**TL;DR -- Declawing a cat is body mutilation, and can lead to severe physical and mental distress.** The process of declawing a cat involves *amputation of part of the toe bone*. That's right -- when you declaw your cat, you are cutting off some of their body parts. Cats walk on their toes, and by amputating part of their toe bones, [we're basically crippling them](https://www.declawing.com/the-truth-about-declawing) and setting them up for a lifetime of physical problems: Infections, lameness, and back pain, just to name a few. > ["If performed on a human being, declawing would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle."](https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/declawing-cats-far-worse-manicure) In other words, declawing a cat is **body mutilation**. Imagine living without the tips of your fingers or toes: you might find it difficult to climb, to grab, to balance, to sprint -- all the things that makes a cat a cat. And not only is there physical trauma, but imagine how your cat feels when it wakes up to find that a vital part of its body has been forcibly removed? How would *you* feel? Disoriented? Victimized? Despairing? The cat might try to do the things they used to do -- jumping up onto furniture, expecting for their claws to dig in and help them up, but slipping off and (painfully) hitting the floor because their claws are no longer there. They might feel like a failure, like they're no longer a real cat, because they can no longer do the things that come naturally to them. For cats, their claws are a part of their identity. Imagine having your (insert most precious body part here) forcibly removed… you might feel as if you're no longer whole, no longer a *person*. Think of the psychological harm this could cause: A loss of ability, a loss of identity. Not to mention the long-term physical issues that could plague you the rest of your life. If this was done to a human, the doctor who performed the surgery would be arrested and lose their medical license. Why, then, do we continue to allow this barbaric practice on our most beloved companions? Declawing a cat is animal abuse, and there is absolutely no justification for it.

If you have more than one cat and they are kept indoors, having them declawed is the responsible thing to do. They don't need their front claws. The only thing they'll do with them is use their claws against each other when they spar with each other, which is inevitable.

It's an accessory, but their claws are safety devices. They're evolved to try to grab stuff if they slip and fall off something. They're evolved to want to maintain their claws. Their claws are their tools. Like our fingers. So if it is at all possible to solve whatever problem you're having, WITHOUT taking a knife to the cat, you probably should. I dunno if I'd call it flat out animal abuse, but I would at least call it unnecessary.