Joy Fletcher

I have worked with vet offices off and on my entire life. I've seen cats go through the painful and traumatic process of being declawed and it's truly heart-breaking. In some cases, a cat's personality is permanently altered as it lives out the remainder of its years in chronic pain that presents as irritability and a lack of energy, and in the worst of cases, aggression due to their extreme level of discomfort. An acquaintance of mine knew little about the procedure before making the decision to declaw her cat, and the cat died weeks later from complications related to the surgery. There are many alternative ways to positively encourage cats to scratch appropriate surfaces, and the practice of declawing is an extreme and inhumane option.