by Ruth
(England)
Some people have the misconception that declawing a cat is no worse than neutering him or her.
When vet nursing I assisted at many cat spays and castrations and cared for the cats as they recovered afterwards.
Both sexes wake up peacefully. Males usually go home the same day,theirs is a small operation simply removing the testicles. Young cats don’t even need stitches.

Females stay overnight as theirs is an internal operation which is the removal of the uterus and ovaries through a cut made in the cat’s side or tummy. Spaying takes longer than castration and the cat always has stitches.
Both sexes have pain medication at the time of the operation but don’t suffer pain by the time they are ready to go home. Cats do hide their pain but a cat in pain would be obvious to a vet or vet nurse.
Both sexes are usually up and about when they go home, the males back to normal, the females too, but with stitches to be removed a week to ten days later. They soon forget the operation. Their troubles are over.
Neutering both sexes is for the good of the cat’s health and to prevent unwanted kittens being born into a world where there are not enough homes for cats and already too many are unwanted, in Rescue Shelters.
I have never seen a declawing in real life as even before it was banned in the UK, our vets would not do this cruel operation on any cat.
However I have seen videos of declawing and watched the last joints of the cats toes being amputated, by every way it is done. The crunch of the bone is sickening to hear as the bone cutters or guillotine slice through and I could almost smell the burning flesh and bone while watching a laser declawing.
I know from my many USA contacts, including vets and vet techs, that recovery from a declawing is NOT peaceful, the cat wakes up in pain and shock, many thrash around the hospital cage, some hunch in the corner, they are kept in at least overnight on strong pain medication and they need more pain medication to take home (complications of declawing).
Declawed cats have to adjust to life without their very necessary claws. They face a lifetime of mental and physical problems. Their troubles are far from over. In fact, their troubles are NEVER over.

Declawing is BAD Neutering is GOOD! to Declawing cats