Morris after surgery to salvage his paws from declawing, funded by Alley Cat Allies.
Alley Cat Allies is on a mission with The Paw Project to protect cats everywhere from the cruel practice of cat declawing, and to provide any treatment declawed cats need to relieve their pain and truly live again.
Because the fact is that declawing is far from just a nail trim and is not a minor procedure. It is the amputation of the last joints of a cat’s toes, akin to cutting a person’s finger off at the last knuckle. Many common methods of declawing can leave cats with crushed bone fragments in their paws or abscesses caused by fragments left of the nail trying to grow back under the skin.
Through Alley Cat Allies’ grant to The Paw Project, we are providing declawed cats with critically needed surgery and pain management to alleviate their suffering as much as possible.
This is Morris’ journey. You can read about more cats starting a new, pain-free life through our grant here and here.
Morris’ Story
Declawing proponents typically argue that allowing declawing is critical to ensure cats do not lose their homes. The reality is, however, that the behaviors caused by the pain of declawing are the most common reasons cited for relinquishing cats to animal shelters.
Morris and his brother Maddox are, sadly, an example of this fact. Though they are the sweetest cats who love everything and everyone, Morris and Maddox lost their home and were dumped at a local shelter.
Morris with his brother, Maddox.
Compassionate adopters took in the two brothers and quickly recognized a serious problem. Morris had become less active, gained a lot of weight, and was limping badly. He was also refusing to use the litter box, showing signs of discomfort when he tried to step in. After extensive testing and blood work, his new family consulted a specialist, desperate to help him.
At Paws, Whiskers and Claws in Georgia, Dr. Globerman finally gave Morris’ family an answer: Morris’ nails were regrowing in an incorrect manner deep within his paws as a result of botched declawing and were causing him excruciating pain.
Morris was swiftly put on pain medication, and—through Alley Cat Allies’ grant—finally received vital surgery on his declawed front paws to tackle the root of the issue and stop the nails from growing in.
At 14 years old, Morris had spent most of his life walking on painful, declawed paws full of bone shards. But even at his senior age, we’re thrilled to say he pulled through his surgery, and his recovery couldn’t have gone better!
Just two weeks post-surgery, Morris was going up and down the stairs and jumping on furniture. Slowly, he started playing with toys and his brother Maddox again. Now—almost a month after his surgery—he’s walking with barely a limp at all! Alley Cat Allies and Morris’ adoptive parents couldn’t be happier for him and more hopeful for the rest of his golden years. He and Maddox can now live the fulfilling, pain-free lives they deserve.
Morris and Maddox cuddling. They’re brothers and best friends!
“That salvage surgery honestly changed Morris’s life. He is getting back to a more active cat and seems to be so much happier. He is more alert; he is more affectionate than ever,” says Jennifer Conrad, D.V.M., founder and director of The Paw Project. “His world has changed for the better since having this procedure, and we are forever grateful to Alley Cat Allies for their generous grant that helps declawed cats finally be in less pain.”
Learn more about the facts on declawing.
Every gift you give helps us save another cat like Morris. Please donate today.