Written by A.R.F. Volunteer Hannah D.

Anyone who has researched becoming a cat owner has likely come across the term “declawed” and wondered what exactly that meant. Declawing is amputating the last knuckle of a cat’s toes. In a human, declawing would be like cutting off the tips of all your fingers – painful, drastic, and problem-causing. This procedure does not benefit the cat in any way, except in extremely specific cases such as cancer in the nail beds. On the other hand (or paw), it comes with many potential risks and side effects, including pain, infection, litter box aversion, and lashing out.

For many years, declawing was an accepted and even recommended procedure. To this day, many people think it’s the same as simply cutting their nails, and many landlords stipulate that cat tenants must be declawed. Recently, the procedure has come under scrutiny and even been made illegal in certain foreign countries and US states. Historically, it has been a “solution” to scratching or other behavior that humans did not like seeing in their cats. Unfortunately, the wellbeing of the cats was not the priority.

The primary reason given to justify declawing is the desire to prevent scratching. Scratching is a very normal cat behavior. Better solutions include having vertical and horizontal scratching posts in the home, learning how to safely handle cats, regularly trimming their nails with cat clippers, adding double sided tape to protect surfaces, and applying temporary pads to the nails. None of these options cause the animal pain or serious distress.

As of writing, declawing is legal in Illinois. There is a bill to ban declawing, except in the case of legitimate therapeutic purpose, that has passed the House but not the Senate. It appears to be stalled at this time. Some animal rights groups support legal bans, while others question whether it’s possible to effectively enforce the law with important exceptions. The best path forward is still up for debate.

Of course, cats who have been declawed are absolutely worthy of loving homes. A.R.F. sometimes takes in two- or four-paw declawed cats, who can be found here. While we do not support humans making the decision to declaw their cats, we do support the cats’ wellbeing. We work to keep them happy as long as they are in our care, and we thoroughly review adoption applications for them, like with any other animal. They deserve to live out their lives in safe homes where they are cared for. 

Sources and further reading:

• Why declawing is bad for your cat (The Humane Society of the United States)
• Keep Cats’ Claws on Their Paws (Alley Cat Allies)
• Position Statement on Declawing Cats (ASPCA)
• Cat Declawing Ban (Illinois) (ALDF)