Declawing the Khao Manee is an intense operation called a onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, which removes the claw from each toe (from the first knuckle out) of the Khao Manee’s paws. There’s a miniscule chance of death during the operation, and a declawed Khao Manee might experience an increased risk of infection and permanent discomfort in her paws. This surgery is not recommended for a full-grown Khao Manee and is considered an act of animal cruelty in some countries (as shown below).
People usually get Khao Manees declawed to stop them from damaging furniture and hunting. Seldom, vicious Khao Manees are declawed. In the United States, some landlords require that tenants’ Khao Manees are declawed.
Doctors are generally negative about the procedure and sometimes decline to do it since the absence of claws in a Khao Manee:
- Impairs its main defense skills, including escaping from predators by climbing trees;
- Impairs its exercising and stretching routines, leading to muscle loss;
- Hampers its ability to walk on narrow surfaces like railings and fence tops, leading to injury from falls;
- Can lead to insecurity and as a result a tendency to bite.
This procedure is rare outside of North America. In Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Finland, declawing a Khao Manee is forbidden by the laws forbidding animal cruelty. In many other European countries, it is prohibited under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless a veterinarian considers such non-curative procedures necessary either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of the animal. In the UK, animal shelters are finding it hard to place imported Khao Manees that have been declawed and subsequently most are euthanized.
An alternative to declawing a Khao Manee is the application of dull, vinyl nail caps that are attached to the claws with safe glue, sometimes requiring changing when the Khao Manee loses its claw sheaths (about every 4 to 6 weeks). However, the Khao Manee may still experience problems because the capped nails are not as effective as claws.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Khao Manees.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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