Shelter Advisor

Q: We've heard that new advances in declawing, such as laser surgery and so-called "tenectomies," make the procedure more humane. Is this true?—B.R., Texas

A: Although new surgical techniques may lessen the pain that immediately follows declawing, the operations are still considered unnecessary for the majority of cats.

During laser surgery, a small, intense beam of light is used to cut through tissue by heating and vaporizing it, meaning there's less bleeding, less pain, and a shorter recovery time. But the surgical technique itself is similar to the traditional method (or "onychectomy"), with the laser simply replacing a steel scalpel blade. So the use of a laser is no substitute for a well-trained veterinarian with plenty of surgical experience. Moreover, the price of laser machinery ranges from $25,000 to $30,000, a prohibitive cost for most veterinary hospitals.

The second alternative technique, known as a "tenectomy" (or tendonectomy), is becoming increasingly common. Rather than amputate the cat's claw, the surgeon removes a piece of the tendon that controls the cat's ability to flex and extend his claws. After surgery, the cat's claws are intact, but remain permanently extended. More than half of the cats who undergo this procedure can still use their claws to some extent but cannot scratch normally. Since the cat can't sharpen his claws, the claws quickly become rough, grow excessively, and must then be trimmed on a regular basis. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association ("Comparison of effects of elective tenectomy or onychectomy in cats," Vol. 213, No. 3, August 1, 1998) found that 24 hours after the procedure, cats who had undergone a tenectomy felt significantly less pain than did those who had undergone onychectomy. But no long-term study of the tenectomy procedure has yet been published, and many veterinarians are concerned that cats subject to the operation may be prone to scarring, gnarling, and atrophy of the toes.

So while there have been advances in the procedures, it's still true that for the majority of cats, the pain and expense of surgery are unnecessary. Educated cat owners can easily train their cats to use their claws in a manner that allows cat and owner to happily coexist. Declawing and tenectomies should be reserved only for those rare cases in which a cat cannot be properly trained, and, as a result, must be surgically altered or removed from the home. In these cases, a veterinarian should inform the cat's caretakers about complications associated with the surgical procedures (including the possibility of infection, pain, and lameness) so people have realistic expectations about the outcome.