Declawing the Swedish Forest Cat is a major operation known as onychectomy, performed under anesthesia, which eliminates the claw of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the Swedish Forest Cat’s paws. There’s a miniscule chance of a fatality in the procedure, and a declawed Swedish Forest Cat may have an increased risk of infection and perpetual discomfort in her paws. This procedure is not appropriate for a full-grown Swedish Forest Cat and is called an act of animal cruelty in some countries (below).
Owners usually get Swedish Forest Cats declawed to impede them from damaging furniture and hunting. Rarely, vicious Swedish Forest Cats are declawed. In the United States, some landlords demand that tenants’ Swedish Forest Cats be declawed.
Doctors are usually critical of the procedure and some refuse to do it since the lack of claws in a Swedish Forest Cat:
- Hampers its primary defense abilities, like running away from predators by climbing trees;
- Compromises its stretching and exercise habits, which leads to muscle loss;
- Inhibits its ability to walk on narrow surfaces like fence tops and railings, leading to injury from falls;
- Can cause insecurity and a subsequent tendency to bite.
This operation is rare outside of North America. In Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, declawing a Swedish Forest Cat is forbidden per the laws against animal cruelty. In many other countries in Europe, it is not allowed under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless a vet deems such non-curative procedures beneficial either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of the Swedish Forest Cat. In the UK, animal shelters find it tough to place imported Swedish Forest Cats that have been declawed and as a result many are killed.
An alternative to declawing a Swedish Forest Cat is the application of wide, vinyl claw caps that are attached to the claws with safe glue, sometimes requiring changing when the Swedish Forest Cat loses its claw sheaths (about every four to six weeks). Although, the Swedish Forest Cat will still have problems because the capped nails are not as effective as claws.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Swedish Forest 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 🙂
Follow