declawing a rabbit?

[CookieLopBaby]

Hey yall,

I know yall are probably getting tired of my ?’s.  This is nothing that I plan on doing by the way but, a friend of mine asked me can u declaw a rabbit?  I have no idea???  SO if u can answer this I’ll be able to pass the info on to my friend.  but anyway thank u guys for all your advice.  I just cant’ thank u enough.  U are helping me be such a great mommy to my “Cookie”!  Thanks again….

[ScooterandAnnette]

Declawing a rabbit will permanently cripple the animal.  For a detailed discussion, please see the following article from the House Rabbit Society:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/declawing.html

 

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

It’s pretty scary just to think about it.

[kimberleyanddarren]

omg why would she want to do that anyway? i cant think of any advantage to it as a rabbit would use its teeth aswel to mess stuff up not just claws.. it is cruelty >.< eekk

[Erbear]

They’d never be able to use their diggy boxes or destroy little bits of the carpet…. okay so the last one I wouldn’t miss so much but still. Ouch!

[Beka27]

ugh. i cannot even read that article. it makes me sick to even think about that.

would a rabbit savvy vet even do that operation? god, i hope not.

[apanda]

Also I have heard that the procedure is too dangerous on rabbits and they often get infections and die so def not recommended

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Declawing cats is illegal in some states and some parts of Europe. It’s considered by most vets to be unethical and inhumane. Most vets won’t do the procedure as it’s akin to amputation (ten amputations to be precise) and can result in permanent disability, and in the very least is a very painful operation.

I would *HOPE* no vet would EVER perform this on any other animal either…

[Gravehearted]

yikes!  that’s a scary concept!

BB has created a great monthly bunny maintenance guide you could print for her which includes nail trimming along with photos.  It’s fantastic!

[Deleted User]

Why the heck would you want to do that anyways?

Oh ask that friend of yours if she would like to have her fingernails and toe nails DENAILED!

Crazy!

[MooBunnay]

Is your friend having a specific issue that would lead her to want the rabbit declawed? Could you ask her and share the reasoning with us? We can probably help her with some tips that would prevent the behavior without having to injure the rabbit. If she is apprehensive about trimming the rabbits nails, she can always see if there is a local rabbit rescue that will assist her with learning how to do it.

[kimberleyanddarren]

my local vet does it for £2.50, there are always alternatives to something so drastic

[skunklionshow]

I would never consider declawing for really any pet, but especially a rabbit.  The issue has been controversial for years in re: to cats.  I choose to not declaw my cats, however, my mom had to declaw her cat b/c it was attacking another cat and ended up scratching his cornea.  It was really awful!  In my opinion declawing is inhumane for cats, however, in some cases, it could mean that yet another cat might not have a home unless they got declawed.  In the states, I’ve found that most vets will not do a 4 paw declaw, but may be more accommodating w/ a front paw declaw….again this is only in re: to Cats!

[Lisa_43]

De clawing any animal is just plain stupid. I mean would you take away a humans nail.

[CookieLopBaby]

I’m sorry but u guys misunderstood. It was just a ?. She doesnt even have a bunny just saw my bunny, and asked me that….(after Cookie scratched her a lil playing with her) Which I have no problems with her and her nails anyway. I just thought it was an interesting question, and just didn’t know how to answer her…. I had no idea how horrible it was, but would never consider doing it myself. But I did see in Petsmart that they do have nail covers for cats. and rabbit.org suggested them if ur rabbit has problems…. but anyway cookie is gonna have her nails and no other animals that I know will be having that procedure done…

[RabbitPam]

I thought it was a good question to put out there, if only to have the answer in writing where others can see it if they ever had the same question. People can make awful assumptions without proper information so you might just have helped another little bunny somewhere just by posing the question.

Nail trimming is a challenge for some with resistant bunnies but most vets, even those who are not exotics experts, are able to handle a bunny properly and get nails trimmed without any problems. I used to pay $12. It’s not a bad way to have your bun seen regularly and you can casually ask about any concerns you might have about behavior or health while there. Many things about bunnies are not a reason to rush to the vet, but might be new to an owner. (Like flopping!) I’ve had bunny vets accidentally nip the quick while trimming, and dog/cat vets do a fine job, so you never know.

[alyssa]

2 of my cats that we are adopted are declawed and its really a shame, they watch the other cats climb trees and scratch posts and they cant do that, plus they can even defend themselves if some other animal were to try to attack them

[Gravehearted]

Hi Ronda,

Thanks for reassuring us that someone wasn’t planning to get a rabbit declawed!

[CookieLopBaby]

LOL, No bunnies I assure u that I know are in any danger of losing their nails. Just having manicures. After I read all the comments I felt so horrible about even posting the question. What a doofus I am! But like RabbitPam said, maybe it will keep others from doing something rash.

[Gravehearted]

don’t feel like it’s a dumb question! it’s always ok to ask questions, that’s what we’re here for

[minilop111]

First off i oppose bunny declawing its just not right so its good u asked.

Secondly, i wanted to know how often to clip my bunnies nails and how short. I’ve been clipping them but being extremely careful so a clip is more of one stroke of a nail file sometimes. I just dont want to hurt my bunny. My dogs nail was cut to short by a groomer one time and… well i just dont want it happening to the bunny. This seems like a good forum to ask this on

[Gravehearted]

hi motherfish – if you look under the bunny info section of the site there’s a monthly maintenance topic that explains how to clip nails safely and includes photos.

[skunklionshow]

I think it was a good question…especially b/c most folks don’t understand exactly what a declaw is.  Often people don’t see it as an amputation, but a really short nail trim.  My other suggestion w/ bunny manicures:  you can train the quick by doing the slight trims (i.e. not much more than a single file swipe) either daily or every other day.  This will get you used to handling the rabbit for a trim and get you used to doing the trim w/o being too bold.

[bunnytowne]

umm yes itty bitty feda’s baby nails are sooo sharp and too small to trim just yet they dont’ need it so I am thinking of filing them for now. to save myself when she climbs and steps on me.

[minilop111]

thanks i have succesfully clipped my bunny’s nails
it was ez thanks to u guys, thanks again.

[Gravehearted]

oo glad to hear it worked well for you motherfish!

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