Cat Declawing Research Paper

There are several options available to cat owners who wish to stop damaging or injurious scratching behaviours. These include behaviour modification, nail caps, frequent nail trims, tendonectomy and declawing (onychectomy).

• Non-surgical treatments include behavioral modification, frequent nail trims, nail caps and feline pheromone sprays.
• With tendonectomy, tendons in the cat’s foot are cut, so cats are unable to extend their claws and claws require frequent trimming.
• Declawing removes a portion of the cat’s toe, the outer most phalange on each foot, which can be a painful process.
• Dissection onychectomy is one type of declawing, using a scalpel blade to remove the phalanges.
• Guillotine onychectomy is a second type of declawing,