Declawing cats is a surgical amputation that removes the last bone of each toe. Despite being common in North America, it causes chronic pain and behavioral problems, and has been banned in many countries.
Declawing causes immediate post-surgical pain and frequently leads to chronic pain from nerve damage, bone regrowth, and altered gait mechanics. Declawed cats stand and walk differently to compensate for the altered weight distribution on their paws. The behavioral problems associated with declawing - increased biting, litter box avoidance due to tender paws on litter - often result in the very abandonment the surgery was meant to prevent. The rationale that declawing saves furniture does not withstand welfare scrutiny when effective alternatives exist. Every declawed cat is a cat that has had healthy tissue amputated for human convenience.