Declawed cats can suffer from anxiety.
Declawing, or onychectomy, is the process of amputating a cat's claws at the first knuckle. Well-meaning pet owners may opt for this medically unnecessary surgery for a number of reasons, including the thought that it eliminates some behavioral problems in cats. Unfortunately, the surgery may produce the opposite effect. Up to 50 percent of cats that are declawed develop one or more complications, according to an article published in Veterinary Surgery. Pet owners must learn new techniques to care for a cat that develops behavioral problems as a result of declawing.
Instructions
1. Restrict your cat's contact with unfamiliar animals. Declawing removes the cat's first line of defense. Since the cat is unable to scratch, it cannot easily protect itself, which can lead to the cat running away. Worse, declawed cats resort to biting as a means of self-defense when confronted. This can increase the chance of infection and abscesses.
2. Spend extra time with your cat. Declawed cats can develop anxiety or depression as a complication of losing an integral part of their bodies. Play with your cat and soothe your cat with as much attention and affection as you can.
3. Rearrange your cat's environment. A declawed cat may not be able to balance correctly because its third phalanx has been removed. Move food and water bowls to a lower location that your cat doesn't have to jump or balance to reach.
4. Give your cat a safe place it can call its own. Declawed cats who use running away as a defense mechanism to any unfamiliar stimuli may behave better when given a room to themselves where they can retreat when they feel afraid.
5. Switch your cat's litter. Some declawed cats suffer from neuropathy and nerve damage as a result of the surgery. This leads to the cats refusing to use their litter box. Switch to a softer litter, such as a wheat- or recycled newspaper-based litter.
6. Invest in calming pheromone products. Pheromone diffusers release a scent into the air that is unnoticeable to humans. The scent mimics calming hormones produced by the cat's own body. Scared or upset declawed cats may calm down when exposed to pheromones.
7. Speak to your veterinarian. Some declawed cats act out because of nerve pain. Others may have an anxiety disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Your veterinarian is in the best position to prescribe a course of treatment, up to and including medication, to deal with these behavioral problems.
Tags: behavioral problems, cats suffer, cats suffer from, declawed cats, declawed cats