Onychectomy
The terms onychectomy (origin: Greek ὄνυξ onyx, 'nail' + ἐκτομή ektomē, 'excision') and declawing imply mere claw removal, but a more appropriate description would be phalangectomy,[1] excision of toe bone.
[5] Despite the fact that it is a surgery without medical cause, in some parts of the world, particularly in Northern America, declawing was for many years a relatively standard practice, and "surveys of routine elective procedures" in 1988 and 1996 showed it was performed along with neutering in more than 20% of cases.
The International Society of Feline Medicine states that "Even if future improvements in surgical techniques can negate some of the adverse effects associated with declawing, iCatCare and ISFM believe this procedure is unethical other than if required to manage a medical condition and should be banned.
[22] Other studies have reported medical post-op complication rates as 24% (Jankowski 1998), 53% (Martinez 1993), 1.4% (Pollari 1996),[23] 82.5% for blade and 51.5% for shear technique (Tobias 1994), and 80% (Yeon 2001).
Reported medical complications include: pain, hemorrhage, laceration of paw pads, swelling, reluctance to bear weight on affected limb, neuropraxia, radial nerve damage, lameness, infection, abscess, tissue necrosis, wound dehiscence, incomplete healing, protrusion of 2nd (middle) phalanx, claw regrowth, scurs (growth of deformed claw segments), retention of flexor process of third phalanx, chronic draining tracts, self-mutilation, dermatitis, lethargy, palmigrade stance (walking on wrists), chronic intermittent lameness, chronic pain syndrome, flexor tendon contracture, and cystitis (stress-associated bladder inflammation).
[24][failed verification] In post-operation follow ups Yeon, et al. (2001) found six of thirty-nine cats (15%~) were house soiling and seven (18%) had increased biting frequency or intensity.
However, this study ultimately found no association between the declaw status of cats and their aggression towards humans or frequency of inappropriate elimination (house soiling).
[27] Patronek, Glickman and Beck (1996) found no association between the declaw status of cats and the frequency of inappropriate elimination (house soiling).
[33] In Israel, the Knesset Education Committee voted unanimously to send a bill banning the declawing of cats for non-medical reasons.
The bill has passed second and third readings on November 28, 2011, effectively making declawing a criminal offense with penalty of one year in prison or a fine of 75,000 shekels.
Some European countries go further, such as Finland, Sweden,[36] Estonia,[37] the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland,[38] where declawing cats for non-medical reasons is always illegal under their laws against cruelty to animals.
In Austria, the Federal Act on the Protection of Animals, in Section 7, states, surgical procedures "carried out for other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes ... are prohibited, in particular ...
[6] Although no precise figures are available, peer-reviewed veterinary journal articles estimate that approximately 25% of domestic cats in North America have been declawed.
[42] In February 2020, Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl veterinary clinics announced that they would no longer offer elective declawing of cats.
"[43] The veterinarian-run, nonprofit organization Paw Project maintains a list of veterinary hospitals and clinics that will not offer declawing.
Its founder and director, Dr. Jennifer Conrad, was presented with the 2019 Gordon Stull Lifetime Achievement Award by the Humane Society Veterinary Medical association for her dedication to the ban of cat declawing.
[49] All Canadian prohibitions still allow for declawing-type procedures in the case of medical necessity to treat an injury, deformity or pathology affecting the animal.
[50] Laws have been passed in California (2012) and Rhode Island (2013) that ban landlords from requiring the declawing of cats as a condition of occupancy.
[56] The CVMA maintained that West Hollywood had overstepped its municipal authority by enacting an ordinance that infringed on licensed professionals' state-granted rights.
[58] In 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture enacted a ban on declawing of all wild and exotic animals held by USDA-licensed owners.
[61] The bill included all professions licensed by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, and it was signed into law by the Governor in July 2009.
[62] In 2012, a California bill, authored by Senator Fran Pavley and sponsored by the Paw Project, was signed into law that prohibits landlords from requiring declawing and devocalization of animals as a condition of tenancy.
[73] Tendonectomy involves cutting the deep digital flexor tendon of each claw, resulting in the cat being unable to move its distal phalanges.
For this reason, the cat subsequently requires regular nail clippings to prevent its claws from growing into its paw pads.
[76][77] According to board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Gary Landsberg, "For most cats, appropriate client advice and a little effort is all that is needed to prevent scratching problems.
