Onychectomy — a procedure in which claws are removed from animals, particularly cats — results in serious consequences, as established by American scientists in a new study.
Researchers analyzed the consequences of onychectomy in various members of the feline family. It turned out that in large animals, due to the surgical intervention, muscle mass in the forelimb was lost by 73 percent, and the strength of the forelimbs decreased by 46–66 percent.
The belief that declawing cats is roughly the same as trimming human nails is a serious misconception. It would be more accurate to compare it to amputating the first phalanx of all fingers — onychectomy literally cuts off one of the bones.
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