Onychectomy

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File:IMG 4146.JPG
Close-up of a declawed paw.

Onychectomy is an operation to surgically remove the claws, most often of a household cat, though occasionally of other animals such as circus lions or dancing bears. This process involves amputating all or part of the distal phalanx, or end bone, of the animal's toes, and is popularly known as declawing.

Although common in North America[1], declawing is rarely practiced outside North America and is considered an act of animal cruelty in certain other regions (see "Legal Status" below).

Indications

Medical

The amputation of the distal phalanx is indicated in case of chronic inflammatory processes, tumours, persistent and severe infections and gangrene that are limited to the distal phalanx. The procedure is usually limited to the affected claw, leaving the healthy claws intact if any are healthy.

Non-Medical

In North America, declawing is commonly performed on housecats to prevent damage to household possessions by scratching and to prevent scratching of people.[1] Examples of human medical conditions where declawing the person's cat is considered necessary include individuals with Acquired Immunodifficiency Virus, diabetics, cancer patients on chemotherapy, and organ transplant patients on anti-rejection medications. In such cases, the procedure of declawing a cat is accepted with more tolerance by veterinarians. It is considered more appropriate to respect the animal-human bond between the patient and the cat, than to take the cat away from the owner. [2] Although no precise figures are available, peer reviewed veterinary journal articles estimate that approximately 25% of domestic cats in North America have been declawed.[1] Many apartment buildings in the U.S. routinely ban cats unless they have specifically been declawed.

Methods

Declawing essentially consists of amputation of the third phalanx of the paw digits. Medical declawing is usually limited to the affected digit, whereas non-medical declawing is usually performed on all digits of the front paws, although some veterinarians will also perform declawing of the hind paws for non-medical reasons. Many veterinarians are very opposed and, in fact, will not perform declawing of the hind paws, even though they will declaw the front. Cats with all 4 paws having their nails removed are much more at risk of injury or death if they are let outdoors or manage to get outdoors. They also have a much more difficult time adjusting to their new required gait. Many cats that are used to climbing in the home, walking along the back of the sofa, jumping from the floor to a higher place, etc. lose their balance or fall for quite some time after a declawing of all four paws. [2]

Despite its prevalence in North America, no standard practices exist regarding the surgical techniques or cutting tools used, the administration of post-operative analgesics or other follow-up care, or the optimal age or other attributes of cats undergoing the procedure.[1]

Recovery, health and behavioral effects

In a survey of 276 cat owners, 34% reported post-surgical discomfort in their cats while 78% reported primarily tenderness.[3] Recovery time took from three days to two weeks. One cat(0.4%) had difficulty walking even after four months and another developed a soiling issue. Increased biting strength or frequency was reported in 10 cats (4%) but overall, 96% of owners were satisfied with the surgery.

A study of two different surgical techniques found that 16% of those who underwent joint amputation developed lameness while only 5% who underwent bone amputation did.[4] 22% of the first group and 16% of the second experienced reopened wound.

Although behavior problems such as house soiling (not using the litter box) and biting after declawing has been widely report anecdotally, the American Veterinary Medical Association(AVMA) has stated that there is no scientific evidence to show that declawing leads to behavioral abnormalities.[5]

Cats that have been declawed traditionally could not use their normal kitty litter following the surgery due the risk of the surgical wounds reopening and needed to use newspapers instead until their paws completely healed. However,because some cats do not like having their litter changed like this and may stop using their boxes entirely, there are vets who have found they do not need to follow this tradition. Surgical glue is used to close the wounds and is much improved over prior methods of closure. Cats may do very well with their normal litter and thus prevent the chance of their developing litter box aversion. [2]

Declawing practices

Declawing is uncommon outside North America, and laws governing its practice vary. Many European countries prohibit or significantly restrict the practice, as do parts of Australia, Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, Japan and Turkey. The list below gives an overview of the situation in different parts of the world.

Australia

In Australia, legislation concerning animal welfare is enacted at the state level and is highly inconsistent. There are ongoing efforts to develop a National Animal Welfare Act; in its current state, the bill would prohibit the declawing of cats except for medical reasons. However, some pro-wildlife campaigners advocate declawing (and possibly defanging) to protect native wildlife from pet cats.

Europe

In many European countries the practice is forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals[6] , unless there is a medical indication for the procedure, or a veterinarian considers it beneficial to the animal.

Some European countries go further, such as Finland, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland[7], where declawing cats for non-medical reasons is always illegal under their laws against cruelty to animals.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, declawing was outlawed by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which explicitly prohibited "interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of the animal, otherwise than for the purposes of its medical treatment".[8]

Even before the 2006 Act, however, declawing was extremely uncommon, to the extent that most people had never seen a declawed cat. The procedure was considered cruel by almost all British vets, who refused to perform it except on medical grounds. The Guide to Professional Conduct of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons stated that declawing was "only acceptable where, in the opinion of the veterinary surgeon, injury to the animal is likely to occur during normal activity. It is not acceptable if carried out for the convenience of the owner ... the removal of claws, particularly those which are weight bearing, to preclude damage to furnishings is not acceptable."[9]

United States

Declawing is legal in most US jurisdictions. It is estimated that 25% of owned cats in the United States are declawed (Patronek 2001).

Declawing was outlawed in West Hollywood, California, in 2003, the first such ban is the US.[10]. The California Veterinary Medical Association challenged the law in court[11]. The CVMA maintained held that West Hollywood had overstepped its municipal authority by enacting an ordinance that infringed on licensed professionals’ state-granted rights. It did not directly address declawing as an animal welfare issue. The CVMA intitially prevailed in Superior Court, but in June 2007, the California Court of Appeal overturned the lower court ruling, thus reinstating the law banning declawing in West Hollywood.[12].

In 2004, California became the first state in the USA to enact a statewide ban on the declawing of wild and exotic cats.

In 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture enacted a ban on declawing of all wild and exotic animals held by USDA-licensed owners.[13]

In April 2007, the city of Norfolk, Virginia outlawed declawing.[14]

Ethical viewpoints on declawing in the USA

Although widely practiced, declawing is ethically controversial within the American veterinary community.[1] Many American veterinarians are critical of the procedure and some refuse to perform it[15]. The two leading national animal protection organizations in the US, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, strongly discourage or condemn the procedure.[16] The Humane Society of the United States and other animal advocacy groups have supported legislation banning or restricting declawing.[17] Major opposition to attempts to ban or restrict declawing has come from veterinary trade organizations, such as the California Veterinary Medical Association. The AVMA considers declawing acceptable under certain circumstances but states that it "should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents a zoonotic risk for its owner(s)."[5]

Alternatives to declawing

Surgical

Tendonectomy involves cutting the deep digital flexor tendon of each claw, resulting in the cat being unable to move its distal phalanges. Without the ability to expose its claws, the cat is unable to wear down or groom its claws. For this reason, the cat subsequently requires a lifetime of regular nail clippings to prevent its claws from growing into its paw pads. A 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association comparing cats undergoing onychectomy to cats undergoing tendonectomy found that, although the cats undergoing tendonectomy appeared to suffer less pain immediately post-operatively, there was no significant difference in postoperative lameness, bleeding, or infection between the two groups.[18] The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association explicitly do not recommend this surgery as an alternative to declawingCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).. The procedure has not, therefore, become very popular although there are veterinarians that perform this surgery and recommend it over declawing if there is no other alternative. Owners should always be strongly warned that they must find out if they are able to trim their cats' nails before having the procedure. If they cannot, they must contemplate the issue of taking their cat to the vet regularly to have the nails trimmed. Ingrown nails almost always become infected and are painful and must be avoided by regular nail clipping. [2]

Non-surgical

One popular, non-surgical alternative to declawing available through veterinarians is the application of vinyl nail caps (marketed in the US under brand names such as Soft Paws and Soft Claws) that are affixed to the claws with nontoxic glue, requiring periodic replacement when the cat sheds its claw sheaths (usually every four to six weeks, depending on the cat's scratching habits).

Other alternatives include regular nail trimming, directing scratching behavior to scratching posts, deterrence with water pistols and applying aluminum foil, double sided tape, citrus oils[citation needed] or cat pheromone products to commonly scratched surfaces.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Patronek GJ (2001). "Assessment of claims of short- and long-term complications associated with onychectomy in cats". J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 219 (7): 932–7. doi:10.2460/javma.2001.219.932. PMID 11601788.
  2. ^ a b c d Declaw Procedure For Cats
  3. ^ Landsberg GM Cat owners’ attitudes toward declawing. Anthrozoos 1991;4:192-197.
  4. ^ Martinez et al., 1993 Comparing two techniques for onychectomy in cats and two adhesives for wound closure. Vet Med 1993; 88:516-525.
  5. ^ a b AVMA position statement on the declawing of domestic cats - April 15, 2003
  6. ^ "European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, Chapter II - Principles for the keeping of pet animals, Article 10(1)". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Swiss Federal Act on Animal Protection, 1978, Section 8: Prohibited Practices, §22(g)". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ untitled
  9. ^ RCVS Online / k. Mutilations report
  10. ^ CNN.com - West Hollywood bans cat declawing - Apr. 9, 2003
  11. ^ CVMA - California Veterinary Medical Association - West Hollywood Petition Denial
  12. ^ CALIFORNIA / Court says city can ban declawing
  13. ^ http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications/declaw_tooth.pdf
  14. ^ WTKR NewsChannel 3: News, Weather and Traffic in Hampton Roads and North Carolina | Norfolk Bans De-Clawing Of Cats
  15. ^ Veterinarians who do not declaw
  16. ^ FAQs on Cat Declawing, Declaw Surgery and Feline Scratching Behavior
  17. ^ Acknowledgements
  18. ^ Jankowski AJ, Brown DC, Duval J; et al. (1998). "Comparison of effects of elective tenectomy or onychectomy in cats". J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 213 (3): 370–3. PMID 9702225. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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