Scratching serves a number of purposes. First, it sharpens their claws, which way back in time, was a necessity for hunting in the wild. Cats also have scent glands in their paw pads, so that kneading and scratching can become a territorial marking behaviour, much like rubbing their cheek/jowls on items. Plus, they like to scratch..for the sheer pleasure of it. Watch a cat as it reaches up,stretches, kneads, and comes down off a post with a gleam in their eye. This is a feline version of riding an exercise bike while watching t.v. It has a physical benefit and a fun element, too.
Declawing a cat involves the surgical removal of the claw, and first toe joint. Studies say this can cause residual pain and discomfort for up to a week. It has also been known to alter the behaviour of some cats, whether due to the pain, or the trauma of losing a natural function of their paws. For a description and visual explanation of the procedure, visit http://amby.com/cat_site/dc-wyntk.html
Consider what it must feel like, to have the ends of toes amputated, and then out of necessity, having to walk on those toes for your most basic needs like going to the bathroom or reaching food.
Another procedure that has been touted as less painful (only two days) and invasive is the tendonectomy, whereby the tendon attached to the first toe joint, is surgically severed, thereby rendering the cat unable to extend it’s claws. This however, does not totally eliminate nail damage, as claws must be kept well trimmed, and in some cases, overgrown ones have curled under and pierced cats' paw pads, when they went unnoticed by the owners. Both these procedures were censured by the Cat Fanciers Association, in 1996 (see http://www.cfainc.org/health/declawing/h...
The ideal of course, is to get a kitten/cat that has been “trained” to claw only appropriate items. When buying from a breeder, chances are that the kittens have been introduced very early to suitable things such as carpeted posts or sisal rope climbing trees. This introduction is generally made at about the time kittens begin to eat solid food, use the litterbox, and wander from their mother. Our Birman litters first scratching items, are a carpeted two-storey barrel, ideal for hide and seek, and a circular plastic ring,with a ball that can be chased around the exterior
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