Declawing the California Spangled Cat is a major procedure called a onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, that eliminates the claw of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the California Spangled Cat’s forepaws. There is a small possibility of a fatality during the procedure, and a declawed California Spangled Cat may experience an increased risk of infection and permanent pain in her paws. This procedure isn’t appropriate for a mature California Spangled Cat and is called an act of animal cruelty in some regions (shown below).
People typically have California Spangled Cats declawed to hinder them from hunting and from damaging furniture. Seldom, vicious California Spangled Cats are declawed. In the United States, some landlords require that tenants’ California Spangled Cats be declawed.
Animal doctors are typically critical of the surgery and at times decline to perform it since the lack of claws in a California Spangled Cat:
- Deprives it of its main defense abilities, like escaping from predators by climbing trees;
- Compromises its exercising and stretching habits, which leads to muscle loss;
- Deprives it of its ability to walk on thin surfaces like fence tops and railings, leading to injury from falls;
- Can cause insecurity and a subsequent tendency to bite.
The surgery is uncommon outside of North America. In Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Finland, declawing a California Spangled Cat is illegal per the laws forbidding cruelty to animals. In many other European countries, it is not allowed under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless a doctor considers such non-curative procedures beneficial either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of the animal. In England, animal shelters are finding it hard to place imported California Spangled Cats that have been declawed and as a result most are euthanized.
One substitute for declawing a California Spangled Cat is the application of blunt, vinyl claw caps that are affixed to the claws with safe glue, requiring periodic replacement when the California Spangled Cat sheds its claw sheaths (about every four to six weeks). However, the California Spangled Cat may still have difficulties since the capped nails are not as effective as claws.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about California Spangled Cats.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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