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My cat scratches. Should I consider declawing for my diabetic mom?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | spayed | 1 year and 1 month old

Is declawing really so bad ? Our cat scratches the rug , furniture when she is stretching and when she lays in my mom lap her claws are out and it hurts my mom she is diabetic so scratches can’t happen . When she scratches me the marks are still there like I fed her some treats put it on th condo but she was quick trying to grab it and it caught on my hand these kinds of incidents make me wonder if we should get rid of her claws she won’t need them we keep her in her room and indoors only.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Davis

Veterinarian

Published on April 9th, 2018

That’s a good question. As I’m an older veterinarian I have declawed many cats with minimal problems. I’ve personally owned several declawed cats and they had normal behavior and no pain. Now with modern pain medication and laser surgery I personally don’t object to declawing cats when there is a medical reason in the household for it to be done. Since your Mom is a diabetic she is more at risk for infections from cat scratches. I find that declawing can save cat’s lives as they are kept in the family instead of being turned into shelters. There are many veterinarians who object to declawing due to perceived chronic pain, behavioral problems and they think it’s unnecessary surgery. If you want to go ahead I would check with the veterinarians in your area to see if anyone will perform a laser surgery declaw. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Catori.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Declawing is the equivalent of cutting off the last part of your finger with the fingernail on it. Cats that are declawed often resort to biting instead. They also often have phantom pain in their paws, There are several ways to keep your cat from scratching: Clip the tips of her claws off regularly (front). A vet tech can show you how it is done, also youtube videos. Buy one or two scratch boxes and put some catnip on them. Cats love them and can deshell their claws on them. That way your cat will not peruse the rug or furniture. There are also rubber nail covers that can be glued on the nails which make the nails dull, something like this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/soft-claws-clear-cat-nail-caps

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