Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications immediately after surgery. 20 cats undergoing Tenectomy and 18 cats undergoing onychectomy. Cats undergoing Tenectomy or onychectomy were monitored for a minimum of 5 months to enable comparison of type and frequency of complications. Type and frequency of complications did not differ between procedures. Owners should be aware of the high complication rate for both procedures.
Feelings run strong on declawing, and there are several different camps.
There are those people who have their cats declawed without so much as a second thought. Sadly, some vets fall into this category and offer declawing as part of the well-kitten package along with vaccination and deworming. At the other end of the spectrum are people who would like to see the procedure banned. There are, of course, many positions between these extremes, the most reasonable and moral one is that of attempting to avoid the procedure at any cost-except for a medical necessity for the cat. Scratching damage to household furnishings can be minimized or avoided by routine clipping of the claws, the use of claw covers and by redirecting the cat's activity to acceptable surfaces.