Just in time for Animal Health Week, electing to have your cat declawed was made illegal in Saskatchewan.

During their Annual General Meeting on September 12th, the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA) passed the new bylaw against the feline amputation procedure.

After an ongoing process of changing policies over the past couple of decades, Kristin Caldwell, Registered Veterinary Technologist with Prairie Animal Health Centre, said there are a few very good reasons this has become law here in our province as well.

"Most people didn't realize feline declawing is an actual amputation of the end of their finger, so it's not just the claw and the nail itself, but it does involve taking the bone that's attached to that nail, so it does create pain in those animals, not only at this time of surgery, but some pets have chronic pain from surgery like that," she explained.

The surgery, she noted, has always been considered an elective, and unnecessary one. This is why there are so many alternatives.

"There's the little gel nail caps that fit over top the cat's nail, and they typically last for about six weeks, as cats kind of shed on the outer portion of their nail," she explained. "Now, some cats do like to chew those off, so if those don't work, then, you know, scratching posts, and other areas for the cat to scratch."

"It's a very natural behavior for cats who want to scratch, and so, having something set up to enrich their environment also helps them to live a happy life and enriched life, but also kind of allows them to exhibit that natural behavior."

Claws are, after all, part of the cat's defense mechanism.

Caldwell said while that's not as much of a concern for an indoor cat, people were simply having their cats declawed because they grew up with declawed cats.

"A lot of cats, they're not destructive when they have their nails, and they can go on to live, kind of cohabit your house together, without causing destruction," she said. "There's the odd cat that truly does have some behavioral issues, but for the most part, I think a lot of families will find that having a cat and having his nails they'll still enjoy that cat, and not have to worry about them."

Discouraging cats from scratching, can often include the use of scents.

"Cats are very sensitive to smell, and so there are definitely products that you can use to kind of prevent that behavior, whether it's a pheromone, or whether it's an actual scent based product. But there are quite a few different options that have come out over the last 10 years that allow you to have an alternative to declawing."

For the cat who just has to scratch, Caldwell noted they could simply have behavioral issues.

"Then you'd work with your veterinarian on whether or not there are medical interventions that are non-surgical at that point," she shared. "Some cats are kind of aggressive towards their housemates and things like that, and so we do see situations where it's the safety of another animal, where an animal would need to to have a daily medication that just kind of helps relax them, and reduces their stress and anxiety."

She said this bylaw will help ease some pressure off of Veterinarians over the ethical dilemma for themselves of performing declawing surgeries.

"It's a purely elective procedure that doesn't need to be performed, especially if you worry about neuropathies, animals having issues with their feet lameness, chronic issues from that surgery," she said. "Of course, that's harder for a surgeon to want to go ahead with the surgery like that when you know the risk is just kind of unnecessary."

Last week was Animal Health Week in Canada.