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Declawing and other cosmetic surgeries

We will not perform cosmetic surgeries that are performed simply for the appearance of the animal, such as ear crops. These procedures can be painful to the pet, and serve no medical or health-based function. In England, known as a leader in the animal welfare movement, the British Kennel Club prohibits these surgeries that are routinely performed in the United States on a wide number of purebred dogs, including the Doberman, Pit Bull, Schnauzer, Great Dane, and Boxer.

The declawing of cats involves amputating the last joint of each finger and toe to remove the nail. People request this procedure because their cats are either already destructive to their home furniture, or because they are concerned that destructiveness may occur in the future. If you start your kitten early, you can train it to avoid scratching furniture and to scratch other designated scratching items, such as corrugated cardboard boxes laced with catnip, shag carpeting on boards that are placed in common scratching areas.

Cats scratch, not to be destructive, but as a way of owning the house they live in, or the property they live on. There are scent glands in the pads that leave a distinctive identifying pheromone that signals other cats that that area belongs to another cat. Typically scratching will occur at entryways and other areas that would be most obvious as marker posts to other animals. At Boulder's Natural Animal we try to help you to train your pet so that it will not need this potentially disfiguring surgery. Without their front claws, many cats feel helpless, and often times are either very very timid, or become fearfully aggressive. Declawed cats tend to bite more.