Declawing Policy

The American Association of Feline Practitioners, which has designated NSVH as a Gold Status Certified Cat Friendly Practice, has a strong position statement against declawing procedures. In keeping with our feline friendly mission, Newtown Square Veterinary Hospital does not perform onchyectomy (declaw) surgeries. Declawing surgery is known to be exceedingly painful and can result in a long list of significant, lifelong complications.

Scratching is a natural feline behavior that meets cats’ many needs. Once a cat’s claws have been removed, the cat can no longer perform natural stretching and kneading behaviors; this is thought to increase anxiety and stress. Additionally, cats without claws have lost their first line of defense. They cannot fight off other animals or escape quickly from a dangerous situation. Declawed cats often turn to biting because they no longer can use their claws as a warning.

Finally, declawed cats are more likely urinate and defecate outside the litter box. This is thought to result from associating the litter box with the painful act of digging and covering waste. Declawed cats often seek a less painful place for elimination, such as the carpet, bathtub, bed or even piles of laundry. Even though there are effective ways to modify a cat’s litter box behavior, with declawed cats it is a very difficult challenge; a declawed cat’s aversion to the box is a direct result from the association of the litter box with pain.

Scratching is a normal behavior for cats and in most cases scratching locations can be controlled. This can be achieved by providing the cat with appropriate surfaces to scratch on such as scratch posts and boxes, providing additional environmental enrichment (toys, play time), trimming the nails regularly, and/or the application of soft paws.