto said.

A local veterinarian, the ASPCA and the AVMA said chronic pain is possible after cat owners declaw their pet, so we can verify that this claim is true.

According to the video from Seeker Media, roughly 20 to 25 percent of domestic cats have had this procedure.

Benedetto said there are many alternatives to declawing cats if your cat enjoys scratching up your furniture: This includes scratching posts or pads, regular claw trimming or temporary synthetic nail caps.

Before You Leave, Check This Out