Is Laser Surgery Better Than a Traditional Declaw?

Choosing to declaw a pet cat is a controversial decision, likened by opponents with ear and tail docking in dogs; the procedure is not medically necessary. For a cat who cannot be trained out of clawing the furniture or for cat owners whose health would be compromised by a cat scratch, declawing may be the best alternative to giving the cat away or sending it to a shelter for certain death.

  1. The Facts

    • Declawing a cat is a procedure veterinarians call onychectomy. In a traditional onychectomy, the nail bed and all or part of the third finger bone (phalange) is removed (amputated) either by cutting with a sharp scalpel or by using sterilized guillotine-style nail clippers. Use of lasers to perform declawing is relatively new; the procedure was patented in 2003. Anecdotal evidence shows that cats retain their scratching, stretching, hunting and climbing behaviors even without claws. Statistics show that few cats exhibit chronic issues with infection or lameness after declawing surgery. Declawing is unlawful in certain areas such as West Hollywood, California. Laser surgery is more expensive due to the cost of the equipment, but can be safer for the cat than traditional methods.

    Traditional Surgery vs. Laser

    • Veterinary services selling laser onychectomy versus traditional methods will claim the laser is less painful and that recovery is faster. In 2002, The College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University conducted a study on twenty client-owned cats, randomly choosing scalpel or laser declaw methods. Pain levels were assessed at the time of surgery, the day after and seven days after surgery. Neither method showed high-rated pain scores but the laser surgery scored lower for pain one day after surgery. By the seventh day, both groups were equal. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) observed in 2009 that clinical studies on ten cats showed no difference in cats that had traditional scalpel surgery on one paw and laser surgery on the other. Recovery time for both methods is an average of eight days. Pain therapy using analgesic pain relief such as a fentanyl patch is recommended for both methods for one to two days following surgery.

    Benefits of Laser

    • Laser surgery does not require tourniquets or post-operative bandages. Bleeding during and after the surgery is reduced due to the cauterizing effects of the laser.

    Warning

    • The laser is an expensive precision instrument, requiring practice for proficiency. A single-day seminar hosted by the manufacturer of the laser is not much practice, and excessive tissue burns or delayed healing may result with less experienced operators. Cat owners are advised to ask how many laser declawings the veterinarian has performed.

    Expert Insight

    • Older and heavier cats will have more trouble recovering from a declaw surgery, no matter the method. Use of guillotine-style nail trimmers to perform onychectomy has been linked to an increase in rate of infection, avoidable with laser surgery methods.