The quiet image of a housecat curled on a windowsill hides a darker truth. For decades, many owners believed that removing a cat’s claws was a harmless solution to scratched furniture. In reality, declawing leaves permanent scars, both physical and neurological, that can cripple an animal for life.

New research from Quebec finally puts long-standing debates to rest, revealing just how damaging this surgery truly is.

Concerns about cat declawing

Eric Troncy, director of GREPAC (Groupe de recherche en pharmacologie animale du Québec) and co-author on the publication spoke about the importance of the research in an article published in The Conversation.

“I became interested in animal pain very early in my career. During my training in anesthesia and pain management, I was struck by how much the suffering of declawed cats was trivialized. I carried my indignation over this issue into my research career, and it’s now shaped my work for more than 20 years,” said Troncy.

With the GREPAQ at Université de Montréal, the team had access to cats with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. This condition, common in aging animals, allowed them to separate ordinary joint pain from the additional suffering caused by declawing.

Shocking impacts in declawed cats

The researchers developed specialized non-invasive methods including gait analysis, brain imaging, and nerve conduction studies. These tools enabled them to measure pain with precision and identify the unique impacts of declawing.

The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, were sobering. Declawed cats experienced irreversible nerve damage, heightened pain sensitivity, and worsened mobility, especially in heavier cats.

The nervous systems of these animals eventually became exhausted, leaving them hypersensitive, fatigued, and less able to live comfortably.

Conflicting evidence about declawing

Declawing involves amputating the final bone of each toe, using a scalpel, laser, or clippers. While surgical methods have been debated, the ethical question has remained a central controversy in veterinary practice and animal welfare discussions.

Even the American Veterinary Medical Association wrote in 2022, that there is conflicting evidence about the implications of declawing.

According to the Quebec researchers, this conflict reflected a lack of long-term studies rather than contradictory outcomes, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive scientific data to guide ethical decisions.

“Being passionate about animal welfare, I have never seen this practice as anything other than mutilation for the sake of pet owners’ convenience,” stated Troncy.

Declawing was banned in the European Union in 1992, yet the practice continues widely in the United States and parts of Canada.

By 2025, an estimated 25 million cats in North America will have been declawed, despite Quebec introducing a provincial ban in 2024.

Proof of harm from declawing

The Quebec research compared healthy cats, arthritic cats, and declawed arthritic cats across more than a decade. The results were clear: declawed cats showed increased sensitivity to touch, worsening mobility, and signs of nervous system overload.

The analysis also revealed higher rates of allodynia in declawed arthritic cats, where pain arose from normally harmless stimuli. Nerve conduction tests confirmed axonal damage, with declawed cats displaying reduced muscle response amplitudes.

“Electrophysiological tests reveal direct nerve damage,” said Troncy, linking the biological changes to observed behaviors.

Behavior changes in cats

Declawed cats displayed reluctance to jump, often avoided litter boxes due to paw pain, and showed unexpected aggression. These behaviors matched the evidence of maladaptive neuroplasticity and chronic nerve injury.

Weight compounded the issue. Heavier declawed cats faced more severe biomechanical impairments, suggesting the combination of surgery and body weight intensified pain and disability.

Whether only the front paws or all four were declawed, the harmful effects persisted, leaving cats increasingly vulnerable, stressed, less active, and at higher risk of developing ongoing health complications that reduced their overall quality of life.

Protecting animal welfare

“As veterinarians, our mission is to protect animal welfare, but continuing to perform declawing means we are failing in our mission,” said Troncy.

The researchers emphasize that declawing is not routine surgery but an ethically unacceptable practice with lasting consequences.

They argue that veterinarians must educate owners about alternatives such as scratching posts, behavioral training, and nail trimming. Other surgeries, such as tenotomy, should also be avoided because they cause pain and interfere with natural feline behavior.

The conclusion is direct. “This mutilation must be banned, everywhere and forever,” the authors declared.

With mounting scientific evidence, the call for a universal ban grows stronger, urging veterinary medicine to place animal welfare above human convenience.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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