Declawing a British Longhair is a major procedure known as onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, that removes the claw of each finger (from the first knuckle out) of the British Longhair’s paws. There’s a tiny chance of a fatality during the operation, and a declawed British Longhair might have a slight risk of infection and long-term displeasure in her paws. This surgery isn’t appropriate for an adult British Longhair and is deemed an act of animal cruelty in some countries (as shown below).
People usually get British Longhairs declawed to impede them from damaging furniture and hunting. Rarely, vicious British Longhairs are declawed. In the United States, some landlords require that tenants’ British Longhairs are declawed.
Veterinarians are usually critical of the procedure and sometimes decline to do it because the absence of claws in a British Longhair:
- Inhibits its primary self defense abilities, like running away from predators by climbing trees;
- Deprives it of its exercising and stretching routines, leading to muscle atrophy;
- Hinders its ability to walk on thin surfaces like railings and fence tops, leading to injury from falls;
- Can cause insecurity and as a result a biting habit.
The operation is rarely performed outside of North America. In the Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Switzerland, declawing a British Longhair is illegal by the laws against animal cruelty. In many other countries in Europe, it is forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless a veterinarian considers such non-curative procedures beneficial either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of the animal. In the UK, animal shelters find it difficult to place imported British Longhairs that have been declawed and subsequently most are euthanized.
An alternative to declawing a British Longhair is the application of dull, vinyl claw caps that are adhered to the claws with harmless glue, requiring periodic replacement when the British Longhair loses its claw sheaths (about every 4 to 6 weeks). Yet, the British Longhair will still experience problems because the capped nails are not as effective as claws.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about British Longhairs.Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
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